Travel to Kenya with MADRE!

Join MADRE's Voyages with a Vision delegation to Kenya
January 13-20, 2007!*

Visit with inspiring Indigenous Samburu and Maasai women and youth working to make human rights a reality for themselves and their communities.

*Optional: Stay for the World Social Forum in Nairobi, January 20-25, 2007!

TRIP OVERVIEW

• Travel to rural Indigenous Samburu and Maasai communities, including UMOJA, a unique community created and led by Samburu women who have declared their village a violence-against-women-free zone.
• Learn from members of MADRE's sister organization, the Indigenous Information Network, about their work to combat threats to women's health and human rights, such as HIV/AIDS and FGM, in Indigenous communities in Kenya.
• Visit with activists working to promote environmental justice and sustainable development in the face of climate change and attacks on Indigenous Peoples' rights and resources.
• Join MADRE's partners for a special safari on their ancestral lands.
• AND—stay for the World Social Forum (see below)!

TRIP DETAILS

Dates: January 13-20, 2007
Accommodations: Hotels in Nairobi, Samburuland, and Lake Nakuru
Estimated Cost*: $2,150 per person (double-occupancy)
Cost Includes: Accommodations; breakfast daily; lunch and dinner in Samburuland and Lake Nakuru; celebration meal on final day; ground transportation for all planned activities; experienced guides; translators; and a memorable program, including visits to communities, meetings with human rights activists, and safari.
Additional cost to stay for the WSF: $725 (Includes: WSF registration, accommodation, and breakfast daily.)

*Does not include international airfare.

EXTEND YOUR STAY FOR THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM!

The next World Social Forum (WSF), an annual gathering of activists from around the world, will be held in Nairobi, Kenya from January 20-25, 2007. MADRE will stay in Kenya to participate in the WSF and will extend the delegation for those who would like to join us. At the WSF, through workshops, seminars, inter-movement dialogues, cultural events, and more, tens of thousands of people will come together to promote alternatives to neo-liberal economic policies and reinvigorate debate around issues such as women’s human rights, free-trade, environmental justice, religious fundamentalism, and militarism. For more information, please contact MADRE at travel@madre.org and/or visit the World Social Forum website.

TO JOIN MADRE'S KENYA DELEGATION

Because space on these trips is limited, please send us a deposit of $200 ($100 of which is non-refundable) as soon as possible to save your place, using the registration form below. Reservations will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, so hurry. Delegations often fill up within a few weeks. Full payment is due on December 13, 2006. If you are arranging your travel from New York City through MADRE, your airfare may be due sooner (we will let you know when we need to purchase tickets in order to guarantee the lowest price). Delegates who cancel before December 13, 2006 will receive a refund of 50%. No refunds are available after December 13, 2006. If you have any questions, please contact Irene Schneeweis at (212) 627-0444 or travel@madre.org.

We hope that you can join MADRE for this exciting trip! Please share this information with friends who might also like to join us. We look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Registration Form (pdf)

Click here to download the free software necessary to view PDF documents, or email travel@madre.org if you are unable to access the registration form.

BACKGROUND

African Indigenous Peoples generally distinguish themselves based on their position as Peoples who maintain traditional pastoral and/or nomadic cultures and, as a result, are marginalized by the dominant society. In Kenya, Indigenous Peoples are fighting for their human rights, including collective control of their ancestral lands, many of which have been seized for use by corporations and US and British military bases, with severe environmental consequences. As in other parts of the world, Indigenous Peoples in Kenya often live in extreme poverty without access to education and adequate health care, including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. These are some of the conditions that our sisters in Kenya are working to change.

Indigenous women also face discrimination within their own communities. Without property rights, they are more vulnerable to poverty and gender-based violence. As those primarily responsible for preserving their Peoples' natural resources and traditional knowledge, however, Indigenous women hold the keys to combating poverty and creating strategies for sustainable development. Despite mounting threats to their rights and resources, MADRE's partners in Kenya are working to challenge the takeover of Indigenous lands, provide life-saving information about HIV/AIDS to women and youth in their communities, and defend their rights on local, national, and international levels.