We are here for the long haul
and we want the impact we make
on our country and community
to be overwhelmingly positive.
When you visit Botswana you will discover for yourself why we are so obsessed with it. There is nowhere we would rather call home. Safari Destinations are here for the long haul and we want the impact we make on our country and community to be overwhelmingly positive.
From supporting working moms by providing a full time on-site crèche, to funding a community bus, we are continually investing in social responsibility initiatives that support this philosophy.
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 donate sizable woman-hours to community projects. Sometimes it’s local fund raising initiatives: We fielded a team for ‘Maun’s Strongest Man’ to raise money for a local children’s charity (we are a surprisingly muscly bunch). Often it’s more hands on - we pitch in to get things done.
In keeping with the Safari Destination’s tradition of getting stuck in; when 2016 saw Botswana celebrate 50 years of independence we were all over it. Community is integral to Botswana’s culture and when the team were asked what would embody this ethos they devised the plan of offering not 50 but 500 hours of extra work in and for their community. We have renovated buildings, cooked and delivered hundreds of meals, hosted fun days for school kids, visited isolated elderly people; cleaned, bathed, laughed with and spent time with huge swathes of our community. It was pretty full on but we feel truly embedded.
Fund Raising
Money isn’t everything but it really, really helps. Our charitable fund is managed by a specialist organisation called Travel for Impact. 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 meet here.
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.
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 fully fund the councillor 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.
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 she 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.
AGLOW provides care for the elderly and destitute. They provide daily home visits to the elderly who cannot take care of themselves. The home visits comprise delivery of a daily warm nutritious meal, along with assistance with personal hygiene and home cleaning. The carers also arrange medical and other visits and crucially, provide much needed companionship. AGLOW are about to embark on the renovation of what will be the first elderly care centre in Ngamiland.
Safari Destinations fully fund two full-time care workers so that someone is there to bathe, feed and comfort those in Maun who, at possibly their most vulnerable, are most alone. Our sad experience is that, just cutting someone’s toenails can vastly improve someone’s life. These carers are an incredible, practical and tangible lifeline. Each one we can afford to fund directly impacts twenty elderly people's lives for the better.
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 sponsor the two dedicated shelter workers who feed and care for the animals while they are undergoing medical treatment or waiting to find their forever home.
#ittakesavillage
No man, woman, or family is an island. We'd all like to think we live in a place where people care about others -- where people pitch in to help when things get rough -- where it's safe to leave the doors unlocked and let the kids play around outside. If we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves. Community, like charity, begins at home. You start building a good neighbourhood when you yourself decide that you will be a good neighbour.
The 500 hours project really resonated with the team. Ines, our Sales manager, created a video to celebrate our achievement which you can view here. Thanks Ines.
Giving Back
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Our community bus really does serve the whole community, not just one project.
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Secured funding from us helps vulnerable children in Maun to have a more stable future.
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As woman empowering woman we are always on hand to assist at the Woman Against Rape Centre.
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Warm meals, home care and company. We partner with AGLOW to support the destitute elderly.
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Sterilizing strays has made a vast impact on animal welfare here in Maun.