Mon May 30 and Tues, May 31, 2011
Mon: Today we went to Boona Baana again and it was a good day. We helped the kids finish all their homework and then read a few books and went outside to play a game of soccer…boys against girls!! Then we talked with the owner and he was really encouraging and excited about our ideas for helping the kids with their funding for school, so we are all really happy! He thought that doing a calendar of the kids and their stories is a great fundraising idea and we are also going to work on updating their volunteer pamphlet and their website!
Tues: http://www.meso-tz.org/
The Multi-Environmental Society is a non-profit NGO dedicated to eco-tourism in Tanzania. Their aim is to improve the environment while also improving individual and community life as well. Responsible tourism is important for conserving natural and cultural resources in areas that your travel. Awareness is often the first step towards conservation efforts. Also by using eco-tourism groups, it creates an opportunity for money to go back into the community and support local individuals. My goal while in Tanzania is to be a responsible tourist because I want to give something back instead of just take an experience with me. If every tourist gave something back when they travelled to countries like Africa or every organization gave something back, I believe we could all make a difference, no matter how small or large, giving back can create change! Whether going on safari, a tour in Stonetown, or even just visiting a village, you can make it benefit the community in a positive way by booking with an organization that supports the local community or environment. By doing a bit of research it is easy to find organizations that donate a bit of the money they charge to go towards a good cause, such as building a school, preserving forests, helping animals, supporting hospitals or clinics, or caring for young children.
I am now going to quickly talk about the above article by Wade Davis because he has some great insight into cross-cultural exchange. His view on globalization and how that has changed cross-cultural relations is based on his explorations of remote areas of the world. By becoming more of a modern world, are we killing old traditional cultures and ways of life? Does modernity mean we can’t have traditional, or is there a way to have both? Its difficult to maintain culture with a global economy because commodity goods such as cell phones, television and the like get pushed onto cultures and these new ways of life often replace traditional ways of life. Davis believes travel is often negative because of the high costs of fuel and energy it takes for people to constantly be moving from place to place and this movement only continues to increase. He doesn’t believe all travel is bad, he also states it has many positive effects too when people use responsible tourism.
Considering Davis’s interpretation and those of many eco-tourism websites, I believe that Davis is correct that travel and movement has more negative consequences on the environment, but I also know that travel is not going to decrease and therefore by promoting and using responsible eco-tourism will allow for communities to benefit while people travel.
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