Quest Overseas - Gap Year Travel

Well this seems to be one of the most terrifying Christmas experiences a child could possibly have - with a reindeer that size so close to me, I'd be blocking up the chimney! We have been assured however that the kids in Villa Maria loved this day (they are obviously tougher than I was...), and it was thanks to donations from Watson Wyatt and the charity La Vida which allowed them to put this event on.

So thanks to everyone as always, from all the kids and parents from the Quest school in Villa Maria.

Funds raised by the Watson Wyatt fundraising event are starting to be spent in Villa Maria. The first step was to improve the facilities of the local school, where children who otherwise would not be able to go to school receive free education. The video above is of the project director, Alejandro, installing TVs into some of the classrooms - very high tech!

The Watson Wyatt Salsa night in aid of Villa Maria was a huge success raising a total of £3,379 - that's enough to build 6 houses! Sarah and I headed up to London for the event where we meet Stav, Andrew and the whole team.

This evening promises to be a night of fundraising fun as The Abbey in London is transformed into a South America Salsa venue for one night only to raise funds for the Villa Maria project, Peru.

As well as dance lessons, and buffet food there is going to be a spectacular raffle with some brilliant prizes including a iPod, Champagne and much much more.

About 12 months ago, Quest Overseas was contacted by Katie's mother, interested in supporting the project Katie worked on with Quest in Peru back in 2000. Since then, the response from her friends, family and work colleagues has been just incredible, with all manner of crazy activities bringing in some much needed suport.

In December, friends ran across the Surrey countryside on the Grim Challenge and raised around £3,000. Then in May, a salsa night organised by her parents brought in over £6000! More recently, it has been the turn of her old workplace to get involved. After a visit to the project in Peru by Andrew Long, he and his colleagues have been pushing forward some wonderful fundraising initiatives, including a recent bake sale which brought in around £3500 - that is a lot of cakes!

We're also delighted to hear there is a Peruvian themed event in the horizon so things haven't ended quite yet.

Thanks to all this support, we have been able to improve the educational facilities at the Quest school, as well as build houses for over 30 new families. On behalf of Quest and the community of Villa Maria, thank you!