Feel Good Friday - Not Just Tourists

For those of you who like to do your traveling after school is back in session, it’s a great time to learn about Not Just Tourists, an organization that makes it easy for you to deliver humanitarian aid while on vacation.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Toronto, Not Just Tourists (NJT) has two big aspirations. To “change the way people travel and start the journey for ordinary tourists to become humanitarians” and to “prevent the waste of usable medical supplies and get them to those in most need.”

Here’s how it works. Hospitals, clinics, and medical suppliers donate materials to one of 29 NJT chapters across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The supplies donated are typically gauze, bandages, surgical instruments, masks, gloves, antiseptics, IV kits, urinary supplies and birthing kits.

Volunteers host weekly packing parties to fill suitcases with supplies. Travelers like you and me check the list of 625 clinics around the world to see if there is one near our destination. If so, you fill out a form answering basic questions like your destination, how big of a suitcase you can take and what type of supplies you are comfortable transporting. The suitcase you are given will include a letter explaining that you are transporting the contents to a medical facility in the destination country. Once you deliver the suitcase and return from vacation, you bring back a copy of the letter that was signed by the medical professional who received the suitcase. Easy!

Since they began, Not Just Tourists has sent more than 10,000 suitcases with travelers who have delivered over 2,000,000 pounds of medical supplies. NJT operates without a budget and does not accept nor solicit financial donations. Getting medical supplies to clinics in need is made possible by the 3,000+ volunteers who donate their time.

If you want to help NJT prevent waste and turn tourists into humanitarians, there are many ways you can do so. Sign up to deliver a suitcase, donate medical supplies or a suitcase to put them in, volunteer to sort and pack supplies at a local chapter, or start a chapter if there’s not one near you. Of course you can also make sure more people know about Not Just Tourists by spreading the word on social media. Like the NJT Facebook page, follow them on Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel.