Mara Explorers is in Trouble. Can You Help?
Donation protected
2020 hasn't been a great year for anyone, but the travel and hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard, this includes us at Mara Explorers.
We started out in January on a really positive note, with a fully booked season, a great team and high hopes for another year of supporting the local community, however the arrival of Covid-19 forced all hotels and camps in Kenya to close in March.
This was a devastating blow for us and whilst we were closed, our expenses never stopped….
Our average monthly expenses have continued to be around $2,000 per month to cover our remaining staff wages, their food, our property rent, business licenses, wifi, website and safari vehicle insurances.
Despite investing a lot of time and money to comply with the new Covid-19 protocols allowing us to to re-open in August, we have only had a handful of guests coming through due to the travel restrictions and ongoing lockdowns throughout the world, and the poor economic situation in Kenya has kept many local travellers away.
Sadly, with no help available from the Kenyan government, our savings have now run dry and we can no longer afford to stay in operation.
But one of the saddest things, is that we cannot funds our community projects any longer because all our projects rely on large numbers of guests coming through our camp to provide us with income and donations to fund them. This includes our Porridge Project which feeds hundreds of local children each week and our classroom building project, which we had hoped to complete in 2021 but which has also been put on hold indefinitely.
We are now coming to a crossroads as we no longer have enough savings or income to cover our monthly costs and in January 2021 we will be required to pay our annual operating licenses which total approximately $3000 in one month.
We are in trouble and although we have tried, we are left with no other option than to ask for help from our friends to try and save us so we can keep sharing our beloved Masai Mara with you.
If you can find it in your heart to donate, we will be forever grateful for any support that you can give us!
Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts and we hope to welcome you back to Mara Explorers soon!
With love from Laura, Moses and the whole Mara Explorers team.
We started out in January on a really positive note, with a fully booked season, a great team and high hopes for another year of supporting the local community, however the arrival of Covid-19 forced all hotels and camps in Kenya to close in March.
This was a devastating blow for us and whilst we were closed, our expenses never stopped….
Our average monthly expenses have continued to be around $2,000 per month to cover our remaining staff wages, their food, our property rent, business licenses, wifi, website and safari vehicle insurances.
Despite investing a lot of time and money to comply with the new Covid-19 protocols allowing us to to re-open in August, we have only had a handful of guests coming through due to the travel restrictions and ongoing lockdowns throughout the world, and the poor economic situation in Kenya has kept many local travellers away.
Sadly, with no help available from the Kenyan government, our savings have now run dry and we can no longer afford to stay in operation.
But one of the saddest things, is that we cannot funds our community projects any longer because all our projects rely on large numbers of guests coming through our camp to provide us with income and donations to fund them. This includes our Porridge Project which feeds hundreds of local children each week and our classroom building project, which we had hoped to complete in 2021 but which has also been put on hold indefinitely.
We are now coming to a crossroads as we no longer have enough savings or income to cover our monthly costs and in January 2021 we will be required to pay our annual operating licenses which total approximately $3000 in one month.
We are in trouble and although we have tried, we are left with no other option than to ask for help from our friends to try and save us so we can keep sharing our beloved Masai Mara with you.
If you can find it in your heart to donate, we will be forever grateful for any support that you can give us!
Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts and we hope to welcome you back to Mara Explorers soon!
With love from Laura, Moses and the whole Mara Explorers team.
Organiser
Laura Dowler Maina
Organiser
England
