Vision without action
is merely a dream
Action without vision just passes time
Vision with action can change the world
The vision of 2 Way Travel is to make a difference in
South African society through enabling people to volunteer
at some of our NGOs. These organisations fulfil an invaluable
role in impoverished and disadvantaged communities who
are in desperate need of volunteer assistance. Global
trends show that there is an increasing demand for short
term volunteer trips to Africa as people want to combine
their holidays with worthwhile activities that contribute
to the greater good of society.
Currently we have a strong focus on student adventure
tours into Southern Africa and hope to expand this market
as we strive to provide outstanding travel opportunities
for our valued international student market. We offer
an array of services covering Car Hire and Safari/Holiday
booking to advise on Shark Cage Diving and Parachuting!
Our ultimate goal is to expand on the Service & Volunteer
tourism arm of the business with more service / volunteer
trips planned for the end of 2006. For further history
and information on the organisations we support, please
go to our community profile
page.
The business is run by Michael Gathercole, an enthusiastic
and passionate South African. His personal philosophy
is summed up by the story below taken from the story “The
Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley:
An
old man had a habit of taking early morning walks on the
beach. One day, as he looked along the shore, he saw a
human figure moving like a dancer. As he came closer.
he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't
dancing, but instead, he was reaching down to the shore,
picking up something and very gently throwing it into
the ocean.
As
he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What
are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and
replied, "Throwing Starfish into the ocean."
"I
guess I should have asked; why are you throwing Starfish
into the ocean?"
"The
sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don't throw
them in they'll die."
"But
young man, don't you realize that there are miles and
miles of beach and Starfish all along it, you can't possibly
make a difference!"
The
young man listened politely, then bent down, picked up
another Starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking
waves. "It made a difference for that one."
