School and Youth Groups

Inspire’s community projects are for schools, youth groups, scout/guide units and university students. 

What do Inspire offer?

Our core aim is to offer organisations the opportunity to develop an on-going link with one of our partner charities. Your school/group will be 'matched' with a specific school/community in Africa who you can develop links with over several years - a core part of which will be taking part in a trip to your partner charity to work alongside them on a community-requested project.

What will we do?

Once we have 'matched' you with one of our partner charities your group will be allocated a specific project by the charity which you are asked to fundraise for. The donation amount requested directly relates to the charity's cost needs for that specific project.

The money raised is used to complete this project during the team’s time overseas and covers all material costs, local labour and staff time to get the project completed. Teams are told their project at the beginning of the trip process, so they can fundraise specifically for this project.

All our trips focus on a community-based volunteer project, which has been requested by the charity partners we work with overseas. Our projects vary from renovation of classrooms, to water tanks to construction of school farms. Although the core focus is the community project, we can easily add-on some adventure activities or a safari on your request.

What makes Inspire different?

Firstly, Inspire do not run 'fit-all' trips. We also do not insist that you join with other groups to make up numbers. Every single trip is tailor-made to your needs and that of our local communities. We can easily add on a safari or trek at the end - but our specialism is working with you and our partner charities to create a trip which meets everyone's expectations and has a truly positive impact. 

Secondly, we are not just another standard expedition provider, we provide specific opportunities for organisations to link with charities in the developing world - a core part of which is taking part in a hands-on community project working alongside your partner charity, which we will manage. All our projects are supported year-round by professional charities or small-scale community groups in the countries where the project is based. 

Lastly, we do not go looking for new projects every year. Instead we work with long-term charitable partners who we know and trust and who will maintain and manage any projects our volunteer groups complete. All our projects are requested and maintained by the community and are part of long-term plans which our partner charities monitor and maintain.

For more about what makes us different click here

What if we already have our own charity link partners?

Inspire prefer to run community projects to our chosen partner sites as we can manage and maintain the projects and ensure a high-quality outcome. However, if you already have an established link with a charity or link school overseas, then we can offer a bespoke service where Inspire would set-up and manage a trip to your specific partner charity instead. We can also provide a 'mentoring service' to staff/group leaders providing support and advice to help you run your own trip. For more information on these options contact:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

What support do you offer teachers/group leaders?

Working with Inspire offers you a hassle-free experience. We take care of all logistics, health and safety, risk assessments, crisis management, preparation and management of the trip. We will work with your EVC and/or LEA to ensure you have satisfied all the necessary criteria to run a safe and effective trip.

We include two teacher/group leader places for each group of over ten participants, in addition to providing two CRB-checked Inspire Leaders to run the trip on the ground.

Inspire also provides training to each teacher/group leader taking part in the trip, to ensure you understand and feel comfortable with the trip and our safety policies. We will help you to save time and manage the perfect trip for your school and your pupils.

Click here to read some feedback from past groups.

“Dear Beth, There is no doubt in my mind that this was a great trip in all sorts of ways. The effect on our pupils was life changing. They returned undoubtedly wiser and, key, better people.  Thank you.”

Tim Manly, Headteacher, Hurstpierpoint College, Malawi 2010 & 2011

Our Educational Trip Support Programme

We want to ensure that each team arrives in-country fully prepared for what to expect and with a wealth of knowledge on the background of the country, local customs and people they are visiting to ensure they have nothing but a positive impact on their host communities.

We achieve this by providing a comprehensive educational support programme along every step of the way.

Pre-departure
We run two pre-departure training sessions for school/youth teams. Both sessions are run at the school/centre to fit in with your current timetable.

The first session enables team members to gain a greater understand of the issues surrounding poverty and development in the country where they are going to be working, as well as developing teamwork and leadership skills and taking part in an in-depth fundraising session to help the team develop ideas for raising the trip costs.

The second session covers cultural awareness, responsible travel, travel safety and preparation for the trip ahead.

During the trip
When the group take part in their project overseas our Leaders help them to apply their learning - running fun sessions in the evening to review what they have learnt each day. The trip itself provides a clear opportunity for the team to witness first hand what their hard work and fundraising has achieved.

On Your Return

We want each of our groups to take as much from the experience as possible. For this reason we offer a debrief session with the group when they return to the UK to discuss highs and lows, look at lessons learned and help the group decide what they can take forward from their experience. 

“Humbling, inspiring and unforgettable.”
Anna Cooke, Tanzania 2011

Safety

We have been independently audited by the Young Explorers Trust on our safety practices and can now claim Corporate Conformity to BS: 8848.  The safety of our groups is an absolute priority. You can find out more about BS:8848 and what it covers by clicking here.

We employ two professional, trained and experienced Leaders to manage the trip on the ground. Our Leaders are based with the group 24 hours a day.

Inspire have a comprehensive Safety Management System, available to view on request. We carry our detailed generic and site-specific threat and risk assessments which are continually updated, provide 24 hour support to all groups, have an on-call medical advisor and carry out thorough checks on all our third-party suppliers.

For more details on our safety policies click here.

Team Size

Teams can be any size ranging from 8 to 50 members, although we prefer to keep group sizes to 14/15 to minimise our impact on the local communities. 

What is included:

• 'Matching Service' for your school/organisation to one of our charity partners and allocation of a specific project for your group
• Training and support for all staff members accompanying the trip
• Educational Trip Support Programme
  (Session 1  -  Poverty & Development, Fundraising, Teamwork & Leadership)
  (Session 2 - Cultural Awareness, Responsible Travel, Travel Safety, Pre-Departure Preparations)
  (Session 3 - Post-trip debrief)
• Two staff places included for groups of over ten participants

• Overseas trip (inclusive of all accommodation, food, any selected activities, local fees, local guides, in-country transport, 24 hour vehicle support, two professional Inspire Leaders, 24 hour emergency support in the UK whilst trip is overseas)
• Trip Report including feedback from all participants

What is excluded:

• Flights (to allow you to find the best possible flight options for your groups, we do not include flight costs within our costs, however, we can advise and assist where necessary)
  
  
• Personal Travel & Medical Insurance (this can easily be included if requested at a cost of £25 per team member)
  
  
• Visas (if required)
  
  
• Personal Vaccinations
  
  
• Spending Money (on average team members should only need £50)

Examples of Projects

Projects vary according to group and communities needs but can include the following:

- Building a sand dam in Kenya
- Renovating a classroom in Swaziland

- Building a health clinic in Malawi

- Constructing a school farm in Tanzania
- Building a water tank in Uganda

Extra Activities

Add-on activities including safaris, trekking and other adventure activities can also be arranged.

It is also possible for Inspire to arrange for sections of the trip to be used towards the CAS section of the International Baccalaureate.

Costs

Costs for our trips vary depending on your needs, size of group and length of stay. On average a 2 week trip for a team of 14 including a 2 day safari costs around £1,250 p/p + flights. For more details on costs click here.

To discuss your needs and ideas, please e-mail Beth on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call us on 01273 833 971.