Posts Tagged ‘Escorted Safari’

You may want to take a seat for what I’m about to tell you.  What I’m about to share is going to get you very excited.

Are you ready?

I’ve been spending my nights and early mornings fostering a relationship with a very special lady.  Her heart is so filled with love it makes me jump with joy.  Her passion so drowning it makes me cry.  I swear, since meeting this beautiful woman, the birds and bees are still buzzing in my lovely garden.

This is why I have to ask you this:

Have you ever wanted to travel abroad and spend a portion of your vacation participating in activities centered on furthering a charitable cause?

http://wildsafariafrica.com/budget-safari/owambo-volunteer-etosha-n-p-safari/

Voluntourism was born when one Volunteer spiced up their travels by intimately placing themselves into a unique culture and/or environment offering their services.

Gain more by giving more.

A Colorado veterinarian, and experienced traveler to Africa, recently contacted me about how she could donate her skills, vet supplies, along with her time to further help Namibia’s big cat populations.

She shared stories of treating lions in Zimbabwe; working with South African’s on the project and when I heard about the personal fulfillment she received from her work, it turned me into a believer.

Her enthusiasm and commitment for animals got me jazzed.

And this is exactly one, of many, forms of voluntourism.  She utilizes her time, talent, and treasure and in turn, she receives gratitude, recognition, and a transformative experience that ultimately continues to change her foundation.

That is why I’m so pumped about my new partnership with Oonte OVC Centre.  It allows you, the traveler, an easy path to give a little –to take home A LOT.

Do you have the skills to:

Be flexible?

Reach out to children spiritually, physically, or pshyco-social support?

Teach health, personal hygiene, goal setting, and leadership?

Help in the garden?

Aid with the preparation and cleanup of meals?

Do you have the desire to:

Connect intimately with a foreign community?

Learn a new culture?  A new Language?

To utilize your skills and talents?

To feel enriched?  May I dare say…Spiritually Elevated?

If you’ve answered yes to the majority of these questions, then my new, EXCLUSIVE, Lend a Helping Hand and Dip Your Toes Safari is just for YOU!

http://wildsafariafrica.com/budget-safari/owambo-volunteer-etosha-n-p-safari/

Get groovy and give back to gain much more,

Jeremy

P.S. I will donate US$100 to Oonte for every person who goes on this safari with me.

P.P.S.  My special lady is Meme Petrine who manages Oonte.

Travelers react to poverty differently. For many (especially US travelers) it is their first time witnessing extreme poverty.

Snotty nosed kids, tattered clothes, shoeless children, toothless mothers begging and dangling malnourished babies off their hips, lepers crippled, the blind holding their hands out without direction are all common sights throughout the developing world.

A medieval vision to spook the mind.

Some find it easiest to ignore, others break down and cry, some take photo’s to raise awareness; others ignorantly hand out gifts without thought of the future.

A couple weeks ago a traveler planning to visit Namibia mentioned on tripadvisor she would “like to take with us some gifts for children…Also the best place to hand these gifts in so that they go to where they are most needed.”

I recommended to ‘barter’ and ‘trade’ for souvenir’s – as an ALTERNATIVE – suggesting it is a bad idea to just give hand-outs to children and adults.

Surprised, my comment sparked in uproar with other’s in the Namibia, tripadvisor community.

In response, one comment said, “All very well bartering until you find a remote school where the kids don’t have shoes…Apart from the warm glow I get from bringing a little happiness into someone’s life, I don’t really look for anything in return.”

This reminded me of something.

DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS! – National Parks are glittered with these signs. There is a reason for it; if you feed a wild animal today, will you feed it tomorrow? And the day after? Because if you don’t YOU will KILL them!

The same goes for when travelers react to extreme poverty by handing out free-bee’s to feel better about their emotions.

These uneasy emotions are the most NATURAL of feelings and I would be worried if you didn’t feel bad.

However, when travelers react this way it becomes a destructive, self-righteous mission, that is neither good for the people in the developing world OR yourself.

Developing countries are in a critical time in history; either they will grow into a productive, contributing member of our globalized world, or they won’t.

Children are cute –even when they’re wearing tatters. Not too many people think the same about a mangy grown man begging.

Do the people, of what ever country you visit, the kindest of favors – give BUT only if you receive something in return. Trade for souvenirs at the craft market, exchange photographs, sample a meal, or ask to tour a homestead – in exchange for your gift.

That way you can GIVE, feel positive about your deed, boost your karma, AND receive something in return, making them feel like they had to WORK for what they got. THIS single act will benefit both that person and the cultural mentality shared, working towards a productive, self-sufficient future. It’s a win –win situation and stories will be told on each side, guaranteed.

To creative giving,

Jeremy

P.S. A portion of your Safari payment is donated to the Uukwaluudhi people and children at Nambula Combined School – the school I had the pleasure of teaching English.

An African marathon. This is not your typical safari.

The pitter-patter of bare feet slapped against the paved two lane highway.  The cool blanket of fog hung low in the sky.  To their left were the fiercely cold waters of the south Atlantic.  To their right mountains of sand, drifting and scurrying across the highway; it was the Namib Desert and they were running an African marathon.

The number “041” was printed beneath the Lucky Star logo.  The boy ran next to a taller girl whose stride was longer than his.  Another man drifted off the two bare footed runners; he wore cross-training shoes, a hat with a small brim, sunglasses, and his nose was covered in pasty-white sunscreen. It was both their dreams to run in an African marathon.

Together, the three strangers pushed and pulled each other closer to the finish line.

Once I had volunteered at a track meet in the town of Tsumeb, Namibia.  African’s competed against the whites.  The whites had shoes and starting blocks.  Only some of the African’s wore shoes.

The advantages of one group were the disadvantage of the other, yet the races were close.

At another time a student of mine in the village had talent.  The first race I saw Maria run, was on a make-shift track, around a few trees, a pile of stones, and finishing past a line drawn in the dirt.  She dodged herds of goat and went around the stray cow; all without shoes.

Her talents got her on the Namibian national team.  She joined the Namibian team in Botswana to compete.  She came home with a Bronze.  She was disappointed by her performance, she knew her speed was quicker, however they made her wear shoes that slowed her down.  She was much faster without shoes, sprinting across the ground in bare feet, her everyday “shoe.”

At today’s African marathon,

these kids came from the far corners of their country, from the deepest of villages, to the town of Swakopmund to run a marathon.  Some were lucky to have shoes, some fit while others were a size too large or too small, yet they were still worn.

Annually, Etosha Fish hosts the Lucky Star Marathon between Namibia’s coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. It’s the best African marathon I have ever seen. Open to the public, hundreds of Namibian students flock to the event and compete against other Namibians and foreign nationals from across southern Africa, Europe, and America.

It is an incredible opportunity to experience, whether you’re running or casually relaxing and cheering on the athletes.

I had recently read a quote simply saying “life is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Namibia, Africa is a place that follows this motto better than anywhere else on earth.  The athletes run with passion and celebrate with ease.  No hurries, no worries.  Namibian students study hard in hopes of a better future, a future where one day they may be able to buy their own shoes. Perhaps to compete in another African marathon.  Winning is recognized, yet it’s the travels and new journey’s these young Namibians experienced that sprouted the most smiles.

For many of these athletes, this was their first time visiting Swakopmund and the ocean!  Their collective spirit was contagious.  Our bus ride home, back to the village, was filled with joyous stories, stories that continue to be relived each and everyday.

However, that was their story. This is your story:

http://wildsafariafrica.com/budget-safari/namibian-marathon-wildlife-safari/

Will your story fill the room with contagious joy?

To running without shoes,

Pass the baton, and forward this story on to all your friends who run. Especially those adventurous ones who might be interested in running an African marathon.

And remember “life is a marathon, not a sprint.”