Emzini Tours offers a Township Tour in Knysna township for tourists. The tourists saw the poverty and wanted to donate. Now they help the entire township!
Penny Mainwaring, the owner of Emzini Tours and her best friend Ella have been using their tour company to help uplift the Township in which they offer tours to tourists.
Through the years, the tourists they have taken on the Knysna Township tour have asked how they can help. Penny and Ella set up various programmes for people to donate to that have changed the lives of the locals. Meaning the ladies have created a responsible tourism programme that brings in an income for themselves as well as uplifts those they interact with.
Over time, these international tourists and the Knysna community have collectively helped many troubled and destitute families (especially children of all ages) and township pets with a safe house Lukhanyiso, education, clothing and food.
The ladies believe in education, children and animals so most of their programmes aid local safe houses, animal welfare and creches.
One of the programmes they fund is a soup kitchen that feeds around 30 children every day. Another is a safe house that cares for people who are victims to domestic abuse.
They don’t only take money, they accept every form of donation. The most important being food and clothing. Every day that the tour company enters the township they take dog food and feed all the animals they meet along the way.
The company keeps all the past tourists informed about the progress of the children and animals they have helped through an informative monthly newsletter.
While Township tours are popular all over South Africa it’s great to see a company using their influence in the community for good!