A child kept in school.
School fees, books and uniforms for children whose families cannot otherwise afford to keep them in education.
One percent of every journey.
One percent of every Āvara journey is contributed, quietly, to Sri Lankan families in hardship, through three commitments, renewed each year, and published openly.
What we have committed to
We did not want to be a travel company that talked about giving back without actually doing it. The Āvara Pledge is our answer, modest, specific and honest.
One percent of every Āvara journey is contributed to vetted Sri Lankan nonprofits working in three areas: a child's continued schooling, medical treatment for those who cannot afford it, and direct support to families in extreme hardship. The donations are made quietly, throughout the year, and the partners we choose are named each January in an open letter on this page.
It is not a large pledge. It is, however, a real one, and the country we love has always been generous to us. We hope it grows, in time.
Where the pledge goes
Treatment when it is otherwise out of reach.
Medical care, including cancer treatment, for families who cannot afford private care and face the longest waits in the public system.
Direct support in hardship.
Quiet help to Sri Lankan families in extreme circumstances: food, shelter, the small things that restore dignity.
Three steps, repeated each year
01
We give.
One percent of every Āvara journey is contributed to vetted, registered Sri Lankan nonprofits working in the three areas above. Donations are made quietly, throughout the year.
02
We document.
Every donation is recorded: the partner, the date, the amount, the outcome it funded. We keep a simple ledger so nothing is taken on trust.
03
We publish.
Each January, we share an open letter on this page naming the partners we worked with through the previous year and what your journeys made possible.
Honesty, in this also.
We are not building schools or hospitals. We are not carbon-neutral. We are not a development organisation. We are a small travel atelier, and one percent is what we can give meaningfully, today, without making promises we cannot keep.
Questions about the pledge?
Write to us, and we will answer plainly. The next open letter is published in January.
concierge@avarajourneys.com