Planeterra Foundation, G Adventures’ non-profit partner, has launched a fund-raising campaign to help tourism-reliant communities weather the Covid-19 storm.
The Turn Travel into Impact from Home campaign aims to raise CAD$50,000 (US$35,800) in emergency funds for needy communities.
Already, the campaign has raised more than CAD$15,000, allowing the non-profit to transfer grants to six of their partners to help support basic community needs, including food and medicine.
Among the first to receive funding is the AidChild Leadership Institute (ALI) in Uganda, which sees 50 per cent of their operating budgets generated by their tourism initiatives, including a cafe and guesthouse. The grant is helping to feed the 67 HIV-positive orphans in their care.
Despite hardships, many communities are demonstrating kindness and resilience, with project members offering support and services to others amid the crisis.
In China, the Jia Community Restaurant, which supports rural women and children by providing meaningful employment, has turned into a delivery and distribution centre for masks and thermometers for nearby villages.
Elsewhere in Zambia, the team at Tribal Textiles, which supports local artisans outside South Luangwa National Park, are using their workshop to sew 1,500 masks for local healthcare workers.
Planeterra president Jamie Sweeting said in a statement that fragile communities need the support now more than ever to ensure they are protected and can continue to offer life-changing experiences when travellers return in the future.
“Our global team is working overtime to support our projects, with grants to purchase food and medicine already going out to communities in Morocco, Belize, and Botswana,” she said.
We’re encouraged by projects that are helping one another and their communities, and we hope this fund will provide some relief and help to ensure jobs and organizations remain intact for when travellers inevitably return,” Sweeting continues.
Donations, which can be made here, will help project partners cover basic needs like food and medicine for their staff and beneficiaries, and provide support and vital resources to help tide them through this period.
