Travel that Matters

by Paige Churchman (New York City)

“Making a change, making the world a better place, it’s not only your responsibility, it is your choice. It is your blessing. It is your gift. It’s your opportunity to make your life mean something. So take it,” says Ghana-born musician and activist, Derrick Ashong.

Yes, you say, but how? You’ve got over 300 messages in your email box and five in your voicemail. Your day of back-to-back meetings starts in 10 minutes, your performance goals are due by 5:00, and you want a promotion. Yet somewhere deep in your heart there’s something beyond your career and family that you care about – the children who die each day from lack of food, the acres of rainforest being burned every minute, homelessness, wars, or maybe it’s as close as that litter of stray kittens you saw behind McDonald’s.

You can write a check. There’s no shortage of needs and causes. Do you support them all? If not, which do you pick? When you give, you’re saying something about yourself. “Giving is a very private action that reflects your values,” says Claire Costello, National Practice Executive of philanthropic management for Bank of America. One of the best ways to discern your inner values is to take yourself out into the world. “Encountering other people’s environments and other people’s circumstances connects you to that private place of your own. It lets you know in a very visceral way what really matters to you,” she says. “Even if your travel takes you to a faraway place and your giving is focused near home, it will still make you a better giver and a more insightful human being.”

Not only does travel connect you viscerally, you see with your own eyes where your money is going. A study published in the Winter 2008 Stanford Social Innovation Review discovered that donors’ money isn’t going where they think it is. While 47% of the 10,000 households surveyed thought they were donating to help the needy, only 6% of their giving actually did so. Most of it (60%) went to religious causes, and only 2% of the religious organizations had a nonreligious mission. The message? Ask questions. Make a real connection to the causes you’re funding.

Make It Happen

You could take a volunteer vacation, but many people are deterred by the primitive living conditions and physical labor. There is also philanthropic travel. It’s for people with more money than time, so it’s more posh – you stay in luxury hotels and dine well.

To plan a philanthropic vacation, first prioritize your values. What resonates most for you? “Think of it as a learning journey,” says Costello. “Ask yourself, ‘What is it I want to learn about and how can I best do that?’ It’s hard to live out a hundred values every day, so pick the ones that resonate with you and then act on them.”

Then make your learning journey real. Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel is the first luxury travel service dedicated to philanthropic travel. “What we’re really offering is personal transformation, a way to connect to the world,” says founder David Chamberlain. He’ll connect you with local people doing good things (and he’ll donate $250 per traveler to each project you visit). The Nathans spent a week at Friends of Ngong Road’s day camp in Nairobi and called it the highlight of their trip. “It was the best camp I’ve ever been to,” raved their 8-year-old. Friends of Ngong Road was founded by Paula Meyer, one-time president of the mutual fund business for American Express (now Ameriprise Financial). “The most ironic thing about this experience,” she says, “Is that you end up learning and getting more than you ever could give.”

Or try some of the adventure-travel companies who have active philanthropic relationships in the lands where they travel. These include Intrepid Travel (their foundation will match your donation dollar for dollar) and Myths and Mountains.

Dream of Africa

If Africa calls to you, two luxury safari companies quietly raise philanthropic funds. CC Africa imposes no pressure to donate but gives every guest a full orientation about its approach and philosophy and how they link with the communities. They raise a million charitable dollars a year this way. Micato Safaris invites its guests to spend an extra day in Nairobi to visit one of its AmericaShare projects in the slums where it assists over 900 orphans. “Lives have been changed – and not just the children’s.”

Or bypass the travel professionals and take yourself directly to a Kenyan preserve that not too many people know about. The Gallmann Memorial Foundation was set up by Kuki Gallmann who has been working for years to conserve what she loves so much. Not only has she saved herds of black rhino and elephants, and replanted forests, her educational programs reconnect African children with nature. “If Africa dies, so will we,” she says. The accommodations at her Ol Ari Nyiro ranch are stunning. They offer private safaris with guides and scientists as well as services like ayurvedic massages with local organic oils. Before you go, read her book “I Dreamed of Africa” and skip the Kim Basinger movie version.

You could also join the Business Council for Peace and volunteer for a mission to Rwanda (or Afghanistan). Bpeace, as it’s known, joins businesswomen with women in war-torn areas. Because of Bpeace’s UNIFEM partnership, you’ll be treated as a VIP by government and NGO dignitaries. You’ll be kept busy and your accommodations will be the best the country offers.

An Old Pro, India on Horseback, Online Volunteer

Lindblad Expeditions has philanthropic programs in Alaska, Antarctica, Baja, Central America and Galapagos. From its first tours in the 1950s, Lindblad has practiced “respectful travel” as well as raised money and donated to conservation. It has several funds of its own and partners with NGOs and National Geographic.

There are even philanthropic tours on horseback. Relief Riders International organizes equestrian treks in Rajasthan, India. The money RRI has raised has saved the eyesight of 14,000 villagers and sponsored many gifts of goats to families. If travel isn’t feasible for you but you yearn to make a difference, volunteer from home with the UN’s online volunteering. You might translate documents, write articles, research data, build websites, mentor young people, design logos, and engage in many other projects to benefit organizations serving people in the developing world. And maybe someday, you’ll visit the area you volunteer for.

An Indelible Connection

Ann Jennerjahn is an IT vice president at Citigroup. Not long ago, she traveled to Mozambique to work at an orphanage. On her last day there, she noticed a little girl inching closer on the bench they shared. “She asked me my name, then gestured for my pen and wrote it on the palm of her hand. I asked her name and wrote it on my hand. She hid her face in my shoulder but not before I saw the tears in her eyes. She was touched that I wanted to remember her.” Ann will never forget.