Riviera Travel trio visit Kenya to see impact of charity partner

Three colleagues from Riviera Travel have returned from a visit to Kenya to see how the cruise and tour operator’s long-term charity partner, Practical Action, is supporting communities.

 

The operator’s donations to the UK-based non-profit organisation now total more than £160,000 and are expected to reach more than £200,000 in Q2 of 2025.

 

Office manager Jane Walker, people director Laura Harvey and people partner Abigail Coyle travelled to Kisumu last month to learn more about Practical Action and its “Clean Rivers, Clean Homes” project, which tackles waste management in settlements where poor infrastructure compounds pollution.

 

Walker, Harvey and Coyle were selected for their “passion, dedication and commitment” to the cause and their plans to share the partnership’s impact within Riviera Travel.

 

Coyle said: “This project is about so much more than managing waste. It’s about dignity, resilience and community.

 

“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 met several community-led groups, such as United Solutions Youth Group, an initiative running waste collection and composting services that support food production and provide steady income; Gracious Mums, a women’s collective offering childcare, waste sorting and recycling services; and M-Taka Solutions, a local enterprise formalising waste collection through digital tracking and connecting workers to credit and vital services.

 

They also met people from Central Primary School, which is embedding environmental sustainability into its curriculum, and River Auji Clean-Up, a volunteer effort restoring a once-polluted waterway running through five settlements.

 

So far the Clean Rivers, Clean Homes project has distributed 4,000 waste bins to 2,000 households, trained 250 informal waste workers and seven waste traders, tracked 40,000 kg of waste with digital tools, supported clean-ups and awareness campaigns, and secured formal recognition for informal workers from local authorities.

 

Harvey said: “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: “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.”