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About us
World Unite! is a network of currently 9 local tour operators and partners who are based directly at the destinations where you as a participant of our programs will be travelling. They share the common idea of promoting and conducting socially and environmentally sustainable tourism. They have many years of experience with travellers from Europe, North America and Australia and at the same time perfectly understand the life and needs of their home countries. All of these organisations are small to mid-sized and offer personal and warm-hearted service.
Almost all money paid by you will remain in your host country and will help in the creation of employment in your country of choice.
Besides arranging placements of volunteers and interns into existing organizations and offering services around their stay abroad, since 2010 we have been increasingly getting involved into running our own development projects. The goal of these projects is to develop communities through innovative ways of income generation for the local population which serve to fund social and environmental programs. As our participant, you can also be a part of this. Read more.
World Unite! is an idea of Chris Engler from Freiburg/Germany who completed his Master degree in Tourism Management in 2006 at the University of Brighton/England. Since then he has been working closely with the local partners in the development of the World Unite! program. Chris is permanently travelling between the various countries to improve the provided services for volunteers and interns by exchanging experiences between the participating organizations.
Zanzibar and Tanzania - Zenith Tours
Everything about World Unite! started in 2006 in Tanzania where we are now a leading provider of volunteering and internship options.
Zenith Tours, which is operating offices and has staff in Zanzibar, Dar-es-Salaam and Moshi has been working as a tour operator in Tanzania for 17 years. For Zanzibar, Zenith is incoming agent for several renowned tour companies from Europe and the US such as Chamäleon Reisen, Diamir Erlebnisreisen, Wikinger Reisen and others from Germany, Andersons Africa Adventures from Sweden, Afrika Safari Denmark, Borton Overseas USA, Viajes Tourag Spain, Let's go Tours Switzerland and others.
Since the beginning, Zenith Tours has been supporting supporting several charitable organizations (see below).
In 2005, Chris joined the Zenith team and, as part of his Master studies, started to cooperate with Zenith in the arrangement of socially and environmentally sustainable tourism concepts in Tanzania. He realised that NGOs had a need for foreign volunteers, and at the same time his friends and other people from Europe asked him for possibilities to volunteer. This was the start of World Unite!
In 2007, the website was launched and we could welcome our first volunteers and interns in Tanzania.
Since the start of World Unite! we have received more than 500 volunteers and interns in Tanzania and Zanzibar.
We are now employing several Tanzanians to coordinate and support our volunteers, such as Freddy and Aliy in Zanzibar, and Adelina and Themi in Moshi. Get to know them here.
Morocco - Fatima Haddad and Fenna Allal
The next big step was the addition of Morocco in 2009. We are lucky that we can cooperate with Mrs. Fatima Haddad who has been working as the social commissioner of the city of Tangier for more than 30 years. She has retired in 2009 and is now making use of her good relations with Tangier's social institutions, coordinating our World Unite! volunteers. Her daughter Fenna who is a psychologist, and Zohra, are providing supporting to our participants in Morocco.
In 2010 we added the town of Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains as our second location in Morocco.
Israel - Neve Shalom and One Holy Land Tours
In Israel we legally cooperate with Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace), Israel's most famous kibbutz which is actively promoting peaceful equality and understanding between Jews and Palestinians.
As a provider of infrastructure we cooperate with "One Holy Land Tours". Our coordinator in Tamra is Mrs. Aisha Khatib, an arts teacher. Aisha belongs to a large locally reputable family, and many organizations where we place volunteers and interns are directed by members of her extended family. For this reason we can guarantee that you will be well integrated into their families and will be received
affectionately.
India - various partners
As India is a huge country with large distances, we have separate partners for our locations in India.
For the city of Mumbai, our local coordinators is Mrs. Sudipta Chattoraj. Sudipta is an arts teacher.
In Delhi and Gurgaon, our coordinator is Mrs. Indrani Singh who is also director of "Literacy India" and ground support will be given to our participants by Literacy India staff.
In Jodhpur and Setrawa, our coordinator and provider of support is Mr. Govind Singh Rahore who is also founder and director of Sambhali Trust.
For Kerala, our partners are Antonio who is from Cochin and his wife Christina (who is of Latvian nationality). They are also running a homestay where our participants in Cochin are being accommodated.
For the Himalaya region, we cooperate with the Chrysalid Outdoor learning centres and main contact person is Mr. Vikas Bhasin.
Tour operator partners are AT Seasons & Vacations and Chrysalid Outdoor Learning Centres.
Nicaragua - Vapues Tours
Vapues Tours from Nicaragua is in terms of size and philosophy very
similar to Zenith Tours Zanzibar. They have been arranging volunteering options
for the Dutch development service for 12 years and are very much familiar
to the needs of local charitable organizations and foreign volunteers.
The local coordinator is Mrs. Ninoska Peralta. Besides being the operations manager for Vapues, she is actively involved in the social and environmental organization "Do you Care?".
Bolivia - Zuleika and Sandra
With Zuleika in Cochabamba and Sandra in La Paz we have to very active and involved staff, providing services to our participants.
Mexico - Ecocolors Tours
Ecocolors is a mid-sized tour operator from Cancún who specializes in ecotourism. Our former intern Sebastian has been working with Ecocolors since 2010 developing our programs in Mexico and providing support services to our partiipants.
Initiatives of sustainable tourism and charitable support:
• See our development projects!
• We are supporting several NGOs in marketing, PR and fundraising
issues. For instance we consult and assist them with the production of
objects which we sell on their behalf on international tourism trade
shows, such as pictures drawn by street children, a DVD about medicinal
plants and a Swahili cookery book. All revenues will go directly to the
NGOs. If you as a volunteer have ideas how NGOs can generate income, we
are happy to assist you.
We have also found foreign donors to NGOs in several cases, and we
are doing free website hosting and website updates for several NGOs as
well as producing texts and printed materials for them.
• Cooperation with Go for Zanzibar e.V.
• For excursions of the school of SOS Children's Village we are regularly providing buses and drivers free of charge.
• We prefer to cooperate with hotels and
partners who have guidelines about environmental issues and which integrate
and employ the local population.
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