CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Travel Elevates’ 2023 Sponsored Projects are poised for serious momentum.

written by ERIN LENTZ

EVERY YEAR, AS PART OF TRAVEL ELEVATES’ OVERARCHING MISSION TO FOSTER PROJECTS EMPOWERING GLOBAL COMMUNITIES, it identifies and awards funding and support to multiple non-profit organizations. This year, the exciting recipients are already positively impacting local communities via education and economic impact. A snapshot of progress in motion, these four game changers define the rippleeffect: an inspired vision can lead to significant change. Here’s to further momentum!

Conservation Lower Zambezi

Who: Conservation Lower Zambezi is a non-profit organization committed to the protection of wildlife and the sustainable use of natural resources in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi. Founded in 1994, its four pillars include: wildlife protection, environmental education, community empowerment, and wildlife reintroduction and research.

Why: With the mantra “Working Today to Protect Tomorrow,” it supports environmental education and humanwildlife co-existence — a symbiotic relationship critical to vibrant communities in the Lower Zambezi.

2023 Project: The Travel Elevates grant will support scholars and teachers from 65 schools, ultimately reaching 3,500 scholars annually.

Education Africa

Established in 1992, Education Africa delivers quality education to underserved communities. It’s mission? With 30-plus years fostering real change, it provides poverty alleviation via education. With a culture of learning and teaching, it strives to reach and uplift the most vulnerable with opportunities to improve access to relevant education, in turn enabling students to eventually participate in the global economy.

Why: Educating, equipping, and empowering communities through early education is imperative to the wellbeing of not only young students, but in turn, the vibrancy of the community at large.

2023 Project: The Travel Elevates project will address the lack of high-quality early learning opportunities available for South African children. Direct beneficiaries include 113 female educators and 70-percent of youth (ages 18-35) from low socioeconomic status. Indirect beneficiaries include up to 250,000 vulnerable children (ages three-five) over an average 30-year career span per educator.

Project Luangwa

Who: Established in 2010, Project Luangwa has constructed and built infrastructure for 12 schools, impacting 4,500-plus children in education each year. The backstory: Several of the valley’s tour operators realized the need to empower communities and show the incredible benefits that wildlife and an unspoiled habitat bring to the region.

Why: With a mantra of “community empowerment through tourism,” by using a portion of the proceeds from each visitor, Project Luangwa seeks to reaffirm the importance of tourism in action.

2023 Project: The Travel Elevates grant supports a project titled DigiLearn, which makes learning more accessible. The grant enables Project Luangwa to purchase equipment, including tablets, projector screens, solar panels, and batteries. Once the program is fully up and running across multiple sites, it will directly impact nearly 2,000 children every year and have life-long positive results for their families and communities.

Pincc

Who: PINCC’s mission is to prevent cervical cancer in low- and middleincome countries by employing low-cost, yet effective technology. It creates sustainable programs in patient education, medical personnel training, and facility outfitting.

Why: Put simply: The disease is preventable. Most cervical cancer deaths occur in women who live in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) where adequate screening and treatment is unavailable. PINCC workings to make cervical dysplasia treatment available to every woman.

2023 Project: The Travel Elevates grant will support HPV self-testing to conquer cervical cancer. The initiative aims to increase health access and education among reproductiveaged women via the provision of the lifesaving thermoablation device, training in technology use, training in screening, and continued long-term support for education and equipment.