Travel and Purpose

Claire is an Irish travel writer and the Roamie-ing Reporter for G Adventures' Roamies trips—small group tours for 18-35 year-old travelers. Here she discusses her recent trip to Peru, where among other adventures, she climbed Rainbow Mountain, sandboarded at Huacachina and explored Machu PIcchu. The G Adventures program G for Good offers travelers the opportunity to visit positive social projects on their trip.

Christina Lowery is Cofounder and CEO of Girl Rising, a storyteling nonprofit that supports girls' education in 12 countries. 130 million girls around the world do not have access to education and it is the mission of Girl Rising to change the way girls' education is viewed and valued. Their content reaches 400 million viewers in 170 countries. CATALYST talks with her about her visit to Rajasthan, India and the work of Girl Rising.

Tanya Weaver, Executive Director of the American Foundation for Children with Aids, works in African countries where there are more orphans with AIDS than anywhere in the world—15 million. In Zimbabwe, her programs offer farming assistance, goat breeding and beekeeping programs to help families as well as providing medical supplies. In addition, they offer traveling programs called Vacations with a Purpose which provide volunteering opportunities for travelers.

Lindsay visited Rwanda and Gorilla Guardians Village, an environment that promotes sustainable travel and combats gorilla poaching. Hear what it’s like to trek among gorillas and learn about their efforts to protect and conserve these animals. Listen as she talks about the history and travel options in this country, once known for a vicious genocide, and now a unified nation ready to welcome travelers.

Patrick lived in Kyrgyzstan for 9 years, working to bring tourism there and promoting outdoor adventure. Historically it has been a mountaineering destination, home to one of the easiest 7000m peaks in the world, and recently ski touring and horseback riding have become popular. The country has experienced political instability, including a number of revolutions. Listen to Patrick recount his first hand experience of the 2010 revolution.

Victoria founded the nonprofit Maysea in Nicaragua where she works with rural off-grid jungle communities. She also runs "co-giving trips" that combine adventure with impact in this area of the Pacific Coast renowned for surfing and outdoor exploration.

Yulia is a travel journalist who created an innovative travel company to bring people to places misrepresented by mass media. She is currently focused on the Middle East and here she talks about her organized trips to Jordan, where she works with eco-tourism initiatives that offer employment to local Bedouin communities. Learn more about the welcoming population, diverse cultures and other worldly landscapes in Jordan.

Mark Crandall is Founder of Hoops4Hope, a nonprofit that is committed to building and sustaining a community ecosystem that is a catalyst for positive youth development and social change through sports. He started in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and his programs reach more than 7500 kids each year in over 60 schools in those countries, with their peer educational model shared around the world in 7 countries. Among his experiences are a team bike trip around the circumference of Zimbabwe to highlight the power of sport for development, a partnership with NBA Africa and Basketball without Borders.

Carmen Castricum is Founder of The Green Stamp, a platform dedicated to presenting ethical and donation-based wildlife tours in South America, Asia and Africa. Here she discusses jaguar conservation in Bolivia and her visit to the Jaguar Conservation Ranch. Jaguar populations are being dramatically reduced due to deforestation, cattle ranching and killings, and the ranch offers local education to combat this.

The Peace Corps no longer operates in Mauritania due to the risk to Americans but here Dave Aabo recounts his experience working there years ago. There are many human rights issues in the country. While Dave was there slavery was legal, and even in 2018, although then illegal, there were more than 90,000 slaves in the country. It is an Islamic Republic where atheism is punishable by death. After leaving Mauritania, Dave went on to do the Peace Corps in Peru and later founded Waves International, a surf travel and volunteer organization in Lobitos that increases surf access to locals, provides English classes and beach clean up to the community.