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When you start a business, you have the opportunity to change the world. In this my first blog I will tell you how I partnered with a Kenyan in a safari company to help a children's home in Kenya. 


Who am I?


Just a wee bit about myself. My name is Cathy Booth (Co-founder and partner of Surprise Tours & Safaris Ltd.) and most people I know think I'm a little crazy just so you know. Not crazy for starting a safari company, but crazy for what I created in Kenya before that. Well, you have a little craziness in you to do what I have achieved over the past 11 years in Kenya. I'm an Australian mum of 4 great kids, grandmother to 7 beautiful grandchildren, primary school teacher, animal lover and avid traveller. When my children were growing up I was a wildlife carer to injured Australian animals. I'm a Leo with many Leo traits both positive and negative. I've travelled far and wide since I first moved overseas with my family to live in Papua New Guinea back in the 1980s for 6 years. Then I had the opportunity to travel to so many countries up until now. I LOVE making memories travelling. Life is for living. I'm a risk taker. The other side of me is I love helping those less fortunate than myself. That has been inground in me from when I was a child by my wonderful parents. How lucky am I to have grown up in this magnificent country Australia and be able to help others?  Did I mention determination is a big part of my nature? It's a good and bad thing I can tell you. Got me into a lot of trouble with my mum and dad as a kid.



Why Kenya?


Kenya is a beautiful country that I fell in love with. It embraced me like a big hug. It is a place where you can experience the friendly and welcoming people, the wildlife, the landscape and the culture, and you just keep wanting to go back for more. 


So the story behind Surprise Tours & Safaris Ltd. is a journey I began 11 years ago on 30th July 2011, but had no idea it would lead me to start a safari company as well in Kenya. You have to know this part, to understand the journey to where I am now - taking another leap of faith in Kenya with the safari company.


??????????????Yes, there was that first leap of faith in Kenya. Back in 2010, I visited Kenya on a round-the-world trip I was doing with my sister and brother-in-law. We wanted to do a safari in Kenya as part of the trip. I won't bore you with where else we went but 3 countries in Africa we visited. Rwanda and Kenya were the 2 which touched my heart, especially Kenya. Wow! I didn't see that coming... It was like I'd come 'home.' In fact, one small child and the poverty in Kenya changed my life forever. Don't ask me why, this little girl just tore at my heart. Long story short, I went back to Kenya exactly 6 months later (using my long service leave from work) and volunteered in an orphanage and school in my teaching profession). Back I went again 6 months later to do the same thing, and again at yet another orphanage! It was during this time I witnessed how bad the situation was with orphaned, abandoned and chronically neglected children due to dire poverty. 


Well, then this crazy Leo woman came back to Australia and set up a Non-Government Organisation, and started from nothing but a dream to home children in need until they can be reunited with family - because that is where they belong. Well, I didn't choose an easy path I can tell you. Hard, hard, hard, but with others believing I could do what I set out to do with my small team, the dream came to reality and Umoja Orphanage Kenya was opened 5 years later on 30th July 2016. Exactly 5 years to the day from when I started the project. It is one of the most difficult things I've ever done and still do. I guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it. Every day is a challenge, full of frustrations, heartache, the emotional rollercoaster and so much more, but we've saved the lives of 11 children, (we had 12 but one little girl has been reunited with a family member which is lovely.) So, so many times, I was told, it could not be done! Don't ever say that to a Leo, because we become even more determined. I created the children's home whilst still working full time as a teacher in Australia, using up all my long service leave and then taking leave without pay to go back to Kenya twice to 3 times a year. The project is situated on the East Coast of Kenya inland from a place called Ukunda, which is just next to Diani Beach, a wonderful holiday destination, especially for Europeans who do lots of safaris and enjoy the magnificent beach. Starting to get the picture?

I'll tell you more about Umoja Orphanage Kenya in a future blog. 




So why a safari company?


Let us go back for a minute. On that first visit to Kenya in 2010, we did the most magnificent safari going to Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and Amboseli and then flew from Amboseli to Maasai Mara National Parks on an 8-day safari. I was in awe of the wildlife and still today I can remember my first sighting of elephants as we entered the game park. That was just the beginning. The vastness of the country, the smells, the sounds, the wind on my face, the incredible sunsets, and the animal behaviours won me over in a heartbeat. I was hooked on safaris and the African wildlife. Our driver Patrick was amazing and had eagle eyes seeing so much before our eyes could even begin to see. The lodges were just like out of the movies. I was in HEAVEN!! I was living the dream. Each time I returned to Kenya to volunteer at orphanages before starting Umoja Orphanage Kenya I contacted Patrick as I wanted to do a safari after volunteering, and again was spellbound being out in the parks with the wild animals - each time seeing different landscapes, different wild animal surprises, different animal sitings, different birdlife, different animal behaviours which entrapped me to Kenya even more. I have to tell you Kenya gets under your skin and seizes your soul.



??????????????????Over the 11 years of having a children's home, I've taken 135 volunteers to work on the project. Therein begins the next part of the story. After volunteers finish volunteering at the orphanage project, I include a safari in the voluntour package so volunteers get to experience the wonders of safari in Kenya. You cannot go to Africa and not do a safari! Never, have we had a disappointed volunteer. Some had been on safaris in South Africa and also in Tanzania, but much preferred the safari in Kenya that Patrick (remember he was my tour guide and driver back on my first safari.) had organised for them. Patrick also works for us at the children's home as Manager and was the man on the ground right from the beginning of the orphanage project. He is an amazing, well-respected man in the community with a family. We began hiring out our minibus for safaris which brought in some money for the orphanage. That was fantastic as tourism was not bad before covid-19 and helped the orphanage a lot. 



What was the catalyst for the safari company then?


Covid-19 was the catalyst for the safari company beginning. Can you imagine that? At the orphanage, we had a sustainability model of 3 types, which helped bring in money other than fundraising and sponsorship. 



Covid-19 came and we lost completely 2 of the above. Child sponsorship too was hard hit as people lost their jobs. Hard, difficult times ... Then when the country started opening up again after 2 years, we decided to take another leap of faith and start our own safari company so that we could help Umoja Orphanage Kenya more towards sustainability when tourism took off again. So Surprise Tours and Safaris Ltd. was born. 




What do we do out of love to help the Umoja Orphanage Kenya Project which in turn helps the community?


Patrick and I started the safari company to assist the children's home as part of its sustainability, as having our own safari company we can bring in more income for the children's home, rather than hiring out our vehicles for other safari companies to make profits. Patrick has over 15 years of experience as a tour guide and driver and speaks 4 languages. He has continued doing safaris all this time as well as managing Umoja. He knows every safari park like the back of his hand. We only hire tour guides and drivers with vast experience and safety records. Now, the incredible thing is - we donate 100% of our net profit back to the orphanage project. Yes, you read that correctly. Nowhere else will you see that happening. The safari company is to help our children. By donating back to the orphanage it allows us to do more at the project, (we are soon to open our second home to take in even more children,) in turn, the ripple effect happens, we hire more locals, more tradesmen, more contractors, and we buy more goods and materials locally which helps small local businesses. We give back to our community in Kenya - that is our purpose. The money stays in Kenya - unlike big safari companies where the money goes overseas.




What are some of the challenges of starting a safari company in Kenya?


Starting a safari business is not easy; it requires a lot of preparation, government regulations, tourism certificates, hard work and perseverance. You?ll also have to be willing to take some risks. But the payoff will be worth it for our children. We are a small local company (just like the children's home, a small fish in a big pond.) We give authentic safaris, mostly not like the big safari companies. We want to show people the real Kenya that Patrick & I know and love. I have done 2 - 5 safaris every year since I've been going to Kenya and that's a lot, so I know all the parks very well, even some of the animal groups, and the lodges. I am the tour guide on safaris after I take volunteers to the children's home.


There are other challenges of course.


  1. We are a new company since March this year (even though Patrick is well known in the safari community - the safari company is not to the outside world)
  2. That means we are not well known - however, check out our testimonials from some of our children's home volunteers
  3. Getting known in the world around us
  4. Having people trust us that we will give a fantastic experience
  5. Getting people to book a safari with us (No problems with our volunteers)



But what makes us UNIQUE is what we do - donate all the net profits back to Umoja Orphanage Kenya



???????????????????????That is why we started a safari company - for all the right reasons. We hope you agree and consider us for a holiday of a lifetime.


Stay tuned for my next blog and I hope you enjoyed reading my very first ever blog.


?A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.? John A Shedd 1928