ABROAD & BEYOND

Sustainable Safari

Discover unforgettable Africa with Micato Safaris.

Google the phrase “African safari” and you’ll be inundated with info about “the big five.” Spotting the five most elusive animals on the continent — lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant — is the quintessential safari experience and general benchmark for a successful adventure. But luxury safari outfitter Micato Safaris is more likely to promote “the big six,” adding sustainability to the list of safari essentials.

The company steadfastly believes that nature can only thrive when surrounding local communities do as well. To that end, in 1986 Micato employee Lorna Macleod founded AmericaShare, a nonprofit organization that became the company’s philanthropic arm and today directs Micato’s charitable work, which focuses on elevating the vulnerable and underserved through quality education, access to healthcare, and improved sanitation. A few examples of Micato’s sustainability efforts include:

Building the Micato-AmericaShare Harambee Community Centre, a multi-purpose facility that acts as a community living room of sorts, housing a library and computer center, and offering educational and healthcare resources that improve lives in rural Eastern Africa. The success of this program was the catalyst for expansion, leading Micato-AmericaShare to establish the Redhill Library and Community Centre in South Africa, a similar haven for those living in the informal settlement of Redhill, just south of Cape Town.

Micato travelers often visit these community centers during their vacations, but even if it isn’t possible, all Micato guests contribute to a child’s education through the Micato Safaris One-for-One Program.  A portion of their trip is used to cover school fees. This simple act has helped thousands of families living in extreme poverty who otherwise couldn’t afford the burdensome cost. Micato recognizes that providing an education to children is the most sustainable way to protect Africa’s wildlife and other natural resources.

Micato-AmericaShare also works closely with Huru International, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring girls don’t miss school for lack of access to sanitary pads and menstrual education. During the pandemic, the partnership between the two nonprofits expanded, and together they provided over 100,000 reusable facemasks to those in need. Additionally, the Huru Skills Transfer Program has trained 300 impoverished young women to use industrial sewing machines, making them highly valued skilled employees for Kenya’s burgeoning textile industry.

And just last year, 2,000 Kenyans received the gift of sight thanks to a partnership between Micato and VOSH International, an organization of optometrists committed to helping people around the world who can’t afford quality vision care.

Everything you need to know about Micato Safaris.