Discover our charity winners for 2019, as nominated by our Explore Leaders around the world. All of the projects focus on supporting the community, the environment and preserving them for future generations to come.
WINNER: Andros Routes Initiative
Nominated by Hetty, one of our Explore Leaders in Greece, this project won our grand prize of £1,000. The Andros Route Initiative was set up by locals of Andros Island in Greece to preserve the natural landscape and the many paths that cover the island; whether through local volunteers or even tourists that visit the island - anyone can contribute to keeping the paths clear, well-marked and safe to use.
In doing this they are preserving the culture of Andros by keeping the villages connected, breathing new life into them, as well as supporting the local citizens through sustainable tourism.
As we visit Andros on our walking tours, this was an ideal winner with their ethos very close to our own. The great thing about this project is that anyone visiting the island can contribute to the work and help maintain the paths as they walk them. The money will go towards buying more equipment for path and gate maintenance, as well as signage for routes.
RUNNER-UP: CPAAC Zou
The first runner-up, receiving £500, is CPAAC Zou, was founded by Janvier Houlonon, one of our Explore Leaders who runs our tour in Benin. The charity pays for children in the local community to go to school, as well as providing their school supplies and uniforms.
The number of children sent to school is entirely dependent on how much money the charity has each year; all of the children come from impoverished families and the charity hopes to give them a better chance in the future by giving them an education. The work that Janvier is doing is a labour of love so we are very proud to be supporting his efforts for the children in Abomey and Dassa-Zoumè.
RUNNER-UP: Kiviwama Community Base Organisation
Our second runner-up, receiving £500, is a project based in Moshi in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, chosen by our Kilimanjaro Trek leaders. Kiviwama helps local communities preserve their natural water sources, reduce deforestation and provide a sustainable income to families in the area.
By replanting indigenous trees beside water sources, they are able to prevent soil erosion into the rivers, giving communities a sustainable water source. Families are also able to create tree nurseries from the saplings and sell these to other families, giving them an income and helping towards Kiviwama's goal of planting 4 million trees in the next year.
To find out more about the incredible work that our Explore Leaders do around the world, and other charities that we support, visit our sustainability and responsible travel information.
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