In September 2018, an all-female Journeys with Purpose expedition, called ‘Rise of the Matriarch’, will make its way through various southern African countries, taking a limited number of people to some extraordinary places and conservation projects.
Journeys with Purpose is an ecotourism fundraising initiative inviting people to join the Blue Sky Society Trust on expeditions through Africa, combining adventure travel with conservation projects. The aim of this upcoming expedition is to travel 9,000+ kilometres over 50 days, through four countries across southern Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Participants can choose to join a leg of the 6-week journey, and take part in raising money for non-profit organisation, with a focus on human-wildlife conflict and youth conservation education.
The first expedition, ‘Elephant Ignite Expedition‘, took place in 2016, where the aim was to raise money and awareness for the poaching crisis that is currently affecting Africa’s wildlife and, in particular, elephants. The expedition focused on community upliftment, youth education, public awareness for wildlife crime and poaching, and a fundraising drive to support the organisations that are fighting the battles on the frontline.
A group of 13 ladies set out on a 100-day journey from South Africa to Kenya, driving over 15,787 km for African elephants.
They visited 37 different organisations and handed out over 10,000 educational booklets to children in areas adjacent to conservation areas. In the end, they managed to raise close to R400,000 for worthwhile conservation projects.
When, where, why, and how
This second expedition will run over the next two years starting in September 2018. The journey will take a total of 8 crew members at a time, through various southern African countries over a 6-week period. Each year a route will be plotted and various wildlife organisations and conservationists will be visited on that particular journey.
• 2018 involves travelling into South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe
• 2019 involves travelling further north into South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda
Departure date: 7th September 2018
There is a cost involved to be part of the Journeys with Purpose hand-picked crew. This is not an expedition for everyone and will involve crew members getting involved hands-on in daily chores – cooking, cleaning, camp set up, driving and helping with additional fundraising, etc.
Highlights of the ‘Rise of the Matriarch’ expedition
• Visiting conservation groups, seeing the work they are doing with mitigation projects to help with the human-wildlife coexistence problem.
• Visiting schools and communities and interacting with them. Hearing their stories and the challenges they face.
• Handing out human-wildlife conflict educational booklets to children in areas adjacent to wildlife areas.
• Meeting anti-poaching units – these are the men and women that put their lives on the line every single day to protect our animals.
Follow the Blue Sky Society Trust Facebook page, or contact Carla Geyser, for more information about the upcoming Journeys With Purpose expedition!
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