The teamOur ethicsWho we work withWhat makes us differentSafety and Peace of MindNewsFeedback

INSPIRE NEWS

A successful 2011 for Inspire and looking forward to 2012!

What a year 2011 was - we had an incredibly successful summer, with the Hurst team returning to Malawi to complete their second classroom at Chilingani village, Tonbridge Grammar School's two teams making a massive impact with their new library in Swaziland and the Karimu Foundation's team growing ever stronger in their partnership with the Bacho community.

Autumn also saw the start of another brand new link between St Dunstan's School in Catford and the Sinai School in northern Tanzania. Charity Partners the Livingstone Tanzania Trust enabled the schools to hit the ground running with their first ever joint project - completing a classroom for the children at Sinai. We can't wait to see this relationship develop over the coming years.

2012 already looks to be a busy year for Inspire with teams from Radley College and Headington School starting their first link projects and Tonbridge School, Hurst College, Leighton Park School and the Karimu Foundation returning to continue their links. Plus we also see our first project in India heading off - students from Silcoates School in Yorkshire will be working with slum children in Goa through our fantastic local partner, the Educator's Trust. 

Want to take part in your own project?

Don't forgot to get in touch if you'd like to set-up a charity project for your school, work colleagues or even a group of friends! All you need is 10 people keen to join your team and we'll give you a free trip place as the group co-ordinator. Drop us an e-mail to find out more:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Summer 2011

We are very excited to see the first of our Summer groups heading out to Malawi this Friday. Hurspierpoint College are returning to Chilingani to finish the second room of the classroom block that they started last year. The team can't wait to get back out to Malawi - and for the new members of the group, it is a chance to meet with the many friends and members of the community that last year's team met last summer.

This summer looks to be a busy one for Inspire - with two teams from Tonbridge Grammar School heading off to Swaziland to build a library and a group from the Karimu Foundation and University of California departing for Tanzania to work on the Ufani and Ayalagaya Schools.

New Partnerships

We are also delighted to announce two other new school partnerships. The first is between St Dunstan's College and the Livingstone Tanzania Trust. The team from St Dunstan's are already fundraising hard to enable them to build a classroom at Sinai school in October 2011.

Our second new partnership is between Portsmouth High School and the Livingstone Tanzania Trust, and they are aiming to raise enough funds for a classroom build project next July.

The initial poverty and development, teamwork and fundraising sessions run by Inspire's MD Beth and LTT's Director Julian were very successful and gave the teams a great insight into the issues that the communities they will be working alongside face. It has also generated some fantastic fundraising ideas - which we can't wait to see the results of!

February 2011

Autumn saw the completion of several fantastic projects by the Inspire teams (see details below). We were truly inspired by the hard work, passion and dedication of all of the teams and want to say a huge thank you for their incredible fundraising and enthusiasm in supporting their charity partners. We know these partnerships will continue to grow and develop over the years ahead. 

We are looking forward to the summer ahead, which promises to see more teams heading out to start (and continue) their community work with partners in Malawi, Tanzania and Swaziland. Updates to follow shortly!

Scott Wilson Millennium Project (SWMP)

The charity arm of Scott Wilson Ltd, SWMP, focuses on providing better facilities for children in the developing world.

Having worked previously with Inspire's Director, Beth Chapman, on a project in Mozambique, SWMP were keen to expand their impact and help another of Inspire's charity partners.

This time they chose to work with Excellent Development in Kenya - on a project which fit in very well with their engineering expertise, as well as the aims of the SWMP charity. The team of 17 employees spent 2 weeks in southern Kenya constructing a sand dam that will now provide a year round supply of clean water to over 1,000 people from the Kibwezi district.

The team did not just stop at one dam though - they also provided funding to support the entire community group for 12 months through terracing, trees and seeds to help them become self-sufficient.

Friends of the Charities Commission

A team of 13 friends spent 2 weeks on our project site in Malawi. Their aim was to construct a kitchen and toilet for the Nkanamwano Community Group - who were desperately in need of better facilities to help provide the one meal a day to the orphaned and vulnerable children of the area.

The group raised a fantastic sum of over £4,000 for their project which not only covered all the costs of the kitchen plus the new latrine block but is now helping to support the community and children over the long-term through funding for education and food.

Leighton Park School

Leighton Park wanted to encourage their International Baccaleureate students to really do something different to achieve the hours needed to complete the Creativity, Action and Service section of the IB. Inspire worked closely with the school to help them achieve this - designing and managing two CAS-focused trips  - one to Uganda and one to Malawi.

In Uganda the students worked with one of Leighton Park's school charities, the Bujagali trust - to help provide sport and arts sessions to local students and fund the construction of a kitchen for the school.

In Malawi the LP students worked with Inspire's partner, Joshua Orphan and Community Care, to construct a small kitchen, renovate a day care centre for the orphaned and vulnerable children and work alongside the local Youth Group on community-projects to support the elderly. The students also raised enough funds to cover the cost of secondary school education for over 20 children from the local community. Both teams finished off their trips with a 2 day safari.

September 2010 Newsletter

We can't believe it is the end of summer already but we're still keeping our fingers crossed for an Indian Summer in September!

We have a pretty busy few months ahead of us this Autumn - groups from Scott Wilson, friends of the Charities Commission and Leighton Park School are all heading out to Africa over the next two months. We'll keep you updated on their work.

Inspire has also had some amazing teams working with us over the summer and their achievements are, frankly, pretty breath-taking! Read on for a summary of what our groups have achieved so far this year. 

RBS funded clinic finally opens it's doors!
In June we were joined by a group of friends and family from the Royal Bank of Scotland who spent 2 weeks in Malawi continuing their support and work for the Pensulo Clinic. It was the final push to finish this 2 year project - which has seen an amazing amount of dedication, time and donations from the Bank and it's employees. However, it has all been worth it and in July 2010 the Pensulo Maternity Clinic opened it's doors to it's first patients. 

The clinic has been desperately needed, and we predict that over 40,000+ members of the Pensulo community and surrounding areas will now be using the clinic. Previously, pregnant mothers had to walk between 5-15km to get basic hospital treatment - resulting in many fatalities.

The clinic is now seeing between 80-120 patients and delivering 1-2 babies every single day. Thank you to all the support from our teams and especially the Royal Bank of Scotland staff who have donated over £80,000 in total to make this project happen.

First Hurstpierpoint College trip is a resounding success
This July also saw the start of what we hope will be a long-term partnership between Sussex-based Hurstpierpoint College and Chilingani Village in Malawi.

Hurst has committed to partner with the Chilingani community over the next 3-5 years to help them improve the educational and community infrastructure in their village. After raising over £10,000, this summer 16 students and 2 teachers from Hurst spent 3 weeks in Malawi, building an entire classroom for the Chilingani School.

The students had an amazing time living and working alongside the local community and it truly has been a life-changing experience for them. The people they met will become friends and this partnership looks set to go from strength to strength. For more details on their trip click here.

Georgiana Bruce Kirby school return to Tanzania
This summer we also worked again with the California-based GBK team - led by Marianne and Don Stoll. This project continues to support the Bacho community in northern Tanzania and we are incredibly proud to be working with Marianne and Don again, to help them take out friends and supporters to work with the local community. 

Marianne and Don have now set up their own charity, Karimu International, to help fundraise and support the Bacho community and have been incredibly successful in raising thousands of dollars to help provide classrooms, staff housing and latrines.

This summer the group also ran several highly successful educational sessions on malaria awareness, clean water and health and hygiene.

We look forward to working with them again next summer with what will be their 4th team to Tanzania.

January 2010 Newsletter

New Partners
The chill of winter certainly seems to be hitting us hard in the UK this year....which only makes us dream about Africa all the more!

This year Inspire are delighted to have formed a new partnership with Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex. Hurst approached us last year to discuss if they could set up a longer-term project partnering with a specific community in Africa and we were only too glad to help.

16 students from Hurst will be heading out on their first school partnership trip in July 2010, to work alongside the students and teachers of Chilingani School in southern Malawi.

Over the next 3-5 years Hurst plan to help Chilingani develop and expand their current school facilities, including their football pitch and play areas and potentially start a school farm.

We hope this summer sees the start of a beautiful cross-cultural friendship...We'll keep you posted!

September 2009 Newsletter

Inspire's Summer of Success
This summer's trips have all been a huge success. Each one of our groups working amazingly hard to achieve their project goals and we couldn't have asked for more determined, enthusiastic and motivated groups if we tried!

Special mention to the Georgiana Bruce Kirby School from California, who successfully completed yet another classroom at their project site in Tanzania.

This project/school partnership is now in it's second year and shows no sign of slowing down - plans are already being made for a third visit in 2010 and we can't wait!

The Pink Pandas Youth Group, from Cambridge also worked incredibly hard -fundraising an incredible amount which paid for the complete renovation of a library and resource centre for the orphan children of Shewula in Swaziland. Take a look at the before and after photos below if you don't believe us!

The group definitely deserved their safari break afterwards and even managed to successfully complete their Silver Duke of Edinburgh trek at the end of the trip - well done guys!

Library before the Pink Pandas arrived

Library after Pink Pandas completed the work

Last but not least a huge thank you to Keynsham Explorer Scout Unit who completed their building project in Malawi in record time - only 10 days to complete a 3-room guardian shelter, which will provide essential accommodation for family members who have to care for the sick and ill at the local community clinic.

The scouts didn't stop there though - they also renovated two classrooms at Milo school, built a kitchen for Mbinda primary school and had an amazing cultural exchange experience with the Pensulo Youth Group - african dumming, playing sports and fixing leaking roofs for some of the elderly ladies from the community.

Our partners in Malawi are already looking at setting up their own Scout Group, following the success of this summer's project -so we'll keep you posted!

Guardian Shelter before the Scouts arrive

  Guardian Shelter after the Scouts completed their work

August 2009 Newsletter

Mike successfully completes Kayak Expedition
Mike Lamb, one of Inspire's Directors has successuly completed his expedition up Lake Malawi. Mike set out in late July to follow in the footsteps of David Livingstone up the western shore of the lake from Chipoka to Nkhata Bay.

Despite bad weather, big swell and food poisoning, Mike (along with kayak partners Lisa Baum and Beth Chapman) successfully completed the 250km trip and was amazed by the warm welcome and hospitality he was met with.

At every stop, local villagers and children would come running to see the strange floating orange boats with their Muzungu passengers arrive on their beach. Without fail they offered food, advice and support to Mike and his kayak partners, proving once again that Malawi's claims of being the 'warm heart of Africa' are certainly true.

We hope that Mike's journey will inspire others to also start planning their own adventurous journeys and encourage anyone thinking of doing that to take a look at the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, who help to provide funding for that very purpose.

July 2009 Newsletter

Kayaking Livingstone’s Lake of Stars
Inspire Worldwide Technical Director Mike Lamb will be kayaking across Lake Malawi this summer and is seeking any intrepid teachers who may wish to join him. Read his updates below about this adventure which has kindly been sponsored by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT).

Update 1

The seed of the idea was planted two years ago when I helped manage a project building a school in the rural Blantyre district of Malawi. The day that we handed over the school to the children was one of the most amazing days of my life. To see so many children so happy was a moment I knew I would never forget and it was then I vowed to return.

However on my return this time I wanted to explore the country more and make use of my newly acquired teaching qualification. With a passion for adventure and an interest in early African exploration the planning for my latest expedition began.

The plan, to kayak 250 kilometres along Lake Malawi retracing the route taken by David Livingstone during his initial exploratory expeditions, was born in early 2008. To make use of my teachings skills and experience the expedition will also visit four sites where I will undertake environmental education workshops along the way.

In February 2009 the expedition gained the kind support of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the true preparation began. Before February was over I had studied a selection of Livingstone’s original maps in the Royal Geographical Society Map Room, started my kayaking training in my school swimming pool and gained the support of the PACE Project who will provide educational resources and the dream was slowly becoming a reality.

The beginning of March finds me gaining more kayaking experience in the school pool and starting this blog on the Inspire website. My expedition planning will be updated here regularly as will the trip when it commences in July of this year. If you would like to know more about this expedition or others like it please don’t hesitate to drop me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Update 2
April 2009 and the expedition planning is progressing well. Logistics on the Malawian side are becoming a bit trickier as Kayak Africa, one of the only local kayak safari operators, is unable to hire me a kayak or guide due to the length of my trip, however they have been very helpful with local advice. In the UK progress has been good. The WCMT have been continuing their broad based support by providing a set of business cards and introductory letters. I have checked out local kayak clubs and equipment to start fitting out the expedition. I also managed a mini photoshoot for an article in the Argus newspaper which involved a foray into the English Channel on what was fortunately a sunny April morning.

Training has had to take a back seat for the last week whilst I travelled to France to take part in the 33rd Paris Marathon. A combination of training and good luck saw me finish under my target time of four hours (just), leaving me now free to concentrate on this project!

Update 3
May already and only two months to the off! I have made forays into Ardingly Reservoir under the watchful eye of Mr Higgins (a fellow teacher at Hurstpierpoint College) who seems intent on making sure that I get cold and wet every week, but I guess that is part of the deal. I have several contacts sourcing kayaks in Malawi which is now looking hopeful. This term at school will see the school charity day supporting the Open Arms Orphanage in Blantyre and I plan to visit the centre when I am over in July.

Media wise I managed a mention in the TES and will be featuring on the One World Community Radio Show on Reverb, a local radio station, in the coming week.

Update 4
Only three weeks to go until the paddle begins and one week until I leave for Africa. The large majority of the arrangements have now been made for the expedition. The expedition has been joined by Environmental Education specialist Lisa Baum who has worked in Africa for several years. She brings education and Africa experience as well as much water based knowledge as a very experienced scuba diver. Also key to the expedition has been the sourcing of kayaks. After much research I have decided to go for inflatable kayaks and carry them with us. (A huge thanks to Keynsham Scouts for carrying them on their flight!). Unfortunately a reliable source of kayaks in Malawi could not be identified. Therefore the flexibility offered by inflatables that pack down to a minimal size and weight has outweighed the performance of a hard shell. The decision was aided by the very helpful Nick Pipe at Vortex in Wales who has been helpful and informative along the way. He has even offered to sponsor the expedition by providing some extra kit free and at trade prices. I would suggest other paddlers who are considering high quality inflatable kayaks contact him. Some other kit and advice was kindly provided by Fred Simkins at Hurstpierpoint College where I work.

Training has been progressing well with the kayaks coping well in the sea. I even doubled up with my 'good deed for the day' last week by towing a sizeable naked man to the beach after he had swum out too far from the nudist beach. Luckily he hung on to the back of the kayak and so I didn't have to hide my eyes! I even competed in the 'Paddle Round the Pier' event yesterday, helping by towing an inflatable Orca at one point!

Press coverage has progressed well and in fact Teachers TV News will be joining me to film some pre-expedition packing and preparation this Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far and I'll keep you updated as often as possible. Wish me luck!