We’re thrilled when our passion for educating children ignites a similar passion in others, so you can imagine our delight when we learned that Chatelaine (one of Canada’s leading women’s magazines), was inspired to write about our One for One programme in the Travel section of their most recent issue.

The travel destination of this particular issue was Kenya, so it is not surprising to see Micato Safaris featured – it is, after all, our home. The feature mentions our devotion to luxury, attention to detail, and our hot-air balloon safaris that end in champagne breakfasts. But the focus is on giving back, not just with One for One, but also through the efforts of our nonprofit arm, AmericaShare, and the kind and generous gifts of some of our travellers.

Chatelaine quotes our founder Felix Pinto, saying: “Tourists come to Africa for the animals, but it’s the people they remember when they leave.”

They often do more than just remember, and Chatelaine pointed out two of our favorite examples of selfless generosity: the $100,000 gift from one couple that allowed us to build the Harambee Community Centre in the Mukuru slum, and the young boy who donated all his Bar Mitzvah money – enough to build a basketball court for the Mukuru children!

We are very often humbled by the generosity of our guests, and we appreciate Chatelaine for illustrating so well all the good that they do. We all go on safari hoping to return with photos of lions, zebras and elephants, but more and more of our guests seem to come home with even more – a dedication to a brighter future for African children. We’re overjoyed to be able to help.

Read the full Chatelaine article here.

Micato’s nonprofit arm, AmericaShare, is at the forefront of a life-changing initiative in Africa—and it appears The New York Times has taken notice!

Tuesday’s New York Times featured an article about one of our projects designed to keep African girls in school every day of the month. The project is the creation of reusable sanitary napkins for impoverished girls in the slums. An unfortunate reality is that school-age girls typically miss one week of school each month when menstruating since disposable sanitary napkins are beyond the reach of poor families.

The Micato-AmericaShare Harambee Centre is the headquarters for this remarkable project. Washable and reusable sanitary napkins are being sewn by our women’s group and packaged into kits that include eight pads, three pair of underwear, washing soap, plastic storage bags and a pamphlet about safe sex and HIV/AIDS.  These kits are being distributed free of charge to girls via the Kenyan Girl Guide Association. The expectation is that this project will be replicated throughout Africa at other community centers serving impoverished populations.

The project was launched by Huru International, an organization that was founded by Micato’s own Lorna MacLeod, the executive director of AmericaShare. The word ‘Huru’ means ‘freedom’ in Swahili and the organization’s mission is to empower girls by providing them with the knowledge and resources they need to develop into healthy, economically secure women.  Huru International’s partners are the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Johnson & Johnson and Warner Brothers, amongst others.

All of us at Micato are immensely proud of our involvement in this meaningful endeavour.  We hope you will take a moment and read all about it.