As part of our ‘Meet The Team’ series, we’re catching up with Toni, our Group Travel Co-ordinator, to find out more about her role and what she gets up to outside of African Adventures.
What does your role involve?
As a Group Travel Coordinator, I organise itineraries, source flights, and decide on accommodation and partner schools for the groups I manage. I also communicate a lot with group leaders, volunteers, and the teams in Ghana, Kenya, and Zanzibar, to ensure that a trip is smooth from start to finish.
What’s the best bit about your role?
I really enjoy seeing the trips come to life. Sometimes we are working on these groups for a year (or more!) and it is really great seeing pictures and hearing stories of how the trip has gone. I also love to see the impact we are making to people’s lives, both in the countries we work in, but also to individual volunteers.
Why did you choose to join the African Adventures team?
I joined African Adventures in September 2024, after deciding to leave my job at a local secondary school as a teacher. Whilst teaching, I organised and ran a lot of school trips in Europe and really loved giving young people an opportunity to experience different cultures, outside of a traditional classroom setting. Moving to African Adventures has allowed me to focus on providing these experiences to as many people as possible, whilst also sharing in my passion of improving education for all.
Have you visited any of our partner schools or host destinations?
Not yet – I am really excited to be going to my first destination in November. I’ll be visiting Ghana, getting stuck into some volunteering and meeting the team. I can’t wait to go!
What’s been the proudest moment of your job?
It has to be seeing my first group go out on their trip to Zanzibar. It was really rewarding to see all the hard work that went on behind the scenes come together. Hearing the positive comments from volunteers, parents and group leaders, and seeing the way the work completed has positively impacted people’s lives, makes the job so worthwhile.
The group helped to construct a base around the classroom to strengthen the walls, which will help to ensure the classroom is a safe learning environment for the 150 students who attend Flora Academy.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love travelling (obviously!), photography and being outside. You will often find me on a weekend city break in Europe or planning a bigger trip abroad. My favourite trips have been to road tripping Iceland, Japan by train, or island hopping across Greece.
Tell us something interesting about yourself
I have lived in 3 different countries and speak 3 different languages!
