Welcome to 2020! Have you made your resolutions? Popular resolutions relate to becoming a better person, being more generous and showing concerns for others, living life to the fullest, being more environmentally aware, or spending more time with your friends and family.
Of course these are fantastic. What would you think if you knew that you could fulfil these New Year’s Resolutions on a luxury holiday? Well, you can. Here are the top 5 destinations where you can do just that:
5. Build a disabled-accessible bathroom for a paraplegic in Bali
As Bali is a Hindu island, if someone is born disabled there, it is considered “bad karma”, and paraplegics, especially those in the outer villages where we operate, are all too often hidden away from view, living a lonely, isolated existence, only interacting with family members.
By installing a bathroom, you imbue the individual with a sense of dignity and independence that he/she has never felt before, especially in a facet of life that is so private – the impact on their life is profound. You can be the change.
Recommended sustainable eco-luxury lodging: Amankila
4. Install a stove for a Mayan family in Belize
You can fulfil your New Year’s Resolution to help others by installing an eco-friendly stove in the home of a Mayan family.
These stoves are great because:
a. They are enclosed so eliminate burns due to open flames
b. They have a chimney to expel the smoke so respiratory problems such as asthma are much reduced
c. They are much more fuel efficient so are better for the environment
Recommended sustainable eco-luxury lodging: Copal Tree Lodge
3. Build a home for a family ravaged by HIV in Zambia
You can live life to the fullest by building a home for a widow and her children. HIV continues to kill in Zambia, and families still lose one or both parents. In the case of when both parents die, grandparents become saddled with the responsibility of raising the children; caring for 15 grandchildren is not uncommon, and places a huge burden on them, as you can imagine. A decent home is beyond the financial means of these families by simply reducing leaks.
How?
A home that doesn’t leak and is better insulated means children are healthier and sick less often, so are absent from school less, and thus are better educated. This gives them a better chance of securing a well-paying job and breaking the cycle of poverty.
Recommended sustainable eco-luxury lodging: Tongabezi Lodge
2. Conserve wildlife in Costa Rica
Environmental conservation is of increasing concern; beloved species are losing numbers at alarming rates, so why not resolve to do your bit and conserve them in 2020?
In Costa Rica you can help at a wildlife rescue centre: preparing meals for monkeys, sloths and parrots, hand feeding them, creating enrichments to stimulate them, and learning an enormous amount about these fascinating animals.
Recommended sustainable eco-luxury lodging: Tabacon Resort
1. Fund an arts scholarship for a promising Aboriginal student in Australia
Preserving indigenous cultures is a challenge of UNESCO proportions, no less so in Australia, where Aboriginal art, though acclaimed worldwide, still struggles to be passed on to the next generation. You can play a part in solving this by creating a scholarship for a promising Aboriginal arts student, and in return, you can have an exclusive encounter with an established Aboriginal artist, from whom you can commission your own unique work of art.
Recommended sustainable eco-luxury lodging: Longitude 131
Be the change
2020 can be the year that your resolutions get fulfilled whilst travelling… and you will find that you are more fulfilled in the process.
Christopher Hill is Founder and CEO at Hands Up Holidays. Hands Up Holidays is an award-winning travel company specialising in tailor-made luxury family trips that combine sightseeing with hands-on service projects.
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