p12 TGB nov28 26/11/08 19:16 Page 12
news travel gives back / Virgin fam trip
ttglive.com
Abandoned boy
finds a friend –
and his voice
A CO-OPERATIVE Travel agent is paying for
an abandoned Kenyan child to go through school,
following a “voluntourism” fam trip to the country
won in our recent TTG/Virgin Holidays contest.
Vanessa Parkinson bonded with three-year-
old Gitau, who had been mutilated by his mother
after she had been raped.
Gitau had not spoken since he was brought
into the Siadia children’s home in the Rift Valley,
and he was sitting staring at a book when
Vanessa first saw him. She instantly bonded with
Agents pave way
him when she sat down, and began reading.
“He wouldn’t let go of my hand and it was
really hard leaving him. Since I’ve been back I’ve
thought about him every day,” she said.
for ‘voluntourism’
“I will pay £20 a month for his schooling until
he is 18, and send him other things so he knows
Chris Gray.
Virgin Holidays and adventure travel and gap
there is somebody who cares about him.” EIGHT agents who won places on our TTG/Virgin year specialists Intrepid and Madventurer. It covers
Vanessa, branch manager at The Co-operative Holidays “voluntourism” fam trip have kick- Africa, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Fiji and Peru.
Travel in Worthing, said her support was one way started a project to rebuild primary schools in Activities include teaching, medicine and sport.
the Virgin trip would have long-term benefits Kenya’s Rift Valley. Mark Burns, Virgin Holidays head of distribu-
for the places they visited, and she would From next month, consumers will be able tion, said the programme was unique as it
suggest holidays with a volunteering element to to continue the agents’ work when Virgin allowed customers to book a volunteering trip
customers who asked for something different. Holidays launches its debut voluntourism with a conventional Virgin product as a bolt-on.
Since returning home, Vanessa has been told programme, which it believes is a first for a In the first year, the volunteer element will be
Gitau has started speaking again. mainstream mass-market operator. for a minimum of two weeks, but the plan is to
The agents spent five days rebuilding and offer smaller durations to make it more flexible.
■ Read Vanessa’s volunteer tourism report, p72 teaching, and helped build a water tank to “It is a new concept for us and it is bringing
provide fresh water, at Ngeteti and Karunga two different worlds together,” said Burns.
primary schools in Gilgil. John Lawler, founder of Madventurer (MAD
Agents from Apollo Travel, The Co-operative stands for Make a Difference) said Virgin was the
Travel and the Midcounties Co-op started off biggest operator to commit to the concept, which
the project, which will be carried on by paying was previously the preserve of small niche firms.
customers who book holidays in Virgin’s He added that volunteering was likely to be-
Worldwide Adventures brochure. Copies will be come an increasingly mainstream holiday option.
sent to agents next week.
The programme is a joint venture between ■More pictures at travelgivesback.co.uk
Voluntourism: agents give their feedback
Joanne Muir, Claire Kelly, sales and
assistant commercial operations manager,
manager, CTTG Midcounties Co-op
“I will do all I can to ensure “It was an experience of a
the product reaches every lifetime and I was honoured
staff member to promote. to be able participate, if
With the back-up from the regional managers only for a short time, in helping to improve
and myself, we will see a surge of UK customers the standards of living and education for the
helping with these worthwhile projects.” children. I’ll be promoting the new product.”
School holiday: Vanessa helps out by painting a classroom
12 28.11.2008
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72