Riviera Travel Colleagues Experience Transformation in Kenya Through Practical Action Charity Partnership

Last month, Riviera Travel sent a small group of company delegates to Kenya to experience first-hand how the cruise and tour operator’s long-term charity partner, Practical Action, is supporting local communities. On Sunday, 11th of May, Riviera Travel employees Jane Walker (Office Manager), Laura Harvey (People Director), and Abigail Coyle (People Partner) arrived in Kisumu to learn more about the remarkable impact their support and donations to Practical Action, a UK-based non-profit organisation, have had on the charity’s “Clean Rivers, Clean Homes” project: A grassroots initiative transforming environments, empowering communities, and turning waste into opportunity.

The visit marked a milestone in Riviera’s ongoing commitment to making a meaningful difference through its long-standing charity partnership with Practical Action. It provided the team with powerful insight into how community-led solutions are restoring dignity, creating sustainable livelihoods, and tackling one of Kisumu’s most urgent challenges: Waste management in informal settlements where poor infrastructure compounds pollution.

Following an open internal application process inviting all colleagues to express interest in supporting the company’s charity work, Jane Walker, Laura Harvey, and Abigail Coyle were selected for their passion, dedication, and commitment to the cause and plans to share the partnership’s impact within Riviera Travel. Their visit brought to life the tangible results of Practical Action’s work, made possible by Riviera Travel’s donations, which now total over £160,000 and are expected to reach over £200,000 in Q2 of 2025.

The “Clean Rivers, Clean Homes” project is about more than managing waste. It is about uplifting women and young people, inspiring children to become environmental champions, and nurturing hope and resilience in communities that are often overlooked. Through innovative local enterprise and collective action, Practical Action is turning what was once a hazard into a valuable resource; cleansing rivers, revitalising homes, and rebuilding lives in the process.

“This project is about so much more than managing waste. It’s about dignity, resilience, and community,” said Abigail Coyle. “It’s about women lifting each other up, inspiring children to advocate for and lead change, and people choosing hope and action over despair.”

During their visit, the Riviera team connected with a number of inspiring community-led groups driving real change on the ground:

• United Solutions Youth Group, a youth and single mother-led initiative running waste collection and composting services that support food production and provide steady income.
• Gracious Mums, a women’s collective in the Obunga informal settlement offering childcare, waste sorting, and recycling services, while identifying practical needs like handcarts to expand their impact.
• M-Taka Solutions, a pioneering local enterprise formalising waste collection through digital tracking and connecting workers to credit and vital services.
• Central Primary School, an educational institution embedding environmental sustainability into its curriculum and inspiring behaviour change beyond the classroom.
• River Auji Clean-Up, a community-driven volunteer effort where over 150 people united to restore a once-polluted waterway running through five settlements.

To date, the project’s achievements include distributing 4,000 waste bins to 2,000 households, training 250 informal waste workers and seven waste traders, tracking 40,000 kg of waste with innovative digital tools, supporting multiple clean-ups and awareness campaigns, and securing formal recognition for informal workers from local authorities.

This visit reflects Riviera Travel’s wider dedication to creating a positive global impact, not just through fundraising, but by empowering colleagues to engage directly with the causes they champion.

Laura Harvey, People Director at Riviera Travel, commented: “We’re incredibly proud of the work Practical Action is doing, and even prouder that our team can be part of it. Supporting this kind of long-term, community-driven change aligns with our values and reinforces our belief in travel as a force for good.”

Naman Ondego, Senior Project Officer at Practical Action, said of the visit, “Welcoming Riviera Travel’s team to Kisumu was a powerful moment for all of us. It allowed us to share the realities communities face — and the progress being made through collective action and long-term partnership. The support from Riviera Travel is a true commitment to transformation, dignity, and local empowerment.”