A Note from James Willcox, Founder
2016 seems to have got a bad press, but for Untamed Borders it was a fabulous year. We ran a record number of trips to 14 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. Some of my favourites include our groundbreaking trip to Puntland in January. March saw us arrange our 6 th ski season in Afghanistan and arrange logistics in Iran for this ski film. Also in Afghanistan we were proud to be one of the organisers of the Marathon of Afghanistan in the Autumn, as well as arranging the first ever commercial kayaking trip to the country.
Being able to assist in the development of small projects such as this one, which is supporting and training female mountain guides in Tajikistan, as well as helping Farishta who is an 18 year old Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from another province in Afghanistan has also been a meaningful highlight. Farishta lives in a cave built 1500 years ago by the Buddhist kingdom that ruled Central Afghanistan and uses another cave to teach other children from other IDP families. As she says, “I have the gift of education so I want others to have this too.”
Wishing you good luck on your travels for 2017
James |
