Gain Valuable Work Experience in the Gap Year Industry

February 16th, 2009 in News by | No Comments

Oyster is a small and well regarded Gap year organisation sending volunteers and paid workers to 10 destinations worldwide. We are able to offer an internship for 6 months at our UK office. The last month is spent overseas on one of our projects (Emma, our present intern has opted for our Australian working program).

Ideally, the right candidate would begin straightaway. You will gain valuable experience in this popular sector in a role that will cover administration, destination management and making presentations to schools. The role is unpaid but mileage to work at 40p a mile is paid for up to 15 miles and a lunch allowance of £3 daily will be paid. Living costs are not covered.

The ideal candidate would be someone who has had a Gap year and who has a desire to work in the Gap year world. He or she would probably be a recent graduate who can multi task and has a car. You would need to be based close to our office which is between Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead in the South East of England and be prepared to travel to other parts of the UK for recruiting events.

Please email Roger with a CV and cover letter – roger@oysterworldwide.com

A new start for Kenya and Oyster volunteers

January 6th, 2009 in Kenya teaching and childcare by | No Comments

This time last year Kenyans were getting ready for change. The then Prime Minister Kibaki, had been in power for the last 40 years and had presided over the most stable political situation in Africa. However this was not to last through the December 2007 elections. The results were extremely close between Kibaki and his opponent Odinga, with each having a sudden increase in votes causing voters to cite corruption in both camps. This resulted in mass protests throughout the country lasting for weeks. 260,000 people were left displaced and many more fearing for their safety. Since then the global community has assisted Kenya with the formation of a power-sharing government which has helped the country back.

One of the main casualties of the protests was the Kenyan tourism industry. When the violence broke, the Foreign Office advised against Britons travelling to the country. Oyster had five volunteers due to go to Kenya at the beginning of January and at the last minute we had to cancel their trip. Luckily we were able to find them similar projects in Tanzania and all had a fantastic experience. (more…)

The Carbon Footprint Conundrum

January 6th, 2009 in News by | No Comments
Emma and her African friend

Emma and her African friend

Gap-year travellers face a bit of a dilemma:

- On the one hand, you’re doing a great thing, immersing yourself in a different culture and contributing to local life;

- On the other hand you’re flying long distances and clocking up a big carbon footprint.

Feeling guilty?

There’s no getting away from the fact that an Oyster placement will add to your carbon footprint. But we think we can justify it. Compare these two scenarios…..

(1) Brad Spender decides to take a two week holiday in Florida. He flies long haul with lots of luggage and books into his airconditioned hotel which is kept so cold that he shoves a jumper on. He hires a car (bigger than he needs, but what the hell) and drives to all the attractions. He has a great time on all the highspeed rides in DisneyWorld, loves the massive tidal waves at the water parks and doesn’t feel too bad about all the food waste and plastic packaging he comes across.

(2) Jules Gapper decides to spend 3 months teaching in Tanzania. She feels rather guilty about flying but uses Oyster’s carbon offset facility (£10 to Tree Aid). She reminds herself that she won’t be driving her car for 3 months too. She arrives in Tanzania with a small amount of luggage and gets stuck in to local life. She loves the way they live, eating local produce and using very little energy. She notices how the Tanzanians manage to recycle practically everything they use. After three months helping local children she comes back to the UK with different attitudes and ideas. She knows how to live simply. She cares about Africa and its future.

We think there’s a big difference between these two travellers. We’d love to know what you think and
whether you have any suggestions for the gap year industry.

This year’s Christmas card!

November 20th, 2008 in Romania teaching and childcare by | No Comments
So its that time of year again, the nights are drawing in, Christmas lights are being turned on by D list celebs all over the country and you are being urged to buy the best gift ever for your friends and family. Alongside all of that you know that Christmas is just around the corner by the hoards of the same old cards beginning to fill the shelves of every shop. But before you buy the usual Christmas card that everyone receives duplicates of, why not send your friends something a bit different.
Designed by children in Codlea, Romania

Designed by children in Codlea, Romania

After the success of our Christmas card last year; raising around £400 for Romanian Orphans, we have decided to try and beat last years record and help Codlea Children’s home even more. We already have a few keen sellers enlisted to raise money for Codlea but we need more. If you want to be able to send unique Christmas cards that you can guarantee no one else will send (Disabled children from the home designed the card themselves) or if you want to help enrich the lives of these children in Romania then please do get in touch with us and we can send you as many cards as you’d like, to sell to your friends and family. The cards are not too expensive either meaning that you should be able to sell quite a few. Roger is heading up the Christmas card project this year so you can get involved by calling him on 01892 770771 or by emailing on roger@oysterworldwide.com. We would love your help and you really would be making a difference to those orphans lives. (more…)

Newsletter Ideas…

November 17th, 2008 in News by | No Comments

It is that time of the year again when we are busy in the office collating all of the fantastic quotes and stories that our returned participants have sent us about their time away. Our next quarterly Newsletter is due to be published before Christmas and I want to take this opportunity to invite any people that are away or have been away with us to send in to us any stories that you are bound to have from your time abroad.

Tell us something about where you were living or give a ‘Day in the life of…’ account. Maybe you feel strongly about your Gap Year and would like to write about the benefits of taking a Gap Year – let your imagination run wild!

Stories can be emailed direct to emailus@oysterworldwide.com. (more…)

Australia Outback get paid, see real Australia

November 13th, 2008 in Paid work Oz Outback by | No Comments

Australia has been the most popular Gap year destination for years – around a third of Gappers are reckoned to spend some of their Gap year there. However few spend long away from the cities to see the great Outback that covers most of Australia and is key to the Australian economy and culture too.

I was lucky enough to visit Australia in October to launch Australia as a destination for us. I am delighted to say that we now offer a program that guarantees well paid work in the Outback – around £700 pcm with free food and accommodation for agricultural or hospitality work. Participants get an excellent 9 day induction and training course – this one of the reasons that Australian employers are so willing to offer work. (more…)

Oyster Pre Departure Course 29/30 Oct 2008

November 7th, 2008 in News by | No Comments

Last week we ran our biggest briefing course of the year. In total we had 31 volunteers all off to a variety of countries to work on a variety of projects in January.

We had people set to go to Nepal, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia for between 3 and 6 months. I am extremely jealous and reminds me of my Pre Departure Course back in 2003 when I was nervously getting ready to head to Tanzania!

The two days are always great fun, go very quickly and are pretty tiring for all involved (especially those that had travelled to us from afar!)

For those readers that attended the course: I would like to extend a thank you to all of you that worked hard on giving some great talks about the various aspects of your countries and also for participating so well in all of the sessions.

If you are considering taking a Gap Year, then please do consider going with an organisation that briefs you thoroughly before departure. Personally, I think it is so important to be fully prepared and understand the health, safety and cultural issues relevant to the country you are travelling to.

Finally a big thanks to Leah and Lucy – our returned volunteer helpers and also Dick Glynne Jones.

Tanzania volunteers raising money for Sekei School

October 10th, 2008 in Tanzania teaching and childcare by | No Comments

Ros Hatfield who went to Tanzania with Oyster last year has done a fantastic job raising money for Sekei Primary school where she was a volunteer teacher. Ros organised a music concert which was a huge success and raised over £1,000. That, together with £1,000 that our Tanzanian representative Madeline raised with her friends and family was enough to buy Sekei some much needed equipment and build toilets for the children providing a more hygienic environment for the 2,000 plus pupils.

For more information about our projects in Tanzania click here.

Jenny Cass (Whistler 2007) has now finished her first year at Uni, What does her Gap Year mean to her now?

October 10th, 2008 in News, Paid work Canada by | No Comments

During my A levels the thought of a Gap Year never even entered my mind, UCAS forms and University visiting seemed the thing to be doing, so that’s what I did, however unenthusiastic I was about it! I knew I wasn’t ready for Uni but needed some inspiration so I did some research and found Oyster. Having never really done much traveling every placement appealed to me and the fact that they are a relatively small company made me feel secure and at ease with this new prospect of living half way around the world…something a couple of weeks before I didn’t believe I could do. (more…)

Romania volunteer, Laura Marzaroli, returned this summer with a specific project in mind…

October 10th, 2008 in Romania teaching and childcare by | No Comments

In July 2007, I boarded the plane to Romania without any idea of how much I would grow to love it. My three month stay passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to fly back to England. After working at a hospital and two family homes, coming back to my old job was a real shock and it wasn’t long before I was planning another visit to Romania. I missed being welcomed at the door by the children from the hospital, thinking of games to play and things to make for the children at the family homes. I missed their smiles and their willingness to be involved in everything. It seemed the most natural thing to return…

This time, I wanted to do a project as I knew the children and more of what to expect when I arrived. In the summer, I had worked at Dale family home; a home for older boys with mental disabilities. They had spent a lot of time in the garden which was overgrown, very dull and contained lots of chairs,
wheelchairs, pieces of wood and metal. I decided to make the garden my project.

As I only had one week it was straight to work the morning after I arrived. I spent the morning with the boys and in the afternoon, I went to buy all of the paints. All day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I worked in the garden, painting the fence blue, green and yellow. When the carers had a spare ten minutes, they would join me and bit by bit, the garden became a much brighter, happier place to be. (more…)

Page 34 of 38« First...3233343536...Last »
Bookmark or follow with: