Taking inspiration from a good podcast
by Ginny – Owner/Director WalkingWomen
I am a podcast fan. Sometimes if I can’t sleep, I search for a soothing voice, a story that will help me escape or the sound of water. I wonder how many of us do this?
One that kept me captivated lately was How to Fail with Elizabeth Day. I like hearing stories of things that haven’t quite worked out as planned and then spoken about with such celebration and understanding that sometimes things just don’t go right! My sister and I know about this after a year of owning WalkingWomen. Once our group arrived, the hotel staff all walked out as the management had changed overnight, once a train strike happened the day our holiday started, and everyone was travelling by train (actually, sadly, that’s happened more than once !) Oh, and once, a guide suddenly couldn’t make it. In all these situations, what stood out was the way other women stepped in to rally around and rectify the situation. Women changing from train to car and offering lifts to strangers, another of our women guides stepping in at the last minute to help out … all being positive and supportive of finding solutions. All women with such strength of character and who care.
The podcast I listened to this particular night was Elizabeth Day talking to Jane Goodall – the scientist, conservationist and humanitarian who has studied chimpanzees in Tanzania for over 60 years. She is now 88 and still energetic and alive, giving so much time to help improve her understanding of wildlife and our planet. She had so many wise words about understanding what is going on with our planet, what we can learn from animals and her specific love of Africa and the time she spent studying Chimpanzees.
Never mind how we got to be who we are. Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right. The greatest danger to our future is apathy. Only if we understand will we care. Jane Goodall
If you get the chance, listen to the podcast and do recommend your own favourites. You can find it on Spotify and iTunes
Jane was also discussing her latest book ‘The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times”. I will be packing this on my next trip.
Listening to Jane inspired me even more, to think about where we travel. Already we make sure we work with local partners who can show us their country and give us a greater understanding as they live and work there. We also seek out women who are doing great things and encouraging sustainable travel. Travel that visits local community projects to raise awareness and put some money into these communities.
Like Jane, we also want to share Tanzania and our partner there is a young woman who changed her life to live in Tanzania and run Safaris working with her Tanzanian husband.
One of our WalkingWomen webinars was by Michaela in Tanzania. It highlighted the challenges with her weak wifi, and then she moved to the best hotel to get better reception. She presented with hotel reception music in the background but didn’t let it deter her. This is her story and her talking about the WalkingWomen Tanzania Safari.
On Safari in Tanzania – Webinar
