The Background…Dom and Kate met in London when they were in their early twenties and ran away to Africa. They spent two years travelling throughout the continent and learning all about the tourism industry before moving to Malawi and combining their passions for tourism, education and experiential travel to create a niche travel company called The Responsible Safari Company (RSC). What an adventure it was! From 2007 to date the company has blossomed and now welcomes large numbers of students from across the world into Malawi to learn more about global citizenship, runs expeditions offering skill sharing opportunities for women in business and creates bespoke travel experiences into Malawi. Dom and Kate married in 2010 and moved back to the UK in 2015 to have their children and form Orbis Expeditions, based in Devon. Having a UK and Malawi company has allowed Dom and Kate to have full control of their trips and enables them to put together travel experiences that push the boundaries of sustainable travel, offer incredible experiences to their guests and make an impact on the communities they work with in Malawi. RSC now employs ten Malawian staff, including guides, sales, marketing and a General Manager.
Sport with a Purpose…To create incredible sports challenges that use the power of Sport to promote key global issues, cross cultural boundaries and offer an incredible boost to Malawi’s local economy. Each event is designed to push participants both physically and mentally, offering them a chance to travel to an incredible part of Africa, learn more about key global challenges and be part of a mixed team, International and Malawians all passionate about using Sport with a Purpose.
The Orbis Challenge…Dom has always been the business brain and Kate has been the business passion behind their company and with the creation of The Orbis Challenge this was no different. Inspired by Dame Kelly Holmes’s outlook and values Kate sowed the idea of a challenge event which had a true purpose behind it. An event where passionate athletes could apply to run next to their heroes, an event in which Malawians athletes could also take part, an event that raised awareness of the power of sport and brought people together, not a race but a team challenge. In 2018 The Orbis Challenge- Sport with a Purpose- event was born. 20 amateur athletes joined Dame Kelly Holmes to run, cycle and kayak across Southern Malawi. It was the trip of a lifetime and it’s impact and vision is now embedded in the company and communities we work with in Malawi. For 2019 we pushed further, an event that was centred around running, taking participants off the beaten track, including more young people in Malawi and supporting an incredible cause to prevent malnutrition for some of Malawi’s most vulnerable children. 30 participants joined Kelly Holmes, 21 Malawians took part and £22,000 was raised!
2020 is upon us and we are now selecting the 2020 Orbis Challenge Teams including Cycling with Mark Beaumont, Trail Running with Susie Chan, Rugby Coaching with Ollie Phillips, Hiking with Sarah Outen and Sports Coaching with Katherine Grainger. Which team will you join?