Philanthropic Travel
I recently attended the World Savers Congress as part of my duties as a Conde Nast Top Travel Specialist for 2009, and a hot topic was how the travel industry is promoting philanthropy. Edward Norton spoke of his work in Kenya, which focuses on the social and cultural support of the communities around protected areas and was inspired by his own travels to the region. It made me think about how Absolute Travel tries to incorporate and promote philanthropy.
A baby gorilla Katie met on her journey.
One of the efforts we have made is encouraging our staff to pursue their own independent philanthropic interests throughout our destinations. Katie Losey took an extended leave in Uganda and Rwanda to work towards gorilla conservation. Volcanoes Safaris was integral to her experience, as through them she was introduced to Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, the founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH). CTPH is an initiative that achieves gorilla conservation by enabling humans, wildlife and livestock to coexist through improving primary healthcare in and around Africa’s protected areas. When Katie returned we all shared in her adventures and her passion for the work she had done. As a result Katie and our webmaster worked with CTPH to develop a website for their project so they can have greater exposure for their amazing work. Photos from Katie’s adventures are on our website and will hopefully get our clients excited and thinking about what they might want to do while traveling. We can’t always control what our clients want or will do, but we can embrace our own passions for our destinations and work to preserve the communities and places that we love!
- by Leslie Overton
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