As a travel publicist, I get so much pleasure in sharing small but magical parts of the world with the media. Many come back with their minds more open and exposed to the incredible stories hidden beneath the surface of these often forgotten landscapes.
I've been fortunate to host countless press trips across the globe which ultimately allows me to develop a bond with writers in ways that only travel can seem to do. However, in one unique instance in early March, the last 30-minutes of our press trip, sitting in the Entebbe Airport in Uganda, we would share in a special moment between an orphaned boy named Saifi and his sponsor, cementing our bond forever more. I won't give it all away, but instead allow travel writer, Amiee White Beazley share her story, which she penned for Travel + Leisure of how a journey with Volcanoes Safaris would surprisingly facilitate an unplanned union with the boy she and her family have loved and supported from abroad for the last 6 years.
My job never felt more rewarding than in that moment.
And as we said our goodbyes at JFK, I recalled the handcrafted angel I had bought in Bwindi to join my collection of holiday ornaments I pick up during my travels. I couldn't help but feel that rustic angel made of wood, was the lucky token that made that miraculous union possible. I pulled the angel out of my bag and asked Amiee to have it. I asked that it be a reminder of Saifi during the holidays when he couldn't be with her family in Colorado, and promised we would return back to Uganda together again one day.
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Alexandra Avila