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Our responsible commitment extends to helping the local communities we visit. We employ local guides, porters and other essential support staff, and use locally owned accommodation.
We donate approximately US $400 per trek to the Arkwasyie Project (through Community Projects Africa), which provides important medical support in the remote Simien Mountains. The Amhar people of the remote Simiens are friendly, humorous, and extremely tough. They love their impoverished and savagely beautiful mountain terrain.
Our Simien Mountains trek travels through the village of Arkwasyie. By trekking with them and the long cavalcade of mules you will have an experience never to be forgotten. Frequently you enter villages and huts; and see close at hand the need for medical supplies and personnel.
There is an obvious need of assistance from the outside world both to deal with immediate medical needs - wound dressing, treatment of infections, a simple programme of immunisations etc. But also to develop sustainable methods of health care. The village elders at Arkawasyie village protest that the aid agencies never reach their village, which is a good few days from the nearest hospital.
In this remote area are found children and adults, suffering with infected wounds, broken bones causing terrible pain, and a variety of chest and gut problems. Hence we are helping Community Projects Africa to put together a programe to deliver sustainable aid. Ethiopian Health Officers are startingg their work in the region in November 2006, thanks to the support of our trekkers.
Looking to the future, we are planning to support the establishment of permanent Health Posts in the Simiens. Once they are set up the Ethiopian government will take over and fund the Health Officers and medical supplies.
As a company we have also drastically reduced the carbon footprint of our UK operations, and are making a huge effort to do so in their destination countries too. We are also investing to offset the emissions from the international flights required to take part in our challenges.
We also provide travellers with a responsible tourism policy detailing ways in which you can be an ethical traveller. From packing conscientiously to advice on local customs & environmental awareness overseas to maintaining contact with your new international friends upon your return – our policy is a comprehensive document providing all the info you need to trek, climb of cycle responsibly.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
