Donating Time

Financial Investment in the welfare of NGOs and charitable organisations is a large part of what we do but we also give our time and lots of it.

Every year our team donates sizable woman-hours to community projects. Sometimes our involvement means supporting other community fund-raising initiatives: The Amazing Race saw our teams pitted against each other in fierce competition. More often that not, it’s about we pitching in to get things done. We have renovated buildings, put in IT infrastructure, created gardens and planted vegetable patches, sorted out libraries, even built jungle gyms.

Community is integral to Botswana’s culture and our team is asked to contribute to at least one community initiative during the year. Their passion and commitment to this far exceeds our expectations. Our staff also donate time and energy to mobilising support from our Maun community like with the annual blanket and clothing drive where we call for donations of these items. At Christmas time, you will find us outside our local supermarkets, asking for food donations to go towards hampers for the elderly.

Fund Raising

Money isn’t everything but it really, really helps. Our charitable fund is managed by a specialist NGO called Travel for Impact. Working at grassroots level to understand the needs of the communities, it ensures the money that we and you donate makes a real and measurable impact in the lives of those who need it most.

The Bed Night Levy

One of our most successful initiatives has been the Bed Night Levy. Participating agents levy a minimum of 1 US$ per night booked. With hundreds of bookings a year, it soon mounts up which means our agents and their guests are genuinely changing people’s lives here in Botswana through travel.

It’s the holiday that makes everyone happy.

The Bed Night Bank

The fabulously generous safari operators we work with donate nights in their lodges and camps free of charge. We then sell these bed nights on and the money raised goes to help charities and NGOs working in Maun, Botswana.

The guests know that the cost of their stay in Botswana has been donated to local charities and we understand that this makes their adventure here even more special. They love that they are making a difference to the communities they interact with while visiting Botswana.

Supporting women

Yes, our male staff complement has grown over the years (we’re all for equal employment), however we remain a majority female operated organisation. We feel strongly about woman empowerment and our SRI reflects this. The beautiful beaded bracelets travellers receive as a welcome gift when they arrive in Maun are made by a local woman’s empowerment initiative, one of several supported by us.

Supporting our Community

Our flagship project is the Community Bus. The seed of which was planted during one of our regular staff meetings in which we solicited ideas on where the community needs help. The idea was followed through in consultative meetings with non-governmental organisations and our social responsibility partners and it soon became clear that reliable transport was one of the greatest challenges faced by those organisations assisting our community.

Funded jointly by our Bed Night Charity Levy and a significant donation from Safari Destinations, the Community Bus provides free scheduled and ad-hoc transport for NGOs based in Maun.

Our brightly coloured bus is a popular sight on our roads as it goes about its errands. It could be delivering nutritious meals to the elderly or collecting and dropping vulnerable children to school, or it might be assisting any of the numerous NGOs that utilise its services on a regular basis. If you are in Maun and spot it, please hoot and wave – our driver OB loves it!

P.S. Our Bus driver is a lady – how awesome is that?

Who we help

We focus our efforts on local projects that enable local people.

Because we invest our time as well as our money, the organisations we support are precious to us. We know the people whose lives will be made better by each dollar we raise and each hour we invest. It’s personal.

www.banabaletsatsi.org

Bana Ba Letsatsi operates a rehabilitation centre that offers a place of safety for the terrifying number of orphaned and vulnerable children in Maun. From this centre they provide ongoing support in the form of counselling, education, skills training, daily meals, sports, clothes, transport, medical attention and a place to wash and clean their clothes. Without BBL these children are utterly alone. No one wants that.

Safari Destinations to fund counsellors at Bana Ba Letsatsi so the children know who they’ll be opening up to today and tomorrow and the next day. It’s stability and it’s one of the things they desperately want. Our staff donate their time to run mentoring programmes and organise fun events like the annual Easter Egg Hunt and Christmas party

www.womenagainstrape.co.bw

Women Against Rape (WAR) primarily support abused woman and children and address the issues that contribute to their abuse. Their mission is to reduce the incidences and impact of violence against woman and children in the district, providing support for survivors, public education and legal reform.

Safari Destinations fully fund the Matron who runs the safe house used as a refuge by these desperate women and children. In addition to day-to-day logistics, the Matron teaches skills that promote financial and social independence. She helps put these broken women back together and sets them on a path to safety and freedom. Staff projects over the years has included painting and refurbishing of their reception area, creating a garden at their office to create a welcoming space, painting of the safe house and clearing and cleaning of the property there as well as more recently, helping to plant a vegetable garden.

www.aglowpolokong.org

AGLOW provides care for the elderly who no longer have family to care for them. The Pokolong Centre provides a safe haven for the elderly to visit to get support they need, have a hearty meal and socialise. The community bus helps with transportation. For those not able to visit, home visits complete with nutritious meals and assistance with personal hygiene and home cleaning take place. Our sad experience is that, just cutting someone’s toenails can vastly improve someone’s life. Safari Destinations contributes funds towards full-time care workers. Each one we can afford to fund directly impacts twenty elderly people's lives for the better. Staff projects over the years have included facilitating the donation of mattresses and beds, painting of the Centre, collection of food for the Christmas hampers and blankets and clothes on an annual basis.

www.maunanimalwelfare.com

MAWS is a society providing free veterinary treatment to low-income individuals in Northern Botswana. MAWS provide a vital service in assisting to prevent the spread of disease from domestic animals to our world-famous wildlife population.

Safari Destinations contribute towards the salaries of dedicated shelter workers who feed and care for the animals while they are undergoing medical treatment or waiting to find their forever home. MAWS is an active fundraiser often running social events to raise funds. Our staff can be found serving food or even being one of the ghosts or ghouls in the Haunted House at the Halloween function.

Sekgoma Primary

Based in Maun, Sekgoma Primary is a school of 700 pupils from pre-school to senior school. Money is scarce and life is harsh with education providing a vital way out of the poverty cycle. Sekgoma Primary and Safari Destinations have been partners for close to 5 years now, as part of the Botswana government “Adopt a School” program. Support has included assisting with the setup of their IT infrastructure, building a jungle gym for the primary school children, assisting with the establishment of their library and funding of prize giving initiatives to encourage students to work hard. Our next big project is to find much needed classroom space.