The charities we have supported through donations

Just a Drop: £15,000

Brett and Lara Pollard have been working with the local communities near their lodge on Lake Malawi since the land was donated to Lara's mother by villagers in return for support in building schools and providing assistance through various projects (school building and finance of running costs, tree planting, school feeding programme, women’s groups). Funds donated by Responsible Travel went towards building a small cultural center to provide an outlet for villagers to sell traditional handicrafts; money raised through tours and visits to the center are used to help local craftspeople set up their own weaving, carving or pottery businesses.

ActionAid in Cambodia: £1,500

ActionAid is an international NGO whose primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. In Cambodia, they are helping people to discover their rights and entitlements after years of oppression and poverty – which includes creating access to good health care. Funds raised here went towards supporting a project to establish a community healthcare programme and provide healthcare training for rural Cambodians, thus empowering them to address their own health needs.

The TESFA Fund: £1,800

Responsible Travel's founder Justin Francis chose The TESFA Fund, highly commended in the 2005 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards, following his trip to Ethiopia. Our donation was used to benefit the village, including buying a motorbike.

Justin says:
"The first part of my trip involved a very remote trek. We saw no tourists at all. By the third day we’d reached a tiny community of about 50 households – our 'lodge' below. The nearest rough road was about 30km away. Although the people are desperately poor people rushed out of their tiny fields to offer us food they had grown.

"I discovered that through tourism they had – for the very first time ever – been able to save some money ($500). This is pretty much a lifesaver for them as even in a good year for the rains they only just have enough food. If the rain fails they are in serious trouble. Off their own backs they decided to use some of their savings to set up a micro credit programme to loan money to other members of their community so they can start trading in grain and diversify their incomes to reduce their risk. In essence tourism had given them a chance they’ve never had before.

"TESFA is exceptionally well run. They have three camps about 60km apart, with remote communities in each that cannot be contacted by phone. They have no vehicle to coordinate clients and bookings and rely on getting a lift from a local charity's car.

"It means they waste days of time and have their (local) manager stranded for days at a time. Most big donors won't fund vehicles – despite it being the very thing that the community need most. For this reason, we decided to buy them a motorbike, which would make the world of difference to them, mean they can take more bookings, and literally change lives."

You can read more about their Lalibela accommodation.

The Woodland Trust: £2,000

The Woodland Trust is a leading UK woodland conservation charity; protecting ancient woodland, restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods, creating new native woodland, and increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland. They care for over 1,000 sites throughout the UK and are keen to engage people in their activities. All their woods are freely open to the public and they run a programme of events including tree planting and woodland walks. Our donation has enabled more children to plant trees as part of the Trust's campaign Tree for All.

“It made me feel part of the world. I would love to do it again; planting a tree gave me a great feeling inside, a real feeling of happiness.” – Lucy Beech, age 10

Archelon Sea Turtle Protection Society, Greece: £1,000

Archelon is a non-profit making NGO dedicated to protecting sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through monitoring and research, developing and implementing management plans, habitat restoration, raising public awareness and rehabilitating sick and injured turtles.

Afrikids: £1,500

AfriKids works to support and expand the work of local individuals and groups in Northern Ghana, including Laadi – the founder of Mama Laadi’s House, a local foster home. Laadi cares for children who are orphaned or who were found on the street and were unable to be placed back with their families. The children may have physical or mental health conditions, learning difficulties, or have been cast out as “spirit children” – a traditional practice which, through education programmes, AfriKids has virtually ended in this region. Laadi herself lived on the streets as a child but managed to rebuild her life and train as a nurse – she has cared for hundreds of children over the years and many return regularly to the foster home as adults to help out and show their gratitude. Responsible Travel’s contribution went towards the building of a new foster home, and former director Paul Snudden also released a charity single, whose proceeds were donated to AfriKids.

Kawaza village Basic School, Zambia: £300

Justin Francis first visited Kawaza in 1999, when the school had just 327 pupils and four teachers, and no girls passed their grade 7 exams. When he returned in 2005, 551 pupils were attending from local village. The school was now staffed by 10 teachers, and 10 girls were expected to pass their exams. Our donation helped build a new classroom, and as part of the wider project, teachers’ houses were refurbished, over 50 vulnerable children were sponsored though school and eight of the 16 teachers were funded.

Friends of Conservation: £905

FOC was founded in 1982 to help prevent wildlife and habitat degradation in the Masai Mara - one of the most ecologically important regions of the world. Since that time they have gained a reputation as one of East Africa's leading conservation bodies and work alongside some of the most progressive minds in this arena.

Other contributions we have made