Top-quality services and creative tours aside, Buffalo Tours earns rave reviews for its responsible practices. The company is known for its efforts in preserving Vietnam’s heritage and benefiting her people.

Here’s a sampling of what BT does:

Keeping the children well

In Vietnam, orphanages get little support from the government. Most homes struggle to meet basic living standards and rely on donations and sponsorships. At Binh Luc Orphanage, a 90-minute drive from Hanoi, each of the 40 kids, aged five to 17, receive a mere US$7 (RM22) a month for meals from the government.

BT sponsors Binh Luc’s nutritional programme. Every few months, the kids’ heights and weights are monitored. Each month, BT spends about US$35 (RM112) on each child for three meals a day.

The NGO Pearl S. Buck International, of which BT’s CEO, Tran Trong Kien is a board member of the Vietnam chapter, also sponsors some of the children. (US-based Pearl S. Buck Foundation was started in 1964 to address poverty and discrimination issues affecting children in Asian countries.)

BT clients can opt to donate money, children’s clothes, books and stationery, or join in a guided trip to the orphanage. As part of BT’s volunteer holiday packages, tourists can teach English, prepare meals, help out with the vegetable garden and create educational resources

“Three years ago, the children were malnourished, had yellow eyes and little self-confidence,” says Tran. “Today they are lively, confident and their schoolwork has improved. Though we do many community projects, this is one project where we can really see the impact.”

Stimulate tourism

BT pioneered trekking trips and homestays in Mai Chau Valley nine years ago. The company hires locals as trekking guides and helps set up an alternative source of income. It maintains close ties with local villagers and government, and it supports them through the “donate water buffalo” programme and volunteer placements.

Short-term volunteers help build classrooms, wells and waste systems for ethnic-minority villages. In return, volunteers learn to whip up local meals, weave, fashion crafts or enjoy the treks.

Organise medical treks

Each year, BT sponsors and coordinates medical treks to Vietnam’s northern regions. The harsh living conditions mean doctors and medical help are hard to come by. Comprising BT staff and foreign tourists cum doctors and nurses, the team conducts health checks and immunises the kids.

Save wildlife and the environment

The company’s volunteer holidays let tourists help out at the different national parks. At Cuc Phuong National Park, you can feed the turtles, maintain the enclosure and monitor the hatchlings at the turtle conservation centre. Or, you can join a community environmental outreach programme at Tam Dao National Park.

Tourists can take part in grassroots wildlife protection survey by joining the Wildlife Crime team in undercover surveys of restaurants and other businesses involved in the illegal wildlife trade.

Empower disabled children

At the Morning Star Disabled Children’s Centre, tourists can assist with special education so that kids can develop self-help skills and integrate into the community.