From first contact to a successful Pack for a Purpose delivery Marianne Irwin, a traveler from Queensland, Australia, tells us about her PfaP experience in her own words.
How did you find the PfaP website?
The website was easy to use and well designed and had contact details so I was able to email Rebecca for some more details.
What prompted you to donate your time and help drop off goods with PfaP?
We had travelled to Africa on 4 other occasions and always felt that there must be something we could do to help the people, but we didn’t really know what. Pack for a Purpose gave us guidelines on what to take and where to deliver the needed items. As we had already booked our trip when I discovered Pack for a Purpose and we were not staying at the places listed on the website, I emailed Rebecca and asked if there was somewhere in Nairobi that we could drop off the school supplies for delivery to the school in the Masai Mara. Rebecca contacted the lodge in Kenya and was able to provide a drop off point in Nairobi for us to deliver the school supplies to.
How did you decide on travel to Kenya?
We had traveled to Kenya in 2001 on an organized tour which was not particularly well run and always felt we had missed out on the best of Kenya, so we were very keen to return. I had a milestone birthday in 2010, so I decided to celebrate it in Kenya; it is such a beautiful country with wonderful people.
Was your experience transporting goods for PfaP easy?
Yes, we packed the school supplies in amongst our clothes so nothing got broken; when we unpacked them in Kenya it freed up some space for the shopping we had planned to do.
What was a favorite memory from the trip?
We have so many wonderful memories, from all of the wonderful staff at all of the lodges and our guide Juma who all looked after us so well to the exceptional wildlife we encountered, such as baby Cheetahs in the Mara and baby elephants in Amboseli and a leopard climbing a tree to return to the carcass she had stashed there earlier in Tsavo.
How did contributing to PfaP enrich your vacation?
Whenever we travel to less developed countries we are always reminded of how much we have both in terms of opportunities and material things, and it is a good feeling to know you have helped someone less fortunate that yourself in some small way.
Pack for a Purpose is such a simple concept that allows travelers to give something back to the destination they are traveling to. We plan to check the website before all of our trips and will support the projects in the countries we are to visit. Keep up the good work, Pack for a Purpose!