Kuchanga Travel | About Kuchanga Travel - Voluntourism & Eco-Adventure

People

Joanne
Joanne has traveled in Africa for 20 years. The many wonderful friends and associations she's made inspired her to start Kuchanga Travel. Joanne accompanies all Kuchanga Travel groups in Africa and is always interested in hearing about new opportunities there. She lives in Minneapolis with her family, including a son adopted from Ethiopia.

Donatus
Donatus Gadiye owns and operates Wilderness Inquiry in Arusha, Tanzania. He is also the wildlife manager at the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area and an expert in community-based conservation. In Tanzania he studied the behavioral ecology of wildlife. He also studied at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. He has spoken throughout the United States about wildlife conservation and green building techniques used in traditional Tanzanian homes.

Loserian
Loserian Laizer also works at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and an expert on the birds of Tanzania. He grew up in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. He is a Maasai warrior and has led dozens of cultural/safari tours.

Charles
Charles Morgan Kitisu of Kampala, Uganda is a veteran guide and translator for people from all over the world, including photographers from The New York Times, the Associated Press, Essence Magazine and the European Photo Agency. Charles attended the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota on scholarship and put his business degree to work by founding his own safari company in Uganda.

Sam
Based in Los Angeles, Samuel Uretsky is an executive management consultant with a 35-year background in operations, technology, product development, marketing and media. As a senior advisor to Kuchanga Travel, Sam helps structure community projects and manage relationships with corporate partners and philanthropies.

Jonathan
Based in Minneapolis, Jonathan H. Grant is director of business development for Kuchanga Travel. He spent two years in Uganda with the Peace Corp and has worked with numerous Ugandan communities, teaching, training, mentoring and building. He speaks fluent Luganda and is married to a beautiful Ugandan woman.

Vision

Kuchanga Travel's goal is to develop lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships among people from different cultures. Our travel experiences support the sustained empowerment of individuals and the development of healthy and flourishing communities. In particular, we focus on connecting "voluntourists" with projects benefiting women, children, and entrepreneurs. It has been shown that when these groups in particular gain access to more social capital, more education, and more opportunity, their entire society benefits.

Kuchanga Travel partners with nonprofits and NGOs to develop service and micro-finance projects in East Africa. The emergence of this area of the world as a market has seen fits and starts, but despite the challenges GDP is rising. People there have so much to offer the world. They're eager to to gain greater access to the global community. As our Kuchanga Travel network grows, we intend to establish our own foundation to direct charitable giving and a for-profit investment fund to explore business and economic development opportunities.

We invite you to join in the fun.

Adventures

Kuchanga Travel packages travel experiences in East Africa focused on volunteering, eco-adventure, wildlife and cultural safaris, and investment. We shape these experiences according to your interests and in partnership with schools, faith-based initiatives, business ventures, locally operated tour companies and carefully-vetted NGO’s. Following our hearts, we seek out great opportunities for fun, fulfillment and service. We also can help you organize your own initiatives by sharing contacts and insights, arranging bookings and logistics, making connections with others sharing your interests, and preparing your party for the experience of a lifetime!

Inspiration: What's in a name?

"Kuchanga" is a Swahili word meaning to assemble, collect, recruit. Coloquially, a kuchanga is a community chest, a fundraising organization that collects money from local businesses and individuals and distributes it to community projects. Every region of Africa has its own version of a kuchanga, whether administered within a tribe, village, family or cause. Such community-based capital remains a key resource in the absence of – or even in competition with – government programs, banks and regulated investment funds.