When I saw the pictures of the children at the orphanage I volunteered at in Malawi, Africa, reading my Travel Therapy book, I cried. I cried because I missed them. I cried because I knew this was the first time many of the children had ever seen pictures in a book like this and I cried because my dream to share the joy and inspiration of Travel Therapy around the world had taken one tiny step forward.
The beautiful children at the Mtendere Orphans Village in Malawi were the inspiration behind chapter four in the TRAVEL THERAPY book that’s called “Pay it Forward”. The chapter is one of my favorites and highlights unique volunteer vacation opportunities around the world and how you can give back. For more than ten years I had dreamed about doing volunteer vacation but working as a television correspondent and anchor I could never get more than five days off at a time. So I put my Africa volunteer dreams on hold, but always promised myself “someday.”
That “someday” finally came last June after I got back from working as an embedded correspondent in Afghanistan, quit my television career of more than 15 years, cashed in my 401k and decided there was so much more I was supposed to do with my life. There was so much more I could contribute and give back, and I wasn’t going to wait any longer.
Financially, I was broke, but emotionally I was rich because I had never been more sure about anything in my life. It was the biggest gamble of my life that has already paid off in so many ways that has nothing to do with my bank account.
And that’s when the idea for TRAVEL THERAPY came to me. I realized that I had personally used travel my entire life to help deal with stress, to help broaden my horizons, for inspiration, to help find myself and to celebrate special occasions.
If it worked for me I knew it had to work for other people, but I also knew it was critical to match destinations and trips with where you head and heart were at the time.
My volunteer trip to Africa came at a time when I couldn’t afford to go but emotionally, couldn’t afford not to. I had promised myself this trip for years and I was keeping that promise.
The children in Malawi, Africa, touched my heart in so many ways. Once I was there I didn’t want to leave them or Africa. I didn’t want to come back home, but I knew I had to finish my book. My editor at Seal Press was waiting. So I became more determined than ever to write a book that would have a global reach. A book that could help anyone around the world find inspiration and hope.
When I heard one of my fellow volunteers, Ale Knight, that I had met on my trip with Ambassadors for Children, was going back to the Malawi orphanage right after my book came out I begged her to take a copy for the children. We met up in New York City so I could get her the book on time. When we were in Malawi in June we had just started collecting books to make a little library for the children. I knew most of the children couldn’t read English, but still hoped they could be inspired by all the beautiful photography in TRAVEL THERAPY that showcases different destinations around the world.
I hoped the TRAVEL THERAPY book would help empower them and show them there’s a whole world out there just waiting for them to explore and that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and work hard to make your dreams come true.
I always say you can’t want and work toward “more” if you’ve never seen or experienced more and these children have seen very little when it comes to the world outside their small orphanage.
When I was with the children I showed them pictures I had taken with my camera on safari in South Africa. I’ll never forget how their faces lit up in awe. I was stunned to realize of the children had never seen these kind of animal before in person or in pictures. It was a true wakeup call to how important books are and how we can never forget how books can feed your imagination and soul and take you on trips around the world by just flipping through the pages. Books are so magical and sometimes I think I’ve taken that “magic” for granted.
For children, like these orphans in Africa, who don’t have access to computer and the internet books are still their window to the world.
So that’s why the tears. They are tears mixed with sadness because I miss those children and they are tears of joy because I am so honored, humbled and hopeful to share a small part of my world with them. Seeing the children, like little Janet in her red dress, smiling so huge, going through the TRAVEL THERAPY book, makes me more determined than ever to find a way to share TRAVEL THERAPY with people around the world.
My new goal is to get TRAVEL THERAPY: Where Do You Need to Go? into every public library in the United States so even if a person can’t afford to travel at the moment they can still take a journey by reading the book and plan for their own vacation someday in the future.
I’m also working on turning TRAVEL THERAPY into a television series with the same concept and goal of showing how travel can empower a person and change lives.
The children in Malawi changed mine.
What’s it going to take to change yours?
Where do you need to go?
Let TRAVEL THERAPY help you find your way.
The journey continues…
