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Buy Trip Insurance - Plant a Tree

Travel Guard, one of the industry’s main  third party insurance agencies that I recommend to my clients, has collaborated with the Make A Mark Foundation, to launch a new program in Kenya, called Trees for Children. On April 22nd, any policy that is sold on that day will result in one tree to be planted at the Nyumbani Village, a devastated, poverty stricken area of Kenya.

This project is part of a ten year initiative to plant a high value tree species that will help the local village become self sustaining,  reduce environmental degradation, and to reduce poverty through job creation. The  trees will be harvested and sold as logs or for timber products when mature, but Immediate benefits to the village will include food crops grown between the trees, honey and hay production, and fuel (from wood pruning). The forest will help create a suitable micro-climate for more farming activities as well, which in turn will help the surrounding community through employment and sustainable agricultural practices.

What was once a dryland, will be transformed into a sustainable, agricultural region. The Trees for Children project will serve as a model for other communities in the Kitui region of Kenya as well.

Make a Mark Foundation was established in 1993 as a non profit humanitarian program focused on making a positive difference in the lives of people in global lands. The organization has been successful in building clinics, schools and orphanages in developing countries.

In the past ten years, the organization has focused on helping to solve the orphan crisis in sub Saharan Africa, as a result of the devastating AIDS pandemic. Nyumbani Village houses an orphanage for many of the abandoned children who have lost their families to AIDS. It is the hope of all the organizations involved in the new Trees for Children project that a sense of hope and new prosperity could be developed in this area.

To contribute to this worthy cause, buy an insurance policy for your upcoming trip through Travel Guard on April  22nd…..  or go to the Make a Mark foundation’s website. (www.makeamark.org)

Think you Don't Need Insurance? Think again!

The following article was written by a Travel Agent colleague. Unfortunately, in this business, we DO hear enough stories about "accidents that aren't supposed to happen, but do" that make indelible impressions on us. This is exactly why, I for one, advocate insurance purchases for all my clients' trips.... especially when foreign countries and cruise ships are involved. The article below is so typical - read it and become aware! Credit - Bobbie Murphy of Bobbie's Travel LTD, Cincinnati, Ohio

  Dr. William Tontl of San Diego with Phillip Powell

Phillip Powell is the leisure manager of Travel Leaders in Stevenson, Calif. He was leading a group of 80 clients aboard the "Carnival Elation" for a four-night cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas in December, 2008.

On the last day of the cruise, we had the longest day - wow! At about 10:30 am, Phillip came up to the hot tub/sports deck aft and saw me playing basketball with a couple of young people. He had on his tennis shoes, but I didn’t, so I ran down to my room to grab mine. In our younger days, we both played ball, and it was a beautiful day to get some exercise. After several minutes, we started guarding each other, and with my back to the basket, he dribbled left and then switched quickly right - and his ankle went all the way to the deck! Ouch - I knew it was bad. Phillip yelled to call the doc. I yelled for ice, and a ship server came with a cup of ice. Kind of funny, if it hadn’t been so critical. Next to us was a volleyball game in progress, and two men came running who happened to be paramedics! One asked permission to take his shoe off, and when he did, we noticed the awkward angle of the foot. It wasn’t long before a group of about 10 crew members arrived to carry him to the infirmary.