NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002--Business Enterprises For Sustainable Travel (BEST), a joint initiative of The Conference Board and the World Travel & Tourism Council, today announced that Bridget Keating and RJ Keating, the young founders of Kids For Africa, have been named winners of the BEST Travel Heroes Award.
The citation regularly honors travelers who have made extraordinary contributions to the communities and people they visit. BEST will present Kids for Africa's co-founders with medals of recognition in a ceremony scheduled to take place May 23 in Washington, D.C.
Kids for Africa, which is designed and run by U.S. students, helps improve educational conditions and opportunities for children living in rural areas of Africa. Sixteen-year-old Bridget Keating and her eleven-year-old brother RJ Keating founded the program following a family trip to South Africa. In visiting the Mnqobogazi Primary School, they realized the vast differences between the learning opportunities and living conditions experienced by American children and those facing the children in Mnqobogazi.
Kids for Africa has initiated fundraising programs including the recently launched Hippo Water Roller drive to help improve water access for residents living in rural areas of South Africa where running water is not available. The Hippo Water Roller is an easily pushed device designed to obtain water in a way that is safer and easier than using the traditional heavy containers, which residents carry on their heads. Since the Hippo Water Rollers also hold more water, trips can be made less frequently. Children, who are often assigned the task of walking for hours to obtain water, tend to be late for school or unable to attend because of this time-consuming activity. By providing Hippo Water Rollers, Kids for Africa is helping children spend more time in classrooms and offering a safer way to retrieve water.
In addition to the Hippo Water Roller drive, Kids for Africa is also developing fundraising initiatives to provide rural South African schools with much needed educational materials, such as books, pens and sporting equipment.
Michael Seltzer, the Director of BEST, stated, Our acknowledgement of RJ and Bridget's efforts is indeed timely since leaders throughout the world will be convening in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August to examine worldwide issues surrounding sustainability and economic development. The thoughtful initiative of RJ and Bridget reminds us that young people, not only adults, can ignite significant change. We honor their commitment and hope that their program will excite others to join in and make a difference.
Kids for Africa operates as a program of the Africa Foundation (www.africafoundation.org), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which aims to improve the lives of residents living in rural communities surrounding Africa's conservation areas.
The BEST Travel Hero Award winners are acknowledged on BEST's Web site: www.sustainabletravel.org.
For more information on Kids for Africa, contact Bridget Keating or RJ Keating by phone at 973.921.2001 or by e-mail at bridget@kidsforafrica.org or rjk@kidsforafrica.org.
About BEST
Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel (BEST) is the first industry-specific initiative undertaken by The Conference Board (www.conference-board.org) in its 84-year history. BEST serves as a leading source of knowledge on innovative travel industry practices that advance the interests of communities, businesses, and travelers. The Conference Board is the world's leading business and research organization, including more than 3,000 companies in 67 nations in its global network. BEST is co-sponsored by the World Travel & Tourism Council (www.wttc.org), which provides macroeconomic research data and forecasts. BEST's work is supported by the American Express, Ford, Charles Stewart Mott and Pettus-Crowe foundations, Marriott International, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and The New York Community Trust. Information on BEST may be obtained by contacting The Conference Board; phone 212-339-0335, or visit the following web site: www.sustainabletravel.org.
About Kids For Africa
Kids for Africa was founded in January 2002 by sixteen-year old Bridget Keating and her eleven-year-old brother RJ Keating, following a trip to South Africa in which they visited rural schools and saw the challenges that the students there faced. Kids for Africa is a non-profit program designed and run by U.S. students that was developed to improve education for children in rural areas of Africa and to foster continuous communication between children in Africa and children in the U.S. Kids for Africa is a program of the Africa Foundation and shares the foundation's USA 501(c)(3) registration (No. 88-0461880) as a non-profit institution. For more information, call 973.921.2001 or e-mail bridget@kidsforafrica.org or rjk@kidsforafrica.org.
|
Post News