BeadforLife Graduation
Next Trip: April 11 – 21, 2012!!!
**Please look to the right sidebar for links to specific details**
Have you dreamed of visiting Africa but want a more authentic experience than looking at it through the window of an air-conditioned bus? Do you want to connect, one-on-one, with people who are actively working to lift themselves out of poverty and ask them what their lives are like? Do you want to see East Africa’s classic wildlife in a spectacular landscape bisected by the River Nile?
Conservation Concepts and BeadforLife (co-founded by my wife, Devin Hibbard) have been partnering since 2007 to offer full-immersion travel experiences to Uganda. These trips are highly interactive, and give you a deep look into the lives of the individuals you meet and the work of BeadforLife in Uganda.
On Safari in Murchison Falls
My philosophy around trip leading is simple: Set up interactions between North Americans and Ugandans and then get out of the way. While living in Uganda for the first time in 2004-2005 to do my fieldwork for my Masters in Conservation Education, I was continually amazed by how wonderful the people of Uganda are. I started this company so that I could provide the opportunity for others to immerse themselves in this place.
I am a naturalist and educator at heart, and bring both of these passions to these trips. I have been an environmental educator, trip leader and group facilitator for about 15 years now, and the trips I have led to Uganda stand out as some of the most life-changing both for myself and the participants.
Here are just a few elements of what you will experience if you decide to join us:
- Learn about the complicated issues of global poverty and BeadforLife’s holistic approach to poverty eradication.
- Visit BeadforLife’s Friendship Village to see the life-changing benefits of home ownership
- Go on a 4-day safari in Murchison Falls National Park
- Explore environmental issues and their impacts on people’s lives
- Visit an AIDS clinic and find out what living with HIV means in Africa
This will not be a “sugarcoated” experience. Africa is complex, and that’s what this trip is all about. What if saving endangered wildlife means farmers can’t feed their children? What if free AIDS medications don’t help because they make people who can’t afford food hungrier than they already are? Be ready to dive into these issues and more.
Just Like Little Miss Sunshine!
This is not a luxury trip, so bring your sense of humor and your flexibility! We will have modest but comfortable accommodations, eat local food and have opportunities to see the diverse lifestyles of the Ugandan people. Evenings will be a time to debrief about our experience, share stories, and reflect. Come prepared for a group experience—including living, eating and traveling with the other trip members. Flexibility is a must as we interact with the Ugandan culture and embrace a slower pace, new languages and the unexpected joys of traveling in another country. Sometimes the best adventures come when the unexpected happens!
Follow the links above to get more information about this trip. To request enrollment forms or if you have more questions, click here. We hope you’ll join us!!
