The One for One Commitment

For every safari we sell, we send a child to school

Micato Safaris will match every safari it sells with payment of all school fees for a child in need...a child who would otherwise stay home due to extreme poverty. One safari, one child. That's our Our for One Commitment.

School Beyond Reach
A staggering 62,000 children in Nairobi's Mukuru slum, ages 6-16, cannot pay the necessary fees to attend school. While public school is "technically" free in Kenya, there are myriad fees associated with attendance. Families are expected to buy their child's desk, pay a share of the lunch cooks' salaries and cooking firewood, pay for term exams, and purchase a set of uniforms, books, reading and writing supplies. In short, expenditures that are far beyond the means of thousands of families.

During the summer of 2009, Dennis and Joy Pinto spent a few days in Mukuru's Kwa Njenga government primary school, which resulted in their commitment to revitalize the school's barren library as well as completely build another library for the people of Mukuru. But they knew that they wanted to do more. The question of how to structure an educational initiative for government schools was pondered.

A few months later the Pintos heard Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes present his company's One for One programme, which gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased. Mycoskie so inspired the Pintos that by lunchtime they were mapping out the concept, and our One for One education commitment was born.

Deep Roots: Micato and Education
While in a Nairobi shopping center in the mid-eighties, Micato employee Lorna Macleod was approached by a small boy. He was going from person to person with a note from his headmaster stating that he needed to raise 600 shillings--about $15--to buy a uniform before being allowed in school.

Macleod read the note and handed the boy the entire 600 shillings. Overwhelmed, he gazed at the bundle of banknotes and whispered a tearful "God Bless You" before dashing away.

That chance encounter sparked an insight. Micato was the perfect bridge between children in need and kindhearted safari travellers wishing to help. So we gave that bridge a name: AmericaShare. And together, Micato-AmericaShare has been helping to change lives for the better ever since.

Serving the Children of Mukuru for 25 Years...and Counting
Micato-Americashare has been working with the people of the Mukuru slum for a quarter century. We even constructed a thriving Community Centre there offering life-changing programmes for women and children.

With these deep roots, we have a unique ability to reach the poorest children and arrange for their schooling. In fact, for many years we've operated an extraordinary boarding-school programme for Mukuru's neediest children. Generous Micato travellers sponsor these children's tuitions to quality boarding schools. In the process, profound and lasting bonds have been established. To find out how to become a sponsor, visit the AmericaShare page.

A Safari Taken. A Child's Life Changed.
Your safari makes it possible for us to create a wonderfully sustainable business of charity. It's inspiring. Moreover, it's simply the right thing to do. Every child deserves an education.We're overjoyed to be contributing to this inalienable right.

Read more about our One for One Commitment and our award-winning safaris: read, download, or request the Micato brochure today.