DUBAI // A couple who are on a year-long sabbatical in Africa to travel, volunteer and raise money for charities, said although their journey is rewarding, they will still come back to live in the UAE.
Briton James Raley, 34, and his Jordanian wife Mira, 30, took time off from their jobs and left Dubai on May 1 to drive through 14 countries in Africa in their 76 series Land Cruiser, which they have named the Honey Badger.
“In many ways this trip was more of a reminder of what makes us most happy,” said Mr Raley, speaking from Mozambique.
“It is easy to have all the conveniences and financial security of Dubai but we always felt something important was missing from our lives. Being in Africa has been a real eye-opener to how big the world is and how much there is to see.
“However, we do love the UAE. It feels like home for both of us, with plenty of adventures to be had just a 30-minute drive out of town.
“We also have a lot of family and friends and, let’s face it, the opportunities for career progression, diversity and growth cannot easily by matched by any African country yet.”
The couple, who have already spent time in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, said one of the main objectives of the trip was to raise US$50,000 (Dh183,000) for three African charities.
The money will go to The Happy Africa Foundation, which helps the community through education, and two animal-conservation projects: the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust and the Marine Megafauna Foundation, which protects large marine species such as sharks, rays, marine mammals and turtles.
However, the adventure-hungry Raleys still have a long way to go.
“So far we have raised over $15,000. Social media has helped, but not as much as we had hoped. We are not experts in social media or blogging but we have still managed to receive fairly large donations from people that we have never met.
“Since our time in Zanzibar, we have learnt that the foundation we were working with is specifically fundraising to build a school ... with a more tangible cause and better understanding of where fundraising is best targeted, we hope to be able to drum up larger donations through corporate sponsorship.”
Volunteering their time with several charities along the way is part of their trip, which ends next April. They have already spent a few weeks supporting a child-nutrition project in Zanzibar and teaching English in three nursery schools, as well as to some adults.
“Next up is our work with the Marine Megafauna Foundation, conserving marine wildlife in southern Mozambique from mid-October,” said Mr Raley, who was a human resources consultancy director in Dubai and hopes to get his job back on his return.
The journey has not been all work, however, and there have been some memorable and picturesque moments.
Mr Raley said: “The gelada baboons surrounding us in the Semien Mountains; watching the great migration in the Masai Mara; sitting with the gorillas in Uganda; summiting Mount Kilimanjaro; and watching the sunset over Lake Albert with nothing near us apart from hippos, giraffes and tree-climbing lions were all fairly special.”
Their trip can be followed on thehoneybadgerdiaries.com and readers can help to raise money for their charities at www.gofundme.com/thehoneybadgerdiaries.
pkannan@thenational.ae
