As a result of the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 (Conronavirus) outbreak, Project Trust have taken the difficult but necessary decision to pause our overseas programme.
Our passion for empowering young people to become active global citizens, however, remains unchanged. And that is why we remain fully committed to continuing to offer young people up to the age of 25 the opportunity to experience a Project Trust overseas adventure – at the right time and when it is safe to do so.
The travel restrictions in place and the uncertainty due to the impact of Coronavirus is affecting our work. That is why, along with almost every other charity like us, a significant proportion of our workforce has been furloughed under the UK Government’s job retention scheme (JRS). A core team are continuing our daily operations as we continue our work and prepare Project Trust for the journey ahead.
Online Information Sessions
A short Online School Talk is now available and we’re keen any school or groups for young people wishing to receive the full version online gets in touch to discuss this in more detail with a tailored online session. We look forward to continuing to work together to empower young people to achieve a more global vision, based on well-informed understanding and experience.
Isle of Coll Courses
In line with UK Government advice, we have also postponed our Selection Courses for the time being. Anyone interested in attending will find out new course dates as soon as we have them available – as long as you have registered your interest, or applied to do Project Trust, or requested a Selection Course place be reserved for you. For those who have, we will be in touch as soon as we have news to share.
For our Fundraising Volunteers, we continue to monitor the situation both globally and closer to home and will let you know as soon as we have further news to share.
Notifications
If you are ready for a sustainable life-enhancing Project Trust experience, we look forward to seeing you here on the Isle of Coll as soon as is practically possible. You can initiate the application process now if you have not already done so:
• Apply Now
We are aiming to provide interesting stories and useful learning from across our Project Trust Community very soon. Make sure you follow Project Trust on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
And look out in future for other digital opportunities to enhance and further your Project Trust journey!
The Project Trust Team
Related links:
• Online Information Sessions
Updated: 13 April 2020
Project Trust Volunteers Arrive Home
Ingrid Emerson MBE, Chief Executive, shares an update following Project Trust’s decision to repatriate all overseas volunteers due to the global disruption caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus):
The Roatán Boys, Tom and Alex, land safely in the UK following their return from Honduras
I am delighted to announce that all Project Trust Volunteers in our last two remaining countries, Honduras and Chile, have now landed safely back in the UK – bringing to a successful conclusion our large-scale global repatriations.
To return more than 200 Volunteers in such a short time frame under such challenging circumstances is incredible. Never before have I been so proud of the team here at Project Trust who remained focused on this unprecedented challenge whilst never once losing their compassion for everything our Volunteers were going through.
I would also like to pay tribute to all those who helped us with this monumental undertaking and offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone for their advice and guidance during some of the most challenging of times. I want to acknowledge the critical role of our Board, our partners, Overseas Representatives on the ground, and the Scottish, UK, and Honduran Governments, as well as the many other governments and agencies we worked with to make this happen.
To our host communities we are indebted to you for your kindness and support. I am so sorry our Volunteers returned home halfway through their 12-month stay. We look forward to returning as soon as practically possible to continue our amazing work together.
Most of all I want to thank all our Volunteers, their families, and our supporters for their understanding and co-operation. The messages and gestures of support and kindness from them, and indeed from across our Project Trust Community, inspire us every day.
The Next Generation
Serena and Alina after landing safely back in the UKMy task now, even greater than the repatriation of over 200 young people from some pretty remote locations around the globe, is to safeguard the future of this incredible charity so that we can continue to inspire the next generation of young people.
The costs of repatriation and some of the extraordinary lengths to which we went to secure the safe return of our young people, combined with uncertainty due to the impact of Coronavirus, will undoubtedly have an impact on our work and significantly threaten our future.
That is why I am launching a fundraising appeal to safeguard and help continue to keep our charity secure, enabling us to build on Project Trust’s solid foundations.
Future generations must continue to have the opportunity to benefit from the unique experiences Project Trust offers. There is no doubt that more than ever before the world needs young people with a more global vision, based on well-informed understanding and experience.
I do understand that so many of us are experiencing uncertainty during these difficult times. However, if Project Trust is able to continue to inspire the next generation of young people to fight for social justice and equality then the world will be a better place.
Please look out for more news of this special fundraising appeal.
Project Trust looks forward to the future, with your continued support.
Thank you
Ingrid
Updated: 1 April 2020
Safety is our priority at Project Trust and, in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) international public health emergency, we are repatriating all our Volunteers.
The majority are already home and we are working extremely hard to bring back the remaining Volunteers as quickly as possible
We have been in regular contact with the parents and guardians of our Volunteers, and we are working tirelessly, together with our network of international contacts, in order to ensure the safe return of all Volunteers.
We will continue to keep parents and guardians updated as we have further news.
Ingrid Emerson
Chief Executive, Project Trust
Updated: 5.45 pm, 23 March 2020
Project Trust has made the extremely difficult decision to initiate repatriation of Volunteers from ALL our country programmes. The global outbreak of COVID-19 seriously impacts all of the countries in which we operate, which will only intensify in the coming weeks and months. The remaining Project Trust countries will be evacuated in a phased approach according to our assessment of priorities. Volunteer country groups will be contacted directly regarding the specific plans for their country in the coming days.
We are working extremely hard to complete this process as smoothly and as quickly as possible in the context of unprecedented global disruption. Project Trust would like to extend its huge appreciation to our Volunteers, their families, and to our supporters for your continued understanding and cooperation. We are currently still planning to run our 2020/21 overseas programme, however this remains under constant review. We will provide further updates as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about this please contact our Head Office on 01879 230444.
Ingrid Emerson
Chief Executive, Project Trust
Updated: 4.45 pm, 17 March 2020
Project Trust is closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on Project Trust Volunteers around the world. For the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak please visit the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UK government websites.
In January 2020 Project Trust made the difficult decision to repatriate of all our Volunteers from China, in advance of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advising against travel to the country. While there are currently no COVID-19 related FCO travel restrictions to other Project Trust countries we are actively considering the circumstances in each country, in consultation with our Overseas Representatives, and further actions required to safeguard Volunteers in those countries. We will facilitate repatriation of any Volunteer wishing to return home voluntarily.
All our Volunteers are covered by comprehensive travel medical insurance and have access to 24-hour emergency medical support through CEGA. Project Trust also maintains two 24-hour emergency lines to assist Volunteers. Before departure overseas our Volunteers are advised to sign up to FCO travel alerts for their host country and use the CHUBB TravelSmart app, which provides live safety and security alerts for their location. Following the COVID-19 outbreak all Volunteers are also advised to follow WHO advice regarding protection against COVID-19.
We continue to monitor this rapidly developing outbreak and will take further action as required.
Updated: 4.30 pm, 13 March 2020
