Mission Statement

1. To actively promote sustainable development via education both at a grassroots level as well as at an international level. This will be achieved through eco / educational tourism projects
2. To seek out and conserve the most threatened habitats on this planet, otherwise know as the Global Eden Project.
3. To provide Field Scholarships for host country nationals to attend a GVI expedition on every phase.

Thanks:

A huge thank you must go to all those who kindly donated money through the Global Vision Interntational - Charitable Trust to aid with regeneration work in Guatemala following the devastation caused by Hurricane Stan. So far over $10,000 have been raised, which have been instrumental in the rebuilding of the destroyed villages seen here.

National Scholarship Programme:

Some of you will have already seen this in action being lucky enough to volunteer with some incredible people such as Baruch, seen here in Mexico. Baruch's experiences perfectly outline the goals of this programme. He joined as a volunteer through the NSP and went on to become an intern then staff for a year on GVI's Mahahual project. He remains in touch with GVI and is now studying for a Masters degree with GVI's partner the University of Quintana Roo. Please help the GVI-CT to continue to provide these important places, which has halped most participants find a jobs.

WHAT'S NEW

Reunions:

Why not organise a re-union, whilst further helping some of your favourite projects. What better way to organise an ex GVI re-union than to further aid the charities you worked for in the field by completing a Charity Challenge? The GVI-CT can help facilitate this in many of our project countries, with initial trips already planned to Guatemala , Nepal and Tanzania. Register for one of those or for more information please contact Andy at: info@gvi.org.uk or click here

Justgiving.com

The GVI-CT is in the process of registering with www.justgiving.com, once this is completed it will be easier for you to organise donations, for the charity to claim gift aid and if you are a higher rate tax payer for you to claim the tax back from your donation.

The website can be used to make one off or regular donations and can also be used to help you with fundraising for your Charity Challenge or Reunion .

Charity Challenges:

Not got many holidays this year?
Want to do something useful?

This year we are planning three trips to raise money for some of our local partners and charities. These are an exciting mix of adventure and challenge along with the opportunity to raise money for and visit some of the worthwhile projects you have been working with. For more information see:

Everest Base Camp Trek : Nepal in aid of GVI-CT click here
Kilimanjaro Summit Trek: Tanzania in aid of Jane Goodall Institute click here
Guatemala to Honduras Cycle Ride: Guatemala in aid of the Phoenix Centre, with Dom Williams. click here

CHALLENGERS' TALES

Paul Jones takes the first Charity Challenge on his way to visit the New GVI Kenya Expedition. By making it to the top, Paul becomes GVI's first trekker to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro setting the challenge.

Last month, Paul was the highest living thing in Africa , standing on the summit of the World's tallest freestanding mountain. Paul was accompanied to the top by his individual summit guide Edoard who was very helpful with the odd well timed kick and a great deal of motivation.

It's probably best to let Paul's words speak for themselves.

“From meeting them at the hotel to saying goodbye a week later, the team of guides were amazing - their professionalism and knowledge shone through and made the whole trip unforgettable. In our small group we had a huge range of fitness and experience, but we each got the support we needed to complete the climb safely. The first couple of days seemed easy enough, but as you gain altitude the climbs become harder and harder - you start wondering why you agreed to tackle the mountain in the first place!”

“Despite the highly changeable weather and freezing temperatures we always had a warm, dry place to sleep and great food to eat, highly prized commodities when you're about to make the final assault on the summit - a six-hour climb through the night on frozen scree, which becomes extremely difficult to walk on once the sun rises and the ice starts to melt. Edoard (my summit guide) did an amazing job to get me to Uhuru Peak - for much of the climb from Barafu Camp to Stella Point I was convinced that I wouldn't make it, but his patience, confidence and support helped me. I lost count of the number of times I stopped for a rest but he knew exactly when to drive me onwards and when to let me take a minute to get my breath. The air is so thin that even a few steps can feel like a marathon, so pole pole (slowly slowly) is your motto!”

“It seemed to take an eternity but we finally got to the ridge just as the first morning light shone past Mawenzi Peak , itself almost 5,000m high. A lot of people stop there and consider the mountain tamed, but once we'd got that far there was no way I was going to stop until I'd stood at the very top, and thanks to the careful pace we'd set I had enough energy to cover the last few hundred metres in time to watch sunrise from the roof of Africa.”