Our Mission: The mission of the Compassionate Travel Foundation (CTF) is to improve the lives of women and children around the world by inspiring travelers to be of service wherever they visit.

Our Philosophy: We believe in the wisdom of ordinary people to identify the resources they need to meet their own definitions of success. One or more of the necessary resources maybe out of reach. From casual or pre-planned encounters, the compassionate traveler can build relationships, ask questions respectfully, listen openly, and return home to network and connect the formerly unreachable resources to the person or group  in need.  It  is amazingly easy for the compassionate traveler  to make a huge impact on the lives of struggling people while enhancing his or her own travels and gaining the rich rewards of offering a hand up. (see the Eleven Pencils story on our  "Compassionate Traveler" page or on our blog.)

Our Vision: CTF will model how travelers can be of service by focusing on projects that empower women and educate children.

Our Purpose: Is to increase the economic status of women, and child literacy  of Mayans in Central America.  

Examples of How We Plan to Meet Our Purpose:

Direct Funding

Collecting and providing books for schools, school supplies and computer equipment.

Networking Partnerships

Creating sister school relationships, donating school uniforms, and linking school curricula to environmental protection.

What We Have Accomplished

Collected and provided Maya Centre Village School in Belize with 735 books.  This is the equivelent of eight books per student.  

Linked S.H.A.R.E., a  non-profit in Guelph, Ontario, Canada with women at Maya Centre Village to provide sewing machines.

Rodwell Vocational School Scholarship Fund

Rodwell is a 16 year old resident of Gales Point whom we met one sunny afternoon in February, 2008.  Rodwell would like to be a mechanic. He is now attending the Institute of Technical and Vocational Training, in Dangriga Town, and thanks to generous donations made to CTF, we were able to send $500.00 to cover Rodwell's first year of tuition, books and uniform. He  completed orientation and started classes in September 2008. We  continue to look for funds for his second year.