CAS Bwindi Porters Association Food Project
Donation protected
We are in the midst of an unprecedented time in this era. Our daily lives have been upended, tourism - our means and our passion - suspended. As we've been required to put distance between ourselves and those we care for, Classic Africa Safaris is pausing to consider what this all means to us and how we evolve and move forward.
In the meantime, we've put our heads together and come up with a way to tackle an urgent need in the Uganda tourism community that involves most of our travelers - the Porters Association of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. While most porters are subsistence farmers, the bulk of their income comes from assisting visitors as they track the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The salary and tips they receive help them feed their families, send their children to school and even save for a larger plot of land or to open a small shop. Without tourists, they have no income stream and as the porters are a separate association not affiliated with the UWA, they are not receiving support or salaries during this time. The situation is becoming dire and many of the porters and their families are very hungry.
Classic Africa Safaris is preparing to make a significant food delivery to the porters association once the lock down in Uganda is lifted and we can drive a vehicle to Bwindi. We'd like to ask our trade partners and their past and current travelers around the world to consider assisting us in these efforts. CAS is donating the vehicle, fuel, driver salary and stipend for the multi-day trip to Bwindi and back. We're asking you to come to the table and assist with donations for staples - beans, rice, maize-meal (posho), sugar, cooking oil and bars of hand soap. Our goal is to raise US$5,000. Some of our CAS team have donated personally and past travelers are contributing, as well. As Uganda is still in lock down, we don't know exactly when we will be able to take a vehicle and the food supplies to Bwindi, but we will keep you updated on this process with details, numbers and photos.
CAS is not an NGO, nor do we have a non-profit arm, so these donations will not be tax deductible. We hope that you will support in whatever way you can based on our long-standing relationship and our responsibility to the communities in which we all operate and make our living. If your company, past (or future) travelers to Uganda or staff members are interested in making a contribution of any size please use this Go Fund Me page or contact us for more details.
Thank you for your support and partnership over the years and we are eagerly looking forward, beyond COVID, and are waiting for the days that we can celebrate our successes together (in person!), again.
Stay well and take care,
Phil Ward, Mel Gormley, Lyndsay Harshman, Hilda Komugisha, Cissy Nantume & the entire CAS team
In the meantime, we've put our heads together and come up with a way to tackle an urgent need in the Uganda tourism community that involves most of our travelers - the Porters Association of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. While most porters are subsistence farmers, the bulk of their income comes from assisting visitors as they track the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The salary and tips they receive help them feed their families, send their children to school and even save for a larger plot of land or to open a small shop. Without tourists, they have no income stream and as the porters are a separate association not affiliated with the UWA, they are not receiving support or salaries during this time. The situation is becoming dire and many of the porters and their families are very hungry.
Classic Africa Safaris is preparing to make a significant food delivery to the porters association once the lock down in Uganda is lifted and we can drive a vehicle to Bwindi. We'd like to ask our trade partners and their past and current travelers around the world to consider assisting us in these efforts. CAS is donating the vehicle, fuel, driver salary and stipend for the multi-day trip to Bwindi and back. We're asking you to come to the table and assist with donations for staples - beans, rice, maize-meal (posho), sugar, cooking oil and bars of hand soap. Our goal is to raise US$5,000. Some of our CAS team have donated personally and past travelers are contributing, as well. As Uganda is still in lock down, we don't know exactly when we will be able to take a vehicle and the food supplies to Bwindi, but we will keep you updated on this process with details, numbers and photos.
CAS is not an NGO, nor do we have a non-profit arm, so these donations will not be tax deductible. We hope that you will support in whatever way you can based on our long-standing relationship and our responsibility to the communities in which we all operate and make our living. If your company, past (or future) travelers to Uganda or staff members are interested in making a contribution of any size please use this Go Fund Me page or contact us for more details.
Thank you for your support and partnership over the years and we are eagerly looking forward, beyond COVID, and are waiting for the days that we can celebrate our successes together (in person!), again.
Stay well and take care,
Phil Ward, Mel Gormley, Lyndsay Harshman, Hilda Komugisha, Cissy Nantume & the entire CAS team
Organizer
Lyndsay Lundgren Harshman
Organizer
Woodinville, WA