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This Valentine’s Day our Africa Operations Team and some of our crew were involved in one of our favourite days of the year! For the last 20 years or so, we have been working with a Harare Children’s Home, supporting them with food, educational supplies, gardening equipment and even a borehole. Our favourite form of support however is an event our crew have affectionately named ‘Kids Week.’
This is an annual event in which we take all the children out on a Day Trip. The children’s school is on the compound they live on, meaning that many of them rarely leave the site. For a number of years now responsibletravel.com have supported this event financially under their Trip for a Trip scheme. Our Africa ground handler provides the vehicles, fuel, crew and logistics.
This event is a real highlight for the children and staff and our crew! The children travel in our Overland trucks and there is plenty of singing, fun and joy en route and that’s even before we get to our destination. Just travelling through the bustling city of Harare itself is a revelation to many of the children!
This year we are running the event over two different dates. So on Valentine’s Day we took 50 children and 7 staff from the Home, to Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary about 30kms outside Harare. The focus of Twala is to provide a nurturing and safe haven for all animals and birds in need. Twala is home to 52 species of indigenous and exotic animals that were victims of human-wildlife conflict, injured, orphaned or abandoned. This includes a farm sanctuary and a free running dog shelter. Probably the best way to sum up the day is in the comments from the staff and children.
Comments from the Home Superintendant: "Thank you Responsible Travel and Oasis Overland. We are at a loss of words to show how much we appreciate what you have done for us over the years and in particular the educational trip to Twala Trust Sanctuary. Our children could not hide how excited and honored they were with this once in a lifetime experience. Your organisations implanted unforgettable memories in their minds. A big thank you once more. May God continue empowering your organisations.’’
Comments from other staff:
‘’The children talk about these trips all year. They are so excited for today.’’
‘’The staff look forward to this day so much too. We never go to such places and we learn so much from these days’’
‘’It is nice to see our children enjoying themselves too much’’
Comments from the Children :
‘’It was happy day’’
‘’I was excited with that trip’’
‘’It was a beautiful place and the lunch was delicious’’
‘’I have never heard about this African hedgehog’’
‘’Thank you for taking us to these places. We learn so much and I like these big trucks!’’
As always it was an absolute privilege to be able to run this day and share the experience with the children. Their enthusiasm, zest to learn and sense of awe was humbling and inspiring. Helping to run these trips shows very clearly the huge impact a day trip can bring to a child’s life, on so many levels.
Times are tough at the Home at the moment and they are struggling to buy food. So, following our trip, we checked what was needed and went out and bought a much needed food supply.