World responsible Tourism Day celebrations at Camp Okavango

It was fantastic to be able to celebrate World Responsible Tourism Day in camp and to be able to create awareness to both the staff and our guests through the ‘I Know My Status’ green ribbon campaign. As staff members of Camp Okavango we are proud to be working for a company that is so dedicated to changing the way we think about HIV/AIDS, how we help those who are infected and affected by the disease and reducing the stigma that is attached to HIV/AIDS.

The staff celebrated this day with the guests at brunch time. We started the celebration with an opening song and then there was a brief explanation about the meaning of the green ribbon and what Desert and Delta Safaris does as a company and what they want to do in the future.

The company has created a staff wellness program which focuses on ensuring that the staff members are healthy in mind, body and soul. We are very fortunate to have a company doctor, a Pastor as well as the government operated clinics that come into the camps to help achieve these goals. We also have Peer Educators and Lay Counselors who are members of staff, who have been specifically trained to educate their peers on various topics each month that will help to ensure that the staff have healthy minds, bodies and souls.

We are also very proud that 98% of our staff know their status and are proud to wear the green ribbon. The green ribbon is a sign of hope and of life as well as a responsibility to live a healthy life. Botswana as a country has reason to be very proud for their dedication to fighting the epidemic. Botswana was one of the first countries to offer free anti- retroviral treatment to the people as well as a program to prevent mother to child transmission. The green ribbon symbolizes the hope that the people of Botswana have for a wonderful life irrespective of their status. It also is a reminder for those who are HIV positive that there is hope and help available to them as well as reminding them to protect themselves and others, to eat healthily, to exercise and to encourage those who are in the same situation as them. For those who have a negative status the ribbon is a reminder to protect themselves, to encourage others to do the same and to help those who are affected by the disease.

The Camp Okavango team was glad to be able to create awareness amongst our guests and hopefully aid in reducing the stigma around HIV/AIDS. We enjoyed celebrating World Responsible Tourism Day, handing out green ribbons to the guests and as a team at Camp Okavango we hope to continue to act responsibly in tourism while providing the best experience for our guests. The celebration was concluded with two Setswana songs that showed the importance of tourism to the people of Botswana.


Michelle Fowler, Camp Okavango