Next year we will celebrate 20 years since we placed our first volunteer. – working with them to use their skills to help communities around the world build the future they want for themselves. A heartfelt thankyou to every volunteer who has helped us achieve that goal.

When Harold, Kate and Sallie started people and places they chose to make people and places a social enterprise – run for the benefit of the projects we work with not shareholders. Our aim was to share skills and build capacity in the communities where we work, so it was logical and important that eventually people and places should be run by our partners already working with us rather than sold to a private company. This was our dream.

As most of you know Kate retired 7 years ago and Dianne assumed her role as Placement Director. It was Kate who first likened our work to a relay race – explaining to each volunteer that they are part of a relay team passing the baton forward to get it safely past the finishing line.

We are all now in our 70s and it would be irresponsible – the very thing we strive not to be! – to fail to plan for the future.

We have been working with our partners for the last 2 years to plan for that future.

We are thrilled to announce that The ITTOG team in the Gambia led by Dr. Adama Bah and Sheik Tejan Nyang have agreed to take the baton and continue the work of people and places around the world.

This could not be more appropriate – Adama’s wise counsel helped us build our award-winning responsible volunteering model all those years ago. Adama is a leader in the world of responsible and pro poor tourism – you can read more about him here

Dianne and Sallie have been working with the new team members for the last 18 months. Mariama Bah is Adama’s daughter living in the UK – she is working with Sallie and will now take on the role of Programme Director. Musufing is a Yorkshire woman of Jamaican heritage now living in The Gambia! – she is working with Dianne and will now take on the role of Volunteer Co-ordinator.  You can read more details about Mariama and Musufing here.

Dianne and Sallie will continue to serve as active directors for the next few years guiding and mentoring the new team – having made people and places the main focus of their lives for the last 17-20 years respectively they cannot and will not just walk away!  Professor Harold Goodwin will hand over as chair of the advisory board to Adama and will instead become Patron.

‘I am delighted that what began in The Gambia will thrive under the wise guidance of Adama Bah and that I shall continue to be involved as patron. Working to ensure that people and places continues to be a leader in responsible volunteering. ‘Harold Goodwin. Follow this link to read Harold’s presentation on responsible volunteering.

‘The Gambia is where the idea of creating people and places was born and it is here that it will continue to grow – rooted in fertile soil and nourished with the right care to germinate into a strong and beautiful baobab tree.  Thankyou for the trust and confidence you have placed in the Gambian team to take over people and places, as a company that faithfully upholds the principles and values it stands for.’ Adama Bah

‘A big Big thank you to the pioneers of people and places for starting the relay in a winning position and passing the baton to us. I would also like to sincerely thank Sallie and Dianne especially for not only trusting me but for all the time and effort they put into training me and the team to carry on their great work. I am determined to carry forward our shared values and ensure that they reflect very clearly in everything we do. I feel lucky to have such great people to consult and feel very excited about the future! ‘ Mariama Bah

We want to assure you that this change will not change the way we work – serving volunteers and communities alike.

We know that the new team will continue the work Sallie, Harold, Kate and Dianne started – they will continue to champion responsible volunteering and we could not be more confident that our legacy will not only continue but will also thrive in the years to come.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Sallie at sallie@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk