irresponsible tourism
Today, I decided to write in my way. An informal one. I decided to stop one second and think. For this reason, I please you all, to do the same and to observe the world. Just one second, maybe two. Maybe just the time you need to see how beautiful is this planet. Your planet. My planet. Our planet. I know, this is just a picture. One of the thousands. Here’s why, I please you to imagine. I ask you to be there, outside of the blue. Outside of our limits, of our borders. I please you to see, that the only borders are just green veins we usually call mountains. I ask you to see, that the only obstacles are charismatic pool of water we know with the name of seas. Everything out there is connected by the shade of mighty colors. Everything out there is linked by the silent mystery of perfection. A perfection we believe to not be real, in front of a religion, in front of a flag, in front of a culture, in front of a science. In this number, we have decided to be informal and to be united in our feelings and in our numbers. We have being so through the shape of a trip. One of those, which constraints humans under the social issue of being immigrants. One of those, which forges us with the lucky label of being travelers. One of those, we could use to integrate our knowledges and instead we waste through the social meaning of a border. Diego Ottaviano
IS POLAND A COUNTRY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?
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Brace youlselves, for guiris are coming
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SEXUAL TOURISM
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MEXICO CITY: among a big city or a big lie
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OPPORTUNITY for ecovoluntourism IN PALLISA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST (PACODET)
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Maja Michaliszyn
Francesco Camonita
Marcela Guerrero
David Muñoz Cuenca
The editorial staff of ‘10:25 international’ wishes to express its gratitude to all the writers and collaborators of this project. In the specific, we wish to thank Maja for her insight from Poland, Marcela for her writing against the injustice of sexual tourism, David for guiding us among two sides of Mexico City, Francesco for sharing a walk through the threat of irresponsible tourism, Stanley for helping us to enlarge our ideas of travelling, and finally Adriano and Paolo Z. two photographers which views lead us to discover new emotions. Special thanks go to Giacomo and Paolo V., two professional persons, who have embraced this project with passion, dedication and ambition. A warm thanks is also reserved to Salvo Ognibene and the staff of Diecieventicinque. Working and collaborating with them all, it is simply a great experience. Finally, we all wish to thank you, reader. Without you we would not be able to write, to picture, to share.
Stanley Okurut
Is Poland a country for young people?
Maja Michaliszyn
etamcru.com
According to the Central Statistical Office (Główny Urząd Statystyczny), at the end of 2011, over 1 million 750 thousand of Polish citizens resided in Europe, 63 thousands more than in 2010. As the statistics show the highest number of Poles emigrated to the UK, Germany, Ireland and Netherland. The mass emigration of Poles started after 2004 when Poland entered the European Union. Most of the people who emigrated since then were born in the 70’s and 80’s. The main reason why those young and often well-educated people left the country is the economical situation of Poland and the lack of perspectives. In Poland, where for many years it is difficult to find a job (in 2013, the unemployment rate rose over 14 per cent) and where it is difficult to make ends meet with an average salary (1500 zł. = 359 € per month), 64 per cent of Poles believe they will have a chance for a better quality of life only abroad. Also, Polish emigrants often mention the existence of better family policies abroad than in Poland. That is why, more and more Poles decide to set up families abroad and those who have families in Poland decide to bring them abroad. What is more, many young people like me decide to go abroad for education reasons where the quality of 4
teaching is very high. They count that with a foreign degree they will have better chances for career development and therefore a better future. From my own experience, it is easier to get a place at a very good British University such as the University of Glasgow (54th place in the QS World University Ranking in 2012) than at the Polish top university (401st place in the same ranking). The competition to enter a public university in Poland is enormous. Public universities are free and therefore more than 20 people often compete for one place. Moreover, there are other advantages of the UK teaching system in comparison with Polish one such as the individual treatment of students and the flexibility of choosing subjects in the first two years of studies which does not exist in Poland. The relations with professors at the British universities are much more friendlier and relaxed. Professors treats you as a partner on whose help and advice you can count. In Poland, there is a great gap between professors and students. Professors are often unapproachable and they misuse their position. Also, the bureaucracy of Polish universities is another obstacle for an average student. In addition, The British university teaching is much more centered on practice and experience than theory and simple memorizing of a text. Furthermore, from my
own experience I can say that the hard-working students are much more appreciated in the UK. The best students can count on various significant awards. This situation should be alarming for the Polish government. The mass emigration of young, ambitious and well-educated people from the country might cause a serious danger for the future of Poland. Population decreases mainly on the account of working-age people and the percentage of the elderly in the age structure of population increases significantly which in the decades to come will lead to a decrease of the number of potential taxpayers and employees on the labour market. The market will be also lacking various specialists. In addition, most of the money earned by Poles abroad will reinforce the Gross Domestic Product of other countries. According to Central Statistical Office, between 2014-20, 130 billion Euros earned by Polish emigrants will feed GDP of other countries. In 2007, when the emigration was at its peak, the Polish government decided to launch a special programme to encourage young people to come back to Poland and invest money in their own country. The programme was supposed to facilitate young people their return and acclimatization in their own country after time spent abroad. Did the government keep its promises? Well, from my own experience I can say that the return to Poland after more than 5 years spent abroad was a great shock and a complete mistake. I came back to Poland for many reasons. First of all, I was hoping that with my fist-class degree in two disciplines from the leading British university, fluent knowledge of two foreign languages and work experience in world-leading museum institutions, I will have better chances to find an employment in Krakow - a cultural capital of Poland. Also, I came back because it is a place that I missed, where I was raised, where my relatives live and which I was nostalgic for. It is a place where my language is spoken, which history and traditions I share and where I thought I felt at ease. When I came back to Poland, after first few weeks of happiness from the return, I met with constant barriers from my country. Polish institutions are not interested in the fate of returning emigrants. I applied for many job offers at museums and other cultural institutions and I heard back only from one of them. It turned out that in Poland your skills and experien-
ce do not count so much as connections. Since I was away from the country for five years, I do not have any significant contacts which would facilitate my entrance to the museum world in Poland. The bureaucracy of the Polish institutions is another barrier for the Poles who come back from abroad. I had unbelievably many problems with an approval of my diploma. The certified translation was not enough. The job centre which I turned to decided that my five-year-long degree called Masters of Arts will appear in their electronic system as a bachelor which in Poland takes only 3 years, even though five-yearlong degree in Poland gives you a Master title. As an unemployed, I was also treated with a lot of indolence and disdain by many clerks. Other Poles who came back from abroad mention such barriers as difficulty to open your own business because of enormous taxes, lack of social support from the country, schools unprepared to integrate kids of emigrants and a general difficulty to accommodate yourself to a new situation. There are many actions the Polish government should take to convince young people to stay in Poland and to reduce the emigration, i.e.: limit bureaucracy, encourage the opening of new businesses by reducing initial costs connected with it, improve family and social policies, help graduates in finding employment, promote knowledge and skills not connections, improve the university system… Will any of this happen? I don’t know… In the meantime, like many young Poles I plan to leave my country for the UK to study again, this time at the postgraduate level. Now I know that after I finish my studies, I will stay abroad. I realize it might not be easy. Living abroad is not that sweet as many people might think. Anyone who emigrated abroad understands how difficult it is at first to set up in a foreign country, alone, far from your family and friends, with a language barrier, different mentality and habits, where many things are so different. Moreover, in a time of international crises, the economical situation gets worse around the world and it is getting difficult to find a job everywhere. However, I already went this way once. I am convinced that I have more perspectives abroad, more chances for self-development and that I can lead a more stable life there. Unfortunately, Poland let me down.
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Brace yourselves, for “guiris” are coming!
Francesco Camonita
Paolo Zapparoli
If there is one thing I’ve learned about life abroad, it is that you never stop learning from the language, the culture and the country you choose to live in. Indeed, one of the first colloquial expressions I learned upon my arrival in Spain was “guiri”, namely the definition for typical naive, laughable foreign tourists that stand out of the crowd for their features. It was only after getting past the fact that I was constantly labeled as one, after the Italian accent got less musical around the edges and I learned more about the metro system and the cultural traditions, that I actually started wondering how Spanish people ended up with a new word for the concept. The answer was not too hard to find when you put culture into context. Since the days of relaxation of the Franquist regime, Spain has been massively exploiting the “Sol y Playa Barata” (Cheap Sun and Beach Holidays) concept, looking forward to offer massive fiestas through prices that were often cheaper than touristy counterparts. Certainly, the potentialities for tourism as an economic benefit for development and prosperity cannot be easily dismissed. 6
That is especially true nowadays when the “Ryanair generation” only knows too well the beauty of Ibiza with its endless partying, the Gaudinian Barcelona with its amazing expansion to cultural capital of Europe after the ‘92 Olympics, and the touristy charm of Lloret de Mar. In the end, nobody would question the right to an unforgettable, precious, crazy partying and sightseeing holiday. Yet there seems to be an insidious other side of the coin that escapes the mentality of digital cameras and sunglasses. As a matter of fact, and just to give an example out of many, organizations like the Spanish Observatory for Irresponsible Tourism recently claimed the presence of a touristic “massification” around the city of Barcelona, with a large number of complaints over loud disturbances at night and prices-above-average irregularities in the daily costs of life in the city. Furthermore, allegations are being made over the massive invasion of tourists in the city center, with Las Ramblas (namely the most important street in the Catalan capital) being “infested” with hordes of foreign families at daytime and
massive packs of partying foreigners at night. The situation does not appear to be any different in the surrounding areas, with all the little touristy towns constantly facing foreign holiday invasions, escalating at times like in the incredible 2011 Lloret de Mar riot, where partying tourists ended up in violent struggles against Spanish police forces. Irresponsible tourism, although not a familiar concept to the masses, seems to be growing up in importance. It only takes a quick Google search to find out about an EU website for the EARTH Network, a new project promoting the idea of a somewhat “respectful” tourism. Irresponsibility is here understood as a problem to be tackled by two somewhat specular opposites: sustainable tourism on one side and responsible tourism over the other. In the first case, you will end up discovering about massive environmental damage to ecosystems, with coastal areas demolished and reshaped as the typical all-included resorts and African safari tour operators whose animal exploitation can be amazingly cruel. And through the second concept, you will be pushed to think over respectful behaviors towards other cultures, exploitation of the local populations in order to achieve cheap deals holidays and the multiple ways your crazy partying can end up being a real issue for citizens on other parts of the world. Statistics only end up strengthening the issues at stake. As a proof, one recent study financed by the EU DAPHNE program on young tourism in Southern Europe was quite revealing. In different years, percentages always above fifty per cent of young interviewed taking a holiday in the Mediterranean area showed to be firstly attracted by the wild night life of the local place. This, in turn, showed that a total 2/3 of the youngsters inolved got heavily drunk and that a 51% of the total also got involved into bar fights or street violence. Furthermore, a percentage oscillating between 9% and 15% (according to the destination) admittedly reported sexual abuses of some kind. I admit to be thorn on the subject of Irresponsible Tourism. I understand the need to protect the environment, but I really can’t adhere to the kind of extreme initiatives like the “Give up Flying” campaign in order to reduce the CO2 emissions. I genuinely think that wild tourism isn’t either healthy nor safe, especially when heavy alcohol and drugs are involved, but I’m still on favour of good old nights out
that build up your special memories when you’re out there visiting that new place you have been dreaming about. However, there is a recent memory that popped out in my mind since the very moment I had to come up with this article. It was less than a month ago and I was visiting the wonderful Parc Güell for the tenth time in two years to let my Uni friend visit it. And I remember shouting tourists with deadly camera flashes, torturing the poor statue of the Salamander for a souvenir picture; craving to lean over the majestic columns and occupy every inch of the sea serpent terrace; eager to generate an endless and noisy queue to climb to the top of the crossed hill, namely the third most beautiful view of the city. And, believe me, I simply think that was the time I got closest to understanding the evil spirit of irresponsible tourism.
Adriano Martins
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Sexual tourism,
a difference between north and south
Marcela Guerrero
Paolo Zapparoli
This is an afternoon in Cartagena – Colombia, one of the most touristic cities in that country. The streets are burning, heat is in environment and this is not for less, Cartagena looks like a paradise not just for his history and beautiful beaches, it is also a perfect place for parties, drugs and sex lovers. The apparent tranquillity of the one of more abandoned neighbourhoods from Cartagena is interrupted to inform to Lourdes Tovar about her son death. The news about Yesid are spilt in few minutes in Olaya Herrera, a poor neighbourhood of Cartagena. Yesid was just 15 years old and used to work as companion of Paolo Pravisani an Italian man of 72 years old. He was found in Pravisani’s apartment naked and convulsing to cause of an overdose of cocaine. He has a violent death, had been hurt in his arms and legs and the authorities found that he had been injected with a substance called Ketoprofen which is mortal with cocaine. Paolo Pravisani used to pay to Yesid and others children younger than Yesid for sex, also to adults women to whom paid to have sex with the children
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in front from Him. In the Pravisani’s apartment the police found a camera with pornographic material, whisky and drugs. He was investigated and condemned to 15 years of prison for had had sex with a child of 14 years old but no for Yesid’s death. Despite, this is considered as symbolic and historical condemn in Colombia as Pravisani is the first one foreign tourist decried to sexual crimes. Yesid’s case put in evidence to local authorities a big issue that has increased in last years in this country. Is sufficient to visit one of the most popular sectors in Cartagena to confirm that sexual tourism is not an isolated issue. Every day more amounts of people linking to this business. Sellers, masseurs, taxi drivers and a lot of people offers tourist services have inside of their propositions sex and drugs. Tourism sex has increased in the last decade, especially in Central and South America in countries as Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico and its causes are complex to hold responsible just to tourist or local people. However, the majority of these societies have similar problems
related with poor conditions, social exclusion, migration from countryside and corruption, between others. For example, in Cartagena’s case, according to Colombian government, more than 500.000 people lives in extreme poor conditions, many of them has been out of rural areas as result of arm conflict between guerrilla’s Farc and paramilitary groups. In spite of Brazil does not have an armed conflict, this is the country that most tourist receives in South America, particularly from Unites States and western Europe (same than Colombia), favouring the sexual tourism. However, to difference of others countries, Brazilian authorities has recognised this issue and have designed strategies to prevent it and to motivate responsible and sustainable tourism.
gh the planning is an important factor to foresee the consecuences of a process, to believe that it is the only cause of sex turism issue is to reduce too much a problem that is directly related with social structural issues of which impacts can be reduced with public politics. Evidently, the tourism in third world countries is cheaper and easier for the majority of people from United States or Europe, because of development countries are promoting foreing investment and tourism. Then while people from middle class of United States or Europe would not access to luxurious hotels in those places, can travel to other destination as Thailand, Indonesia, South America or The Caribe to enjoy of beautiful places.
In contrast, Cuba one of the first places of Latin America in to be to invaded for sexual tourism, has ignored this topic that for long time has affected to Cubans. Two months ago the Canadian newspaper thestart.com published an article called “Paradise for sex tourists: Cuba land of sun, sand and cheap child prostitutes” supported in a confidential report on child sex tourism, obtained by a Star investigative team, identifies Cuba as one of the most popular destinations in the Americas for child sex tourism. Ironically, who reported this situation were not cubans, was a Canadian media, where are from mains sexual customer in Cuba, this represents the interest by Cuban government in to hide that problem.
However, these touristic plans that are cheaper for foreing people are not affordable to local people and this contributes to reinforce the differences and inequalities between visitors and locals. When the locals do not have other alternative as livelihood way that satisface to the visitor. Maybe this is one of the most sad faces of big difference between rich and poor countries, between north and south and Latin America and Europa.
In Mexico thanks to its proximity with the North of America, their main customers are from Unites States and sex tourism has found a big niche to cause of poverty and social inequalities, which the mains victims are children who finally do not have access to opportunities to leave of poverty spiral and to survival the only option is the prostitution. Nonetheless, to other side of the world, Asia has the same problem but probably with an aggravating factor, the time. Countries as Thailand and Philippines has been recognised as sexual destination, specially in 60’s and 70’s decades during Vietnam’s war, when these countries were famous to offer amusement for men. Many analysts claim sexual tourism can be result of touristic develop process without planning and to exemplify this with Thailandia, Camboya, Zambia, Cuba, Indonesia and Brazil cases. However, althou-
Paolo Zapparoli
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Mexico City: Among a big city or a big lie
David Muñoz Cuenca
are poor districts and they are not suitable for tourists. Even though, the presence of these problematics, the Ministry of Tourism of the city has been responsible for promoting an image of Mexico City as clean, safe and guaranteed to its visitors. Still, this picture of the city can only be true from the International Airport to those areas of comfort and luxury that host thousands and thousands of tourists every months. One of the best areas you can certainly visit is the City Centre. Here, there are a large number of mu-
seums and historical buildings where people can easily breathe the Spanish colonial past just enjoying a walk around, maybe in the evening during the sunset. The Condesa area, inhabited by foreigners, is one of the most popular for tourists. This is a quiet area, which features a 24-hour public surveillance, transportation infrastructure that works almost 24 hours, street lighting, clean and safe parks, bike trails for residents and “green” tourists, restaurants with terraces
turismito.com
on the streets, bars with “nice” and rich people. This is the area of Luxury apartments, ready to be rented to anyone who can count on a decent income, money on one hand and keys in the pocket. mexicovacationtravels.com.jpeg
Mexico City is considered as one of the world’s largest cities by population. It reaches more than 21.2 million people and it is considered the biggest Spanish-speaking city in the world. There is no doubt that every year, Mexico city attracts thousands of tourists from all around the world, excited to meet, to be introduced and to experience the big city. These tourists take the risk of visiting “The Dangerous Mexico”. However, an important step should be considered: we must differentiate between the touristic Mexico City and the Mexican capital. Mexico City, like many other cities in the world, consists of several parts. There is an industrial area, there is downtown, there are several nightlife locations, there is a market area, and guaranteed there is also an extremely poor area. There are dangerous zones, where a tourist should not go and visit. One is Tepito, the place where go-
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ods can be sold as a product of illegal importation or simply as stolen merchandise. In areas like Tepito, where Mexicans can buy “cheaper products”, people go with the least amount of money, because of the high crime rate, because Tepito is undoubtedly a place not made for tourists. Iztapalapa, Ecatepec, and Nezahualcoyotl, three areas with a double face. They fake to be safe, maybe because of the nearness to the centre of the City. These are three zones that together concentrate a large percentage of the population. . Three areas that people daily cross to reach their jobs, their schools, their houses. Three large areas that can sometimes cost 2 hours of travelling by metro. At night, Iztapalapa, Ecatepec, and Nezahualcoyotl are marked by a high crime rate and high rate of killed people. Iztapalapa, Ecatepec, and Nezahualcoyotl are often on newspapers. They are for street fights, for murders, for assaults and so on. These areas are unfortunately well known by the inhabitants of Mexico City. They
As Condesa is “Zona Rosa”, which is in Colonia Roma, almost the core of the metropoly. Zona Rosa is known as the gay heart of the city. Mostly visited by homosexual (in large amount males) between 16 and 40 years old, this is the area where social classes are mixed, and in which some particular elements can be identified: safeness, freedom, and niceness. Zona Rosa has plenty of hotels, the Embassy of the United States is located here, and the main avenue of the city “Paseo de la Reforma” crosses places adorned with gardens, historical monuments, and large buildings. Here is like to be on the Mexican Champs-Élysées.
the Condesa, walked through the historic center, and enjoying an evening of spa in Zona Rosa, it could be claimed that these persons has known a utopia. The point of these lines is not to criticize the tourism promoted by the actual Mexico City’s Ministry of Tourism, which I certainly believe has done a lot for promoting tourism and for investing in the city. However, the criticism is in the “plastic tourist”, that kind of tourist who knowing the foundations of a city and its surroundings, prepares to visit it in complete blindness. While many areas of this monumental city are not safe and not proper to be visited, it is important that a tourist is aware of the fact, that this trip will most probably be a utopian dream in an area that doesn’t reflect the reality for most part of its citizens.
When tourists come to Mexico City, they usually visit a restricted area. They might think that the places on their itinerary are certainly worth seeing. However, does a tourist really get to know what is Mexico City? The touristic area is not more than 20% of the total whole of the city. People often go to Mexico and they only visit the nice area. Even though, they may believe they have seen all it’s important to know about life in Mexico City, after having eaten at 11
1.2 Landscape: Pallisa is mainly a plateau, which is traversed by numerous swamps and springs draining into Lake Kioga. It is however, surrounded by Lake Kioga in the North and Western parts. The District covers a total area of 1625 sq. Km, with 338 sq km a land area under water, representing 20.8%.
opportunity for ecovoluntourism in pallisa community development trust
(pacodet)
PACODET was created in 1989 by community members in order to provide integrated rural community health, food security and environment care development programs for an area of ten parishes with a population of over 60,000 people.
PACODET is a community-based organization runned by a general assembly constituted by individual members and groups from the communities that sponsor and support its activities. During the past 20 years, we have built up capacities and expertise to: * Help people living with HIV/AIDS; * Support orphans and vulnerable children (OVC); Assist local communities in dealing with HIV/ AIDS issues. PACODET’s catchment area includes 10 adjacent parishes bordering Kumi district and stretching across Pallisa and Butebo counties. There are about 100 villages in these parishes, which include Kapuwai and Kadesok in Kibale sub-county; Kameke, Akisim and Kisiran in Kameke sub-county; Odusai and Chelekura in Agule sub-county; Kanyum and Butebo in Butebo sub-county and Kagoli in Puti12
1.3 District Population: Pallisa District had a total population of 300,729, according to the population and housing census of 2002 report. However, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has projected population by the end of 2007, was 358,663, with children below 18 years making up 204,198 or 57% of the population, thus creating a big dependence burden on the other 43%. According to the 2002 Population and Housing census, orphans constituted 7% (15,814) of the district population i.e. out of every 100 children, 14 were orphaned. Stanley Okurut pacodet
puti sub-county. The project area consists of about 100,000 people, with at least 30,000 people of age range between 10-24 years. There are about 10,000 households and a quarter of them have orphans mainly as a result of HIV/AIDS. There are 30 primary schools, 3 secondary schools, and 6 health centers in PACODET’s catchment area. There are no vocational training schools in the district except for the nursing school that is being developed by PACODET. Pallisa District 1.1 Location: Pallisa District is located in the eastern region of Uganda. The District shares its borders with Namutumba District at Mpologoma river in the south, Budaka district in south east, Mbale district in north east, Kumi and Soroti districts in the north and Kaliro district in north east. The district has been created in 1991 by curving it out of Tororo and in 2006 it has given birth to Budaka District. With the exception of the war-torn areas of the north, Pallisa in eastern Uganda is the poorest of the 45 districts in the country. Its rural economy is devoid of natural resources and historic investments.
Opportunities for Ecovoluntourism Through PACODET PACODET looks at eco-voluntourism as an opportunity for visitors to our communities to enjoy the beauty nature offers in our community and country in general cheaply but at the same time offering their skills in various fields of their specialization for community development and empowerment. pacodet
Logistics Offered by PACODET PACODET offers free local accommodation, water, solar power and some cheap local foods fresh from the gardens to visitors during their stay. This helps cut down on their expenses during their stay in our country. There are also cheap transport means that range from bicycles to cars for rent to visit tourist attraction sites. Skill Areas to Offer by Ecovoluntourists PACODET offers health services, training of health workers and farmers. Skills/resources related to these areas will be of great value to the communities. Besides, there are primary and secondary schools within PACODET area that could benefit through teaching by ecovoluntourists. Tourists Attraction Sites Within PACODET area, visitors will have the opportunity to visit and climb high granite rocks that enables one to see the whole of Pallisa and surrounding districts. One will also have good view
of Mt Elgon in found in Eastern Uganda. The other historic site they will see is Ngero Rocks in Kumi district that have ancient rock paintings. Another attraction are different species of water and woodland birds. Pallisa district is rich in wetlands. Sites outside PACODET area include Sipi falls in Mt Elgon, source of river Nile, bujagali and Owen falls dam in Jinja and Kasubi tombs in Kampala. The others include national parks like Bwindi popular for gorilla, Mburo and Muchison for range of park animals to name a few. Duration of Stay This can range from months to years with a clear calendar for voluntary and tourist activities. Other Benefits Ecovoluntourists will be given a certificate of acknowledgement and and letter of recommendation all signed by the chairman and director of PACODET.
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