This time last year I was getting ready for a trip to Mali and Burkina Faso – two countries in West Africa that are off the radar of most tourists.
But now is your chance to discover Burkina Faso for yourself!
In connection with the annual Passports with Purpose fundraiser, I am partnering with Papillon Reizen – the company I traveled with to Burkina last year – to give away a spot on their 16-day hiking trip in Burkina next November!
Over 16 days (which includes 10 days of hiking), you will get to experience West Africa in a way that few people do, staying in small villages as you hike from Niansogoni to Banfora. This is truly an amazing opportunity to have an in-depth experience in a beautiful country. Visit the Sunday market in Banfora, go hippo spotting on Lake Tengrela, discover the troglodyte village of Niansogoni, explore the peaks of Sindou, watch the sun set from the Dômes de Fabedougou and spend time in the bustling capital of Ouagadougou. Airfare is not included, but this trip is well worth paying your way there (Air France, Turkish Air and Ethiopian Air all fly there – I flew Ethiopian). I visited most of the places included on this trip and I can assure you, it will be the trip of a lifetime! Check out the full itinerary here.
So how can you win?
It’s simple – make a donation of $10 or more to Passports with Purpose, benefiting Worldreader. For every $10 you give, you can enter a drawing for a prize of your choice – either this trip in Burkina Faso or one of dozens of other awesome prizes (think hotel stays, travel gear, tours, etc).
Why Worldreader?
Worldreader is on a mission to bring digital books to every child and family in order to improve literacy and break the cycle of poverty around the world. They provide e-readers to schools and libraries in developing countries and curate books by African and Indian authors for their library. Passports with Purpose’s fundraiser for Worldreader is focusing specifically on rural Kenya – building off a successful Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded pilot for the use of e-readers in libraries in Kenya, the funds raised from Passports with Purpose for Worldreader will bring digital reading to an additional five libraries in western Kenya. Each library will receive 50 Kindle e-readers, comprised of English and Swahili fiction and non-fiction for all ages, as well as Kenyan textbooks – providing an estimated 6,250 children, teachers and parents with access to more than 50,000 books.
The fundraiser runs through 11:59 p.m. ET November 18 and prize winners will be drawn on November 22.