We Support Low-impact, Responsible Tourism
Tanzania is our second home. Our Staff members work there, live there, and have friends there. We travel there often, and have had the pleasure of introducing our children to its unique beauty. It's a country we love -and we want to promote sustainable and responsible tourism because tourism is imperative for saving Tanzania's unique natural heritage. When you travel with Thomson Safaris to Tanzania, you are supporting sustainable and responsible tourism that helps the country.

We are Committed to Giving Back to the People of Tanzania
When we began our safari operation in Tanzania in 1981, Thomson Safaris established a commitment to give back to the people of Tanzania. Today, we enjoy strong relationships with our Tanzanian friends, and together we're building a stronger community.

Tanzania Tourist Board Humanitarian Award - 2005
We are very proud to announce that the Tanzania Tourist Board has awarded Thomson Safaris its annual Humanitarian Award. This award was created to acknowledge tour operators who consistently support community-based projects and humanitarian efforts within Tanzania.

Peter Mwenguo, Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board announced, "We are pleased to bestow the Tour Operator Humanitarian Award to Thomson Safaris, whose outstanding contributions to Tanzania are a shining example of the cited purpose of the Award."

At the ceremony, the Headmaster of the Shinda Basic School, Mr. Kimaro, told the audience what FOTS has meant to the children of his district’s future. The results of FOTS’ fundraising efforts to help individual Tanzanian schools and promote exchanges between American and Tanzanian students are:

• Shinda Basic School was founded in 1997 in an impoverished village on the outskirts of Arusha by a self-educated teacher. At that time, more than half the children applying for admission were turned away for lack of space. Since then, funds were donated for construction materials, and FOTS has purchased land for a new school facility to expand the three-classroom capacity now in place.



• Sakila Primary School (Usa River), where the idea for FOTS was born in 1996. A visiting group of American families spent a morning at the school, where they saw children learning 100 to a room, dirt floors, no windows or electricity, and few if any books. On the ride back to Arusha, several parents resolved to raise funds to help. Since founding FOTS, the organization has raised over $50,000 to upgrade the school - improvements included classrooms, a computer room (installed in 2003, it was the first one in a Tanzanian public school), electricity and teachers housing.

Thomson Safaris founders and owners, Rick Thomson and Judi Wineland, long active in supporting education in Tanzania, founded Friends of Tanzania Schools (FOTS) along with a group of their safari clients in 1996.

Our Role in Friends of Tanzanian Schools, Inc:
In 1996, a non-profit organization called The Friends of Tanzanian Schools, Inc. was formed. The concept was developed by a group of our travelers who visited primary and secondary schools in the Arusha area. They witnessed the incredible hospitality, energy, dedication and accomplishments of the teachers, administrators and students. They also observed the modest buildings and crowded classrooms lacking many educational necessities such as books, writing implements, paper, and other teaching materials. With the help of Thomson Safaris, The Friends of Tanzanian Schools, Inc., has made a meaningful difference in the lives of Tanzanian students and their communities, and in the lives of the American students with whom they cross paths.

Through our active role in The Friends of Tanzanian Schools, Inc., Thomson Safaris helps to "give back" to the people of Tanzania, with gratitude for the many gifts Tanzania offers us. With the help of our safari guests, we have been able to construct new classrooms, stock shelves with books, and augment the teaching efforts. In our ongoing work, we establish relationships between Tanzanian and American schools through student correspondence, class to class contacts, and possible faculty or student exchanges.

Our relationship with Tanzania is fruitful and we are proud to be part of Tanzania's future.

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