DONATE YOUR REFUND

One of our kind recurring clients started this thoughtful tradition.

We had refunded him a considerable amount of Namibia Dollars, because there was a change in his booking. Many would’ve probably spoiled themselves to a fancy dinner or the like, but this kind soul decided he wanted to donate his refunded money instead.

And since he was still travelling through Namibia himself at the time, he decided to buy maize meal and stationery for some of the communities which he passed through on his journey.

His donations lit up so many little faces!

Donating books, stationery, foods, sports equipment or similar things to schools or entire villages in rural areas is one thing. But giving money to beggars in cities has become an increasing problem across Namibia. Particularly the numbers of child beggars in Windhoek have increased worryingly over the past years. Some of these kids are individuals caught up in the vicious cycle of begging, while others are groups run by criminal syndicates. Take a look at the document provided by the City of Windhoek warning about the cycle of child begging and alternative ways to help.

When travelling through Namibia, please don’t feel like you HAVE to donate something. By visiting our country and spending your money here (whether in lodges, on campsites, in restaurants, at kiosks, in souvenir shops etc.) you are directly or indirectly helping pay a Namibian’s salary and in the end help him/her support their family. So by being here and supporting local business (whatever size) you are already helping and we are very thankful for that.

If you have a little extra to spare, here are a couple of ideas on how you could help even further.

If you have books, clothes, sports equipment, musical instruments or similar at home that are still in great condition but you no longer need, bring them along on your trip and hand them out to the people you encounter in rural areas on your journey or enquire with the manager at the lodge or campsite you are staying at if the staff and staff’s families could use it. There is a whole microcosmos which these lodges, guest farms or campsites support, so often you don’t even need to venture into unknown territory but can make a big difference in the small villages that form around such accommodation infrastructures.

Most lodges, guestfarms, hunting reserves and campsites do a lot for wildlife conservation too, whether implicitly or explicitly. These conservation efforts are a costly endeavours, so feel free to enquire at the lodge, farm or campsite you are staying at if the have a specific wildlife trust fund which you could support.

Or if you want to do it more anonymously, donate organisations. There are numerous organisations and trusts, here are just a few as an example:

You would like to support a specific cause and aren’t sure where to donate to? Talk to us, we’ll get you in contact with the right people.