Positive Social Impact
What Impact Means To Us
Experiencing different cultures first-hand in order to better understand other countries is at the core of every EEAbroad program. Our mission is to provide travelers with experiences that respect the host country’s values and evoke reflections on their own culture while learning about themselves and what matters most to them both at home and abroad. But it is not enough to bring back new understandings. We believe it is equally important to leave behind a Positive Social Impact.
At EEAbroad, we want to make a difference, however large or small, in every community we visit by working with local partners on projects that inspire cross-cultural bonds and generate long-lasting change. Our significant investment in time and resources helps ensure that smaller, newer projects advance further with reliable support, compared to well-established initiatives that may already have key alliances.
how eeabroad takes action
EEAbroad dedicates itself to making a Positive Social Impact by working with local partners on community projects that create solutions and produce progress. We invest in our in-country program managers and partnerships, rather than working with third-party destination management companies. This strategy better ensures that resources and efforts are distributed appropriately and directed by locals. By investing a significant amount of our time and resources in the communities we operate, it helps ensure that smaller, newer projects gain reliable support from established alliances that are key to making a real impact.
EEAbroad strongly believes in the power of people to build a better world by not just making a Positive Social Impact but by inspiring it as well. That’s why we are continuously working with various new and ongoing projects that are making real changes in the most vulnerable communities. But we need your help to continue these efforts. While we have suspended all in-person travel due to the continuing COVID-19 situation worldwide, and the humanitarian and economic crisis in Cuba, this doesn’t mean you can’t travel virtually and support the Cuban people, too.
The Projects We Support
EEAbroad partners with a variety of projects throughout our destinations with the goal of making a Positive Social Impact everywhere we travel. We take the time to understand the mission and potential of each project, assess where we can contribute, and make a lasting impact. Our efforts go towards reinforcing locally-driven positive impact, not replace or self-direct it. Here are just a few of the many impactful projects we support:
Proyecto Akokán
Akokán is a word taken from Yoruba’s West African language that can be translated to “from my heart.”
Proyecto Akokán is a nonprofit civil initiative that works with, for, and from the Los Pocitos community located in the western Havana neighborhood of Marianao. Los Pocitos is one of the most underdeveloped neighborhoods in Havana, an informal settlement of immigrants to Havana, mostly from the eastern provinces of Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo.
Proyecto Akokán’s initiatives assist the community’s integral development and include a variety of educational and cultural workshops for the local youth, field trips, a free library, painting murals and homes, community gardens, tree plantings, and musical concerts.
Those who are the most disadvantaged in normal times are often the ones who are hit hardest by a crisis’s consequences. Proyecto Akokán's present objectives during the COVID-19 crisis include food delivery to seniors living alone, assembly of masks and informational COVID-19 packets, economic support to single mothers and people with disabilities, and delivery of books and educational activities to households with children.
SOLO EL AMOR
Solo el Amor (SEA) is a network of impassioned people whose objective is identifying and directly managing the delivery of needed items such as personal hygiene supplies and medicines to local communities across the island. SEA constituents receive, classify, and personally deliver donations to ensure the dissemination of goods to people in direct need. SEA is built upon the solidarity and goodwill of people who share the common goal of providing assistance to those who will benefit most. This is a growing and inspiring grassroots initiative that has reached and impacted 13 of the 15 provinces in Cuba. Currently, the primary focus is delivering medical and other related supplies in an effort to alleviate shortages due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Cuba Libro
Cuba Libro, the only English language bookstore in Cuba, was founded in 2013 by Conner Gorry, a journalist from New York who has lived in Cuba for over 20 years. The bookstore provides an open space for all looking for enrichment and exchange. Apart from no book priced over $5, Cuba Libro is actively involved in cat and dog rescue, free English tutoring, and a far-reaching donation program to vulnerable populations that includes prenatal vitamins for pregnant women and medical supplies for health clinics, among other things.
Their mission is continually evolving to identify and reach the underserved in Havana and across the island nation. Thanks to the continued support from their local and global communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re able to continue donations of severely needed medicines, vitamins, and personal hygiene products.