Family Planning launches inaugural Kiribati Discovery Tour

If you’re looking for an adventure without the crowds but with a purpose, Family Planning’s inaugural Kiribati Discovery Tour could be just the ticket.

In June 2019, Family Planning will take 15 intrepid travellers to explore Kiribati and learn about the unique sexual and reproductive health and rights challenges faced by the Pacific country.

We are working together with the Kiribati Family Health Association (KFHA), and the ethical travel company GOOD Travel to offer this international trip – the first time we’ve been involved with a travel project like this.

We have however been working in partnership with KFHA since 2012 through the Kiribati Healthy Families Project, funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme.

“The KFHA team are doing inspiring work to increase access to quality sexual and reproductive health services in Kiribati and the Kiribati discovery tour will give Kiwis the opportunity to learn from them”, says Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond.

The Kiribati Discovery Tour participants will spend five days learning more about KFHA and sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as Kiribati culture. They’ll start in the capital South Tarawa, observing KFHA in action, and assist with some health promotion activities before travelling north to some beautiful parts of the country. Visitors will leave with a rich understanding of how Kiribati tackles their unique challenges to improving sexual and reproductive health on a remote Pacific island, as well as a greater appreciation of this remote place.

KFHA’s executive director, Norma Yeeting, shares Family Planning’s enthusiasm for the trip.

“Everyone is very excited about this trip. It will help bring funds to Kiribati and also raise the profile of both KFHA and Family Planning New Zealand in providing essential services to ensure good health for families in Kiribati”, says Ms Yeeting.

GOOD Travel’s co-founder, Eliza Raymond, will lead the trip. “We’re thrilled to be working with Family Planning New Zealand and KFHA on this trip. GOOD Travel specialises in trips that have a positive impact on the places we visit and this is a great way to bring funds and support to Kiribati as well as support local communities. We’ve also included carbon-offsetting in the trip cost and we will be sharing lots of information with our trip participants to ensure we minimise our environmental footprint as much as possible”, she says.

The trip is for travellers interested in sustainable, ethical tourism, visiting some of the most remote places in the world, sexual and reproductive health and rights, continued learning opportunities, development work, and those keen to fundraise for developing nations.

Participants will fundraise prior to traveling to Kiribati with donations being split between KFHA and Family Planning to help us further our work in the Pacific.

More information is available at http://good-travel.org/kiribati2019

Dates: 12 - 18 June 2019

Location: South Tarawa, Kiribati.

Group size: Maximum of 15 participants + trip facilitators

Cost for Family Planning members*: NZ$1,999 - excludes flights

Cost for non-members: NZ$2,199 - excludes flights

Fundraising component: In addition to your trip fee, you will be asked to fundraise to support the work of the Kiribati Family Health Association and Family Planning. We will provide you with lots of ideas and support to help you with this.

Information

• Kiribati is often listed as one of the least visited countries in the world. Kiribati (pronounced kiri-bas) is a remote island nation in the central Pacific Ocean with just two flights a week servicing the main island of South Tarawa from Fiji. It is made up of 33 islands (21 inhabited) spread over an area of 3.5 million square kilometres. It is also the only country in the world to sit across all four hemispheres.

• GOOD Travel is a Wellington-based social enterprise working globally to transform the travel industry into a force for GOOD. They hope this will be the first of several trips to the Pacific in partnership with Family Planning New Zealand.

• The tourism slogan for Kiribati reads “Kiribati is for travellers, not tourists”. The Kiribati National Tourism Office says “Kiribati is not a holiday destination for everyone. The serious and committed traveller will be rewarded for their visit with the experience of welcoming and wonderful people and a lifestyle that is as far away from your everyday as you can get.” Check out their website http://www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki/

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