Choose a Challenge is a travel platform that facilitates meaningful travel challenges for college students while fundraising for charity. The company has taken over 12,000 students abroad on life-changing challenges, raising over US$25 million for charitable causes.

On this week's podcast, I spoke with Mike, the Senior Brand and Marketing Coordinator for Choose a Challenge USA. We talked about the company’s commitment to empowering youth through meaningful travel, as well as their solid commitment to sustainable tourism.

Through collaboration with colleges and universities through the US and the UK, Choose a Challenge facilitates challenging adventures abroad while giving students the opportunity to fundraise for a charity of their choice. Challenges include summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, running the Edinburgh Marathon in Scotland or hiking Peru’s Machu Picchu.

“Our tours are designed to challenge and motivate students,” Mike explains.”Students take these memories and experiences well into their adult life.”

Through sustainable tourism initiatives like carbon offsetting and plastic reduction, as well as values such as authenticity and creating community, Choose a Challenge stands out as a company empowering youth to travel and give back.

Website: https://chooseachallenge.org/

What if we changed the way we looked at trash? What if our trash could become a valuable resource, with monetary value? We’re talking about this concept on the show today.

In this episode, I speak with Alan Bywaters, founder of Green Stars - a global cooperative with a mission to regenerate the planet.

Through collaboration with experts all around the world - scientists, engineers and pioneers - Alan has spent much of the past decade researching technologies to convert wasted resources like plastic, cigarette filters, metals, paper and more, into valuable and useful resources like energy and fuel.

As a scientist and engineer, Alan confirms that nothing can be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. Having worked on the first municipal Waste-to-Energy plant in the UK and a wind farm near Scotland, he realised the capacity to transform waste into resources.

He has since taken this knowledge to smaller communities in developing regions who could largely benefit from a more sustainable method of waste management. The perfect scenario would be a solution where waste is transformed to resources which can be sold for money. This idea birthed the Trash2Cash program, an initiative that teaches marginalised communities to change the way they look at waste.

In the podcast, we talk about the Trash2Cash program, the future of Green Stars and the technologies required to implement Trash2Cash programs in regions globally.

For more information visit the Green Stars website: http://greenstars.eco/

View the crowdfunding campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-magic-of-trash2cash-truck

Across Asia and Africa, from Kathmandu to Kigali, I Like Local showcases immersive travel experiences directed by locals themselves. This means that 100% of the money asked by the local hosts is directly paid to them.

In this week's episode I speak with Sanne Meijboom, the founder of I Like Local and Impact Nomads. Sanne resides in Nairobi, Kenya and has spent much of the past 4 years committed to connecting travellers with local communities, enabling shared connections and experiences. 

Since founding the platform, Sanne has been able to empower hundreds of individuals to economically benefit from tourism in their countries.

In the podcast we discuss:

- Sanne's journey to create and build I Like Local

- How I Like Local helps communities thrive

- How travel is transforming into something more meaningful 

- The rise of travel and social enterprise in Africa

- Sanne's other venture, Impact Nomads

- What it's like to be a nomad

- The future of I Like Local

For more information visit the I Like Local website here. 

What does sustainable development after a natural disaster look like? 

On this week’s episode I am speaking with Beth Huggins, program coordinator at Conscious Impact.

Conscious Impact is an organisation that invites international volunteers of all backgrounds to join their camp in rural Nepal and offer skilled or unskilled labour, financial donations, and compassionate service to local communities.

On the 25th of April 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and injuring nearly 22,000. This earthquake was one of the darkest days in Nepal’s history, 800,000 homes were destroyed and a further 298,000 were damaged. 

4 years on, there are still remnants of this earthquake wherever you turn. It is estimated less than 20% of homes have been rebuilt since the earthquake struck.

The region of Takure, in Nepal’s east, lost 99% of their homes. Through a long-term partnership and collaboration, Conscious Impact is helping to rebuild this region. 

Topics discussed in the episode - 

You can refer to my blog for more on Conscious Impact or visit their website to learn about how you can support this cause. 

Artwork credit: Ankit Tanu

CW // Violence/murder

Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees, and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. 

In this episode, I interview special guest, Zaki, to discuss what it's like to flee hardship and live life as a refugee. Zaki is a refugee from Afghanistan. After his father disappeared the Taliban then targeted Zaki to be killed. In 2013, only 17 years old, he escaped from Afghanistan and came to Australia by boat. He has spent the past few years on a bridging visa, studying English and being an inspirational activist for refugee rights, helping others who have had to endure the horrifying burden of seeking asylum. 

In this interview, he opens up about his heart-rending journey of loss and faith, with the hope to help raise awareness of the plight of refugees around the world. You'll need your tissues for this moving story of courage and sacrifice. Thank you Zaki, you're a true inspiration.

To support refugees in Australia please visit the below links:

https://www.racs.org.au/