by marc cirilli | Feb 14, 2008
 

Good morning Mr.Niccols,
thank you for the kind and meaningful offer!

I will contact you right on for additional details: we are honored of your interest and looking forward to work together on this opportunity you gave us.

Have a nice day,
Marc Cirilli - H.E.L.P. Travel Association

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by marc cirilli | Mar 09, 2008
 

Dear Dana,
thank you for the consideration and appreciation of our activities and projects!

Sorry for these two late replies, we had been out in Eastern Senegal for the whole last week, for the building of two wells in two different villages, in the Bassari and Bedick lands!

Well, it is true that our approach is definitely individual oriented.

We do prefer to have a direct contact with our potential Guests, as to precisely describe the concept of our travel proposals.

We have also prepared though a pre-designed description, with a list of seven options of participation;
The fields of interventions are: educational, agricultural, artistic, fishing, sport, women communities and providing access to water.

These options can be chosen in advance by the participants, and are provided with a full description of each single project.
The seven issues proposed are vital to local communities, as for their economical and social development.

We have proposed this list to several online sustainable travel providers, and we are starting to receive some good results.

It is evident that our choice is kind of difficult to introduce in this era of speed connectivity and relatively short time of visibility, but we feel that the trend is somehow heading back to a human dimension, in which men take his time to objectively choose his own way of finding chances for self-improvement and soul enlightenment.

The challenge is exciting and worthy, considering the feedbacks we receive!

Thank you again Dana,
Looking forward to your reply

Take care

Marc

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by marc cirilli | Mar 09, 2008
 

Bonjour Dana,
here are some details concerning our activities and projects.
Apart from the Fundamental Travel options, in which travelers choose to participate to a specific Community Development Project, we have decided to provide three additional Responsible Travel itineraries, as to promote our Association's activities, and to give the chance to Guests to know us, and to appreciate the beauty of the Casamance Tropical Forest Region.
These three latter trips are fully operated by our Organization, with our guides, groups of artists and performers: 20% of the cost of these itineraries is invested directly into a Community-Based Development Projects Fund (e.g. for distributions of baby-kits, food provisions and anti-mosquitoes nets to families and people in need. When possible, these actions are performed together with our travellers groups, as to allow a deeper interaction and understanding).
We take Guests from West to East Casamance, from the Ocean seashores to the Diola Villages, passing through the Casamance River and heading towards the mountains on the East, in the Niokolo animal reserve, the Dindi Felo waterfalls and the Bassari and Bedick lands.
We take Guests to witness the Projects already accomplished by our Association, as to truly understand the width of our intervention.

So, we provide two basic Fundamental Travel itineraries ( one or two weeks ), and three Adventure/Discovery trips ( one week ).

Local Communities are constantly involved in our projects:
.as for being directly touched by one specific intervention,
.or by being employed, full time of part time,
.by encouraging our Guests to buy souvenirs such as arts, crafts and clothes locally as well as eat and drink in locally owned bars and restaurants,
.or by all of the items and goods strictly purchased locally, as to assure a larger distribution of economical revenues.

The logistic and main base of the Association is here in Ziguinchor, which assures a constant monitoring and real support of all of the projects and actions.

I will reply to your latest question in a further mail, as a little space is left on this!!

Talk to you soon,

Marc

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by marc cirilli | May 21, 2008
 

Hello Dana,
this is Marc, how are you today?
Greetings from Ziguinchor!
I believe you are all quite busy with the last days before voting begins!
We lately welcomed a group from the Lowell Whiteman College, in Colorado; ten students and two enthusiastic teachers came for a three weeks community-based travel experience.
They enjoyed homestays in remote villages, participated to the daily lives of local communities, shared their hopes, responsibilities and activities.
We took them all around the Southern tropical Casamance region of Senegal, within profound integration conditions; multi-activities days were planned: trekking, local wrestling, pirogue contests, football/baseball friendly matches;
They participated to the agricultural tasks of local croppers, learned dancing and drumming skills, performed in a show, and donated twenty brand new tables to a school who hardly had any;
The students literally built and painted the tables, together with local students.
You can find a comment just posted by the leader of the group, Mrs Erin Davis;
This is to further explain our travel concepts, which are based on a profound respect towards local communities, for a higher understanding of cultures, traditions and beliefs of this preserved side of our Planet.
Wishing you a nice day,
Sincerely
Luca

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