I was abandoned as soon as I landed

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Title – I was abandoned as soon as I landed
Source – The Times
Date – 14th August 2007

This is an all too common story, you pay all your money up front and once you set off the company you booked through are more concerned about where their next booking is coming from, rather then your plight on the other side of the world and you end up so far out of your comfort zone you can’t even remember what life back home was like.

The projects themselves are often badly researched, inappropriate, misjudged or wholly unnecessary, in the worst scenarios, gap-year volunteers actually hinder local communities rather then provide any form of assistance. We have heard stories of people turning up to their placements to be greeted by blank looks from local staff asking themselves who this strange westerner is who has just offered their services. Following a quick call to the local contact, it is revealed that no one from the company has ever visited the project, but had heard third hand from others that they were looking for English teachers.

We regularly hear stories like Sarah’s, they don’t all end happily, many students buckle under the pressure they have simply not been prepared for and leave for home soon after they arrive but many, like Sarah, realise their potential and struggle through making the projects all the more fulfilling for them. Happy endings are common but so are the failures, but if you are promised the support then you deserve to get it, even if with hindsight you did manage on your own, what justifies the £3000 you paid?

We saw the advice booklet from one such company that students are supplied with to 'prepare' them for travel, it contained some useful information which anyone could have gleaned from the FCO website and then among the safety advice was the useful hint “when in a busy train station, do not take large quantities of cash out of your wallet and have it on public display or it might be stolen by someone rushing past you”. It was accompanied by a representation of a man in a busy station holding his cash like a hand of cards and a second drawing of him without the cash looking glum and a local running off in the background…. Do you feel ready to travel now?

People should not feel bad about taking a gap-year for fun or not having a fixed project when they arrive at their destination, often they can have equally great experiences or work at their destination without having to pay a lump sum to someone else to organise it. The thousands of pounds you save can prove very useful to you on your travels or to people you meet along the way. The old adage “don’t give a hungry person a fish, give them a net to allow them to fish” still stands. The key if you do go on an organised gap-year volunteering programme is to research the company and the project they are sending you on and don’t rely on their flashy marketing. Look behind the gloss and get them to commit to exactly what they will provide. If they fail in their commitment ask for a refund or write to trading standards and demand they meet the same standards any other commercial company has to. Remember that although many of them act like charities, very few actually are!

Much of the appeal of these gap-year companies is the support they offer, but there are other ways of getting that confidence to set out. At Beyond The Blue our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop provides candidates with knowledge and skills to travel independently with confidence and to prepare for your travels adequately considering your destination. We offer you the support you need before you leave home so that you can learn some of the essential skills required as well as being mentally prepared for what you are about to encounter when you arrive.


Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com