Reply to East Africa safari…donating clothes and toys along the way?

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, I’ve been on safari to the NPs you are going, and I’ve also lived and worked in Southern Africa.

A couple of thoughts. 
On our safaris we did not stop in any villages like the ones you are describing and expecting. There were no children running up to our vans in or  near any of the parks.  We did have children running up to our van outside of bigger towns, outskirts of cities, but this was while navigating through large crowds, and it would not have been feasible to give out anything,  much less open up a suitcase.

The safaris are supposed to be about the animals!   Diverting from the itinerary, or purpose,  of the safari would be a huge disservice to the group, unless it will be just you and your cousin on a private tour.  Please don’t make it about your suitcases of used garage sale items, or as your cousin said;, “don’t give them your old crap”.

If you do stop with an indigenous tribe you need to be aware, that could be flat out offending them, unless you have substantial, nice gifts, but you should discuss this with your guide ahead of time.

There are some spots where people sell crafts, and other, often great items; buy some, or a lot(!)  and you can make their day.

If you have used, but like new, very nice items, consider bringing some of them  to give to people you make a connection with on your journey; your driver, your guide, someone at your hotel. Ask if they would like said item,  explain that the item is/was meaningful to you, and likely that person will know someone who would like to have it.

If you want to put more effort into all this, connect ahead of time  with (smaller) organizations who have “boots on the ground”.  Whether this is a medical clinic or a someone connected with schools there.  Ask around, often the schools have overseas partner schools.  They know what is needed and desired.

Finally, kids in all corners of the world like pens/coloring/notebooks.  These don’t take up a lot of space and you can take them out *when the situation is right*.

Anyways… that’s my two cents on this..

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