Kickstart
(www.kickstart.org)
Kenya, July 2007
KickStart
is a leading non-profit organization that develops and markets new technologies
in Africa. These low-cost technologies are bought by local entrepreneurs and
used to establish highly profitable new small businesses. They create new
jobs and wealth, enabling the poor to climb out of their poverty forever.
Kickstart donors visited projects in Kenya as well as enjoy several days of
spectacular safari.
Travelers' Reports:
"I am humbled by their hope, touched by their smiles, inspired by their spirit, welcomed by their hospitality, centered by their connection to the earth, inspired by their dignity, awakened by their determination."
--
Lee Jampolsky
“This was no mere tourist experience. It was a life-changing opportunity
that touched my husband, myself and our teenaged children way beyond the beautiful
vistas and fabulous wildlife; it touched our hearts. We left Africa wiser,
humbler, and more enriched."
-- Terry Gamble-Boyer
“KickStart
welcomes many visitors to Kenya but we had never sponsored our own donor safari.
Could we do it? Would we lose money? Who will organize it? All of these questions
kept us from trying. But Dominique and Elevate Destinations made it seem effortless.
She listened to our desire for an experience that would help our donors truly
connect to the spirit of Africa and gave us an itinerary that combined urban
exploration, an up close look at our work with rural farmers, local culture
and of course the amazing wildlife. And we did this far from the over-worn
tourist path. Even the couple who had been to Africa 20 times got to see something
new. This was huge success and has already resulted in increased giving from
our donors. I can’t wait to start planning the next one!”
-- Ken Weimar, Director of Development, KickStart International
More
than one billion people lack access to a safe supply
of drinking water. Water-related diseases are the leading
cause of death in the world. This killer takes the lives
of more than 14,000 people each day and is responsible
for 80% of all sickness in the world. Compounding the
problem is the fact that more than 50 percent of the
water supply projects in the developing world fail.
WaterPartners
was founded in 1990 because efforts to address the world's
top health problem were inadequate and inefficient.
Insisting on approaches that work, WaterPartners collaborates
with high-quality organizations that have proven their
ability to implement sustainable water projects. They
have helped thousand of people achieve their dream of
safe water. WPI is currently working in Bangladesh,
Ethiopia, Honduras, India and Kenya.
EcoLogic advances conservation of critical natural resources in rural areas of Latin America by promoting sustainable livelihoods and by strengthening community participation in natural resource management.
Direct Relief International provides
medical material aid including medicines, medical supplies and equipment to
strengthen in-country health efforts around the world to improve the quality
of life for the most impoverished people.
"It
was just a spectacular trip! Smooth, easy and fun."
“We are back from our trip and thrilled by the experience. You put together
an incredible itinerary, and the whole group seemed to love it. We are so
happy we made this trip and hope to have an opportunity to work with you again.”
"I
am humbled by their hope, touched by their smiles, inspired by their spirit,
What most
stayed with me was not the suffering, but the smiles. I have been to many
other places of poverty on the globe, from the streets of Calcutta to the
slums of our country, and never did I see the level of hope despite adversity
that I witnessed in Kenya: The full-faced-full-hearted smiles that seem to
ignite on the faces of the Kenyan people from a place kept safe within them,
a place beyond their external situation. Smiles that spontaneously come from
a simple wave hello. Smiles from a place within that I have often overlooked
or forgotten in my daily existence, and often replaced with a manufactured
and socially appropriate raising of the corners of my mouth. In contrast,
such genuine smiles from the Kenyan people, many who have no money, no health
care, and are living in substandard structures, call me to question so much
within myself. "
Direct
Relief, July 2007