Delray Beach, Oct. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In September 2007, www.lionworldtours.com">Lion World Tours visited a remote village in the Sabi Sands area of South Africa to donate school supplies for the 140 students of Henna Pre-School. The original plan was to deliver the school supplies that they were donating, along with some sweets for the children. However, after meeting the children and seeing the school, they decided to meet with Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, who helped get the school started, to see how Lion World Tours could continue to help. Lion World Tours decided to donate a portion of every booking to Henna Pre-School.
The objective of Henna Pre-School is to provide schooling and education for children under the age of five who live within the Huntington Community. The goal is to provide the children with basic skills in the English language, games, songs, and preschool education in their mother tongue, Tsonga, and to provide disadvantaged children with two meals a day while at school. According to the South African Census Department, the average income per household in Huntington (where the preschool is located) is $25 per month (R174). This in itself explains the plight of the children in this area.
The first thing Lion World Tours did was to donate the money needed for the graduation ceremony in 2007. Graduation is one of the biggest events on Henna's calendar and involves students, parents and family members. Lion World Tours was very happy to be able to contribute to making that day special for all of the preschool graduates who worked so hard. The money donated covered the renting of graduation outfits for the children, design and printing of their certificates, a backpack with stationery for the graduates, creation of a sign at the school congratulating the graduating preschoolers, as well as a luncheon for the children and their parents.
Other projects that Lion World Tours has taken on have been of larger scale, including new toilets, a fence around the schoolyard, painting of one of the school rooms, and building a thatched structure so that the children can have a shaded area when they are outside.
Lucille Sive, President of Lion World Tours, plans to host a Christmas luncheon for 60 of the children with her own family in December. "Henna holds a special place in my heart," says Sive.
If guests book a trip through Lion World Tours, not only will they get a trip of a lifetime, but they will know that they have made a difference in a child's life, because a portion of the cost of every trip goes to Henna Pre-School. If the trip happens to include a visit to Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, from there travelers can visit the school themselves. Lion World Tours is certain that the school will touch visitors the same way it touched them. Henna Pre-School is a special place.
For more information about Lion World Tours and to donate directly to the Henna Pre-School, please click here or go to www.lionworldtours.com. The cost to sponsor a child for one year of tuition is only $175 (US).
About Lion World Tours
Lion World Tours specializes in group and individual tours to Southern and East Africa, and is a member of The Travel Corporation, which also includes Trafalgar, Contiki, Brendan Vacations, Red Carnation Boutique Hotel Collection, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, and Insight Vacations. In its fifth decade, clients continue to benefit from Lion World Tours' destination knowledge, expertise, and emphasis on customer service. With their safari specialists all having first-hand knowledge of Africa, Lion World Tours can confidently assist clients in creating an African adventure that fits their specific interests as well as their budget. Affordable luxury and value for money are what keep clients coming back to Lion World Tours.
About TreadRight
TreadRight is a not-for-profit foundation established by The Travel Corporation to encourage sustainable tourism within our own family of brands, and in the places we visit. To date, TreadRight has donated more than USD 1.5 million to sustainable tourism projects worldwide, and encourages industry best practice by annually supporting the World Travel & Tourism Council's Tourism for Tomorrow awards. To learn more about the many projects TreadRight is funding please visit us at treadright.org.
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