Title: Gaia Explorer

Location: San Francisco, California

My First Philanthropic Travel Experience

In 1972 my grandfather, grandmother and I visited the poorest country in the western hemisphere: Haiti. Much to my grandmother's dismay, my grandfather decided that our adventure for the day would be exploring the countryside with a Port Au Prince taxi cab driver as our guide. After an hour driving down a dusty rutted gravel road we stopped in at a rural marketplace to experience life in rural Haiti. It was along the side of that dirt road that we had our first personal philanthropic travel experience.

Soon after the dust from our cabbie's Toyota had settled, un-clothed children, adults and their livestock emerged from the surrounding area, undoubtedly to closely examine my aqua and orange tailor made Miami Dolphins leisure suit with white leather loafers.

We were surrounded by smiling faces wondering who we were and why we had stopped by to say: bonjour. Ten minutes later, after just about everyone in the crowd had a chance to smile at us, touch us and make direct eye contact with us a soccer ball flew through the air. I trapped it and quickly passed it back to my new teammate who received it effortlessly after it had flown right over the heads of several adults.

“When we are very young children we know how to feel. It's innate. But as we lead a lifetime, we pick up so many thoughts, impressions, feelings, and ideas, that our sensitivity goes away.” -F.L. Ph.d

Connecting I bonded with the local kids and my grandparents stood side by side with adults from the village while the cabbie lit a cigar. My grandmother, initially fearful of the unknown was now smiling, calmly and communicating in sign language with local women, and enjoying her experience. We all seemed to connected for those brief moments. The spontaneous transcendent events of that morning's cross cultural experience are still vivid today, as they were so many years before. Those few moments changed our lives.

Deja Vu

During my first trip to Africa while driving between Maun, Botswana and Windhoek, Namibia I was moved to pull over at a village in a remote area of the Kalahari Desert, much to my friend Linette's consternation. She declined my offer to join me for a walk into the center of the grass hut village and decided instead to stay in the car -with the doors locked. Ten minutes later I returned to the car with a crowd from the village: children running, mothers talking, fathers trailing the entourage and once again soccer balls flying through the air.

Linette gracefully emerged from the car with a smile and began to open the clothes intended to gift. Captivated by everyone's curiosity, kindness and easy laughter Linette and I spoke of life in their village and life in our village in Switzerland and the USA. We experienced our guests humanity and warmth and felt welcomed and safe as guests of the community.

An hour later after sharing gifts of Nike tee-shirts and old Levis we had agreed to deliver two men who needed a ride to their cousins funeral in a village 25 kilometers away. Sent off with with an open invitation to return completed with smiling faces, vigorous handshakes and waves we set off down the Trans-Kalahari Highway towards Namibia.

A New Journey

While driving I realized that the seed for Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel, planted 27 years before in rural Haiti, had just awakened in Africa. That afternoon as I drove through the Kalahari Desert with Linette and our two new acquaintances on their way to celebrate an ending, I began again on a new journey: introducing travelers to locals with the intention of uplifting those local people and their communities through health, education and sustainable development.

If you are a traveler I encourage you to become a philanthropic traveler. Exquisite Safaris has developed partnerships with humanitarian outreach projects in Africa, Asia and South America: Orphanages, AIDS and medical clinics, schools, women's entrepreneurial initiatives, and clean water NGO's that will open their doors to you and connect you personally with the people they serve.

“Life changing luxury travel experience for you: health centers, clean water, schools and women's rights for those less fortunate in the locales you traverse: philanthropic travel”. -David Chamberlain

“Don't follow the crowd. The crowd doesn't get there. They just run round and around in a crazy race. It never ends.” -F.L. Ph.d

Exquisite Safaris is the pioneer in private, luxury, philanthropic travel worldwide.

The Exquisite Safaris philanthropic travel mission is to include a guided visit to a humanitarian outreach project into every private, luxury, epicurian exerience we create. The resulting personal introductions create cross cultural friendships that generate trust, respect, and generous donations that have funded grassroots humanitarian projects worldwide.

Visionary Philanthropic Travel
Exquisite Safaris presents a new intention for your next luxury vacation. As a visionary and pro-active philanthropic traveler, you can make a tax-deductible donation through our non-profit 501(c) partner to begin a project of your choosing, which we will then plan, execute, and manage to self sufficiency.

For instance, one Exquisite Safari client asked us what could be done with a $10,000 donation in Zambia,” a destination she wanted to visit with her family. We built a schoolhouse. Nine months later, he brought her family to celebrate the opening of the school and receive the blessings of the village elders. Her children met the children who, for the first time, could attend school.

Exquisite Safaris projects can preserve world heritage and the surrounding environment, or provide schools, orphanages, medical and dental clinics, clean water wells, training, jobs, homes, microfinance and entrepreneurial guidance. Our associates on the ground can recommend what's most needed and cost-effective in any given area. You'll receive email updates on the project's progress towards self-sustainability.

Exquisite Safaris creates opportunities for people to donate in whatever way feels appropriate to them. All we ask is that travelers be willing to commit a morning or afternoon during their next safari, expedition or vacation with the intent to meet some of the most inspirational and culturally interesting people in the world.

“Once we've seen each other up close, we realize we're not that different after all.” -David Chamberlain

Related Links:
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
The Wisdom of Stone Soup
Zambia: Exquisite Safaris School Project
Affluent Parents Dedicated to Instilling Philanthropic Values in their Children
Bombs
The War on Terror is the antithesis of Philanthropic Travel
Cindy's Story
Are you Experienced?
FoundationSource
For My Culture
The Fable of Stone Soup
Cheetah Hunt Botswana
Personal Openings and World Travel

Philanthropic Travel Foundation

Member Since: Friday, April 28 2006

Last Visit: 163 days ago.

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