Latest News

A Ugandan Feast

As our next group heads to Uganda, Kate Osborne reminisces about her experience on AV last year....... "One of my and Abblie's absolute favourite nights in Uganda was spent eating dinner with our tea...

The AV Foundation Carol Service – Tickets on sale now!

You are invited to join us on Tuesday 20 December 2011 for an evening of Christmas Carols, mince pies and wine at the AV Foundation Carol Service The event promises to be a fantastic reunion...

’The Hare and the Tortoise’ – reading lessons in Tanzania with Rachel

Teaching these kids is like nothing else. Of course, when people ask you at home “ohh, are they really desperate to learn? I bet they must be so well behaved”, you think NO! Maybe slightly...

Endless cups of coffee and a baking bonanza!

Mr and Mrs Hobin, parents of Helen who is currently volunteering with AV in Kenya, have been baking up a storm, selling endless cups of coffee and raffle tickets, and have even named a cuddly dog in...

Unexpected Gap Year – Don’t Panic!

It's A-Level results day, for many big celebrations but for others it's a day of uncertainty as things haven't quite gone to plan. DON'T PANIC...they say every cloud has a silver linin...

The Big Gap Year Show!

Want to chat to us in person about your gap year? Our office door is always open but we're also excited to say that for those of you in or near to London we will be at 'The Big Gap Year Show&q...

Picnic in the Park for Uttam – Can You Help

A slightly different news story today...For anyone who's been to the Lepchas you will know that it is a pretty unique place and leaves a lasting impression. Talking to a Lepcha AV you realise th...

Thank you Lepcha AVs

A message to all our Lepcha AV volunteers.....Well done and thank you to each and every one of you who have volunteered with the Lepcha people...... ...

Half term news from the Kenya Teaching and Sports Coaching group

It's two months into the Kenya Teaching & Sports Coaching project and we have the latest photos from the volunteers in their schools. It looks like they have settled in really well, and before...

Olerai gets a secondary school!

Our Kenya Community group have been busy finishing off the secondary school at Olerai - it looks amazing! The local children can now continue their education closer to home - previously they would hav...

Inspire Malawi

Since volunteering with AV in 2003 Michelle Rowe, has spent her time leading groups of volunteers to the Ntcheu and Dedza regions of rural Malawi. Her non-profit organisation ‘Inspire Malawi'...

Dave Cornthwaite – Expedition 1000

Inspiring adventures...by an inspired AV! - British adventurer Dave Cornthwaite's globetrotting ideals began during a gap year with Africa & Asia Venture in East Africa. It was his first in ...

Uganda – 6 weeks in.....

The Uganda Teaching and Sports Coaching AVs have reached the half way point and we went to visit them..... &nb...

Singing, dancing and Holi Festival

Our Darjeeling and Lepcha AVs have had a very very busy last two weeks - they have been part of the Lepcha Programme where the Lepcha AVs all performed - dancing and singing in traditional Lepcha styl...

AV Graduate Volunteer Projects Work Experience with Difference

Where are you heading after University? - For those amongst you with potentially no job on the horizon and an unclear idea about the next step, it may help to think laterally and gain work experience ...

A Lepcha Adventure – The latest news

The AVs volunteering in India have been busy preparing for the Lepcha singing and dancing Competition this weekend. They have put in lots of practice so we wish you all good luck! Here are the latest ...

Welcome to Mexico

Our Mexico Teaching AVs were given a warm welcome in Valle de Bravo - we look forward to an update when they have settled in..... ...

The end of term in Thailand

As our Thailand Teaching AVs come to the end of their term, Bex & Hannah are enjoying the last few lessons at their school. ...

India AVs make the local press

AVs who have recently arrived in Siliguri, India have already hit the press! With bandhs in Kalimpong our AVs have been completing their induction course in Siliguri before they move up into the hills...

South Africa AVs are welcomed by rain and Vetkoek!

Looks like the South Africa AVs are settling in well at Philipollis. First there was rain (lots of it!) and then there was Vetkoek (a traditional Afrikaans pastry).Here are the latest photos of their ...

Kiswahili, Miss Winks and a birthday – a great introduction to Uganda

The Uganda AVs had a great start to their project. After flying into Entebbe they were whisked off to the Adrift base in Jinjafor the start of their induction course. They were joined by Monique and S...

Aachulay – AVs in India

Waiting very patiently and having lots of fun in the meantime our AVs are spending some time in Siliguri before heading up into the hills and to the Lepcha villages after the bandh (strike) finishes. ...

Jambo Jambo

Jambo! Our Kenya Community AVs are getting stuck into their orientation course getting to know Kenya andeach other. They will shortly divide into three groups and spend 4 weeks at three different loca...

Latest news from Kenya...

Latest news from the front - the January Kenya group have completed their orientation course and won the football match against Fish Eagle! &nb...

Helping Doris

We, four girls from sheltered backgrounds, arrived at Ilkidinga nervous and apprehensive about the apparent lack of proper toilet. However our woes quickly disappeared with the smile of a gorgeous l...

Erica Buist AV Alumna, Ex fraidy cat

Why would a Slough-dwelling state school kid, grasping a hard-earned acceptance letter from Durham University, suddenly decide to go to Africa instead? Is it in case those friendly bombs did finally...

My Gap Year enhanced my CV

Helen Taylor is now a Sub lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Here she recounts how her gap year experience enabled her to demonstrate that she had the skills that the Navy look for in their offic...

A real opportunity for grads

Parties over, pot noodle supplies diminished, dissertation burnt - just some of the indicators that University life has finished and the big bad world awaits. So, when I graduated in June 2009, I ...

Nepali cooking with Rachel Upton

Rachel Upton has just got back from 4 months in Northern India with the very special Lepcha community. As well as teaching in the local primary school and Lepcha Night school, Rachel helped her ho...

St Cleer for Tanzania – A RESULT!

We have an update from Tanzania AV Rosie Brigham.DRUMROLL.........Rosie's fundraising event, St Cleer for Tanzania, raised a staggering £1000!! From all of us here at AV we would like to say...

Bath 2 London Stand Up Paddle Day 2

Well it's Day 2 of Dave Cornthwaite's and Sarah Outen's Bath 2 London Stand Up Paddle (a total of 150 miles with 114 portages to manoeuvre) so we headed down to the Wharf in Devizes to see...

Life Academy

Old AV Charles Coldman is taking part in a Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 initiative called Life Academy. It is a competition targeting 18-25 year olds who have ideas for helping the community, raisin...

Bath 2 London Stand Up Paddle

Between June 2nd and June 8th 2010 British Adventurers Dave Cornthwaite and Sarah Outen will take to the water and Stand Up Paddle between Bath and London, a distance of 150 miles. The two are not...

Challenge Rupert

After spending four months volunteering in rural Kenya with AV, which included one month working with a community in the Kasigau region, alongside Charles Coldman of the charity African Promise - ...

Dedza Talent Trophy

George Cooke is currently volunteering in Malawi at Katsekaminga Secondary School, and along with some fellow AV volunteers, have found time to organise a football tournament - The Dedza Talent Tr...

Indian Inspiration

Chris, who is currenlty volunteering in India, is improving his Indian culinary skills to continue with his delicious fundraising dinner parties when he returns to the UK. He writes: Having do...

School reaches target to help children in Kenya

The latest news from AV Foundation is a fantastic donation from the New School at West Heath in Sevenoaks. KENT NEWS: Pupils at a special school in west Kent have reached their target of raising mor...

Holi Nepal!

Hari Deakin is currently volunteering at Mahendra Jyoti High School in rural Nepal with 14 other Africa & Asia Venture volunteers. Right from the start Hari has had a fantastic cultural adventure ...

What would you swap

Today is the first day of Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February - 7 March) and here in the UK office we have decided to swap our tea, coffee and bananas for the fair trade equivalent. We are also looking a...

Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Tiger started yesterday on February 14 with lots of celebrations across the world.With dancing dragons, fireworks, and colourful parades, the Chinese definitely...

Chu Rum Faat – offerings and prayers to the Himalayas.

Ever heard of Chu Ram Faat? I doubt many of you have, with the exception those who have volunteered with AV in the Lepcha community. The Lepchas are an extraordinary community who live in the foothill...

A Night of Love in the Barn!

AV Volunteer Becca Watts, who is due to volunteer with AV from May 2010 in Uganda, has been a busy little fundraising bee! A few weeks ago Becca organised a 'restaurant in our living room' eve...

Emi Green’s donation

With Dave Cornthwaite's return to the UK after his gruelling paddle down the Murray River in Australia, he is on a mission to continue to help raise funds for the AV Foundation. His partner Emi Gr...

African Promise awarded Optimist Charity Award

Two years on from being founded by 2003 Kenya Community & Conservation AV Charles Coldman, his charity, African Promise, has been announced as one of the five winners of the Optimist Charity Award...

AV celebrates their 5000th volunteer!

AV is smiling today after celebrating the departure of their 5000th volunteer. Anna Walker and Peter Bell waved goodbye to the Mexico group yesterday morning at London Heathrow, with the 500...

Gap Years vital, especially for the mollycoddled!

Written by Vicky Tuck - Principal of Cheltenham Ladies College.Although the recession has affected the numbers opting for this rite of passage, enthusiasm for taking a year out from studies to see the...

2476km done!

From 6 October to 19 December 2009, AV Dave Cornthwaite paddled (and walked) the gruelling 2476km of the Murray River, Australia's largest river, from source to sea. Congratulations...

AV Alumni News...

Congratulations to Mexico AV Kathryn Raw...now Mrs Sales!! The wedding played host to a mini AV reunion as 5 of the 2005 Mexico girlies were in attendance + 1 Kenya AV, who were all appropriately...

A little help from my friends

In July 2009, eight AV volunteers headed to Uganda for their 5 week Short Venture and little did they know that their time in Africa would have such an impact on one young Ugandan.Izzy Lever, along wi...

AV Wedding!!

A 2009 wedding of 2002 AV volunteers! A few weeks ago we announced the wedding of 2002 Kenya Community & Conservation AVs Alex Elviss and Simone Alves and we now we can show you the pictures...

Becky’s fundraising mission.....

Becky Mellor is on a fundraising mission for her teaching project in Uganda from February 2010. Here's what she has been up to....."I organised a band fundraising night at a local village hal...

Birthday in the Bush!

Rachel Fernandez, currently volunteering in Kenya with AV, celebrated her Birthday as never before - in the African Bush! With the other AV volunteers at Soysambu Conservancy, Rachel enjoyed her 19th ...

Mission Kenya 2010

Chris Perkiss is spending the first part of his graduate gap year raising funds to get to Kenya and volunteer on the Environment & Community project with AV. Here he tells his story....."It h...

17 ways to make your gap year happen!

Victoria plans to volunteer in Tanzania with AV from January 2010 and is working her little socks off to raise the funds to get there.Since finishing School in the Summer she has worked a total of 17 ...

Busesa Poem by Anna Dadswell

When we first came to BusesaWe didn't know what to expectWe were ready for a great adventureIt turned out to be perfect Uganda is a beautiful countryOf lakes and big green treesWith noisy bir...

Charlotte and Ollie’s gap year fundraising efforts

Charlotte & Ollie are volunteering with AV in Kenya early next year on the Gap Year Environment & Community project. Like most of our volunteers, they plan to raise the money themselves a...

Volunteers make a difference in India

If you didn't see the Times newspaper at the weekend, you will have missed Lang Seong Tamsang's comments in response to their recent article 'Mind the Gap Year'. Lang Seong Tamsang is ...

Help for Dennis

Becky Benton has literally just stepped off the plane from Africa only to continue helping her local community in Uganda, where she volunteered for 4 months at Busesa Primary School. During ...

African Promise Update from Charles Coldman

This time five years ago Charles Coldman (Kenya, Feb-May 2003) had just come to the end of his four month placement as an AV volunteer based in the isolated rural community of Kasigau, Kenya. Fas...

How many miles to Nairobi

Ellie Wagstaff kicked off her fundraising efforts for her Kenya Environment & Community volunteering project at a local Church coffee morning last weekend. After deciding a cake stand wouldn't...

Do you want your world to be a better place

It takes YOU... to be the difference you want to see!And in the words of Jack Johnson ......." I Would turn on the TV but it's so embarrassingTo see all the other people I don't know...

AV Foundation reaches the World Wide Web

Here at AV we are very pleased to announce that the AV Foundation has launched its website, http://www.avfoundation.org/. A vital element for all that AV stands for, is the AV charitable arm - The AV ...

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