Travel for Good: The real impact of our Just A Drop partnership
Learn how the invaluable work of our trusted partners, Just a Drop, is changing lives across the globe as we catch up with our Service Delivery and Sustainability Manager, Rasme, on her recent visit to India.
As experts in escorted touring, there's nothing we love more than helping to turn our customers' travel dreams into a reality, but it's just as important to give back to local communities and promote a more sustainable way to travel. That's why, in addition to our other Travel for Good initiatives, we're proud to partner with Just a Drop. This grassroots charity supports communities around the world with access to sustainable, safe water solutions, sanitation facilities and knowledge of safe hygiene practices. What's more, we're already seeing results from our partnership, with projects across Nicaragua and Northern India already underway and helping local communities.
Our Service Delivery and Sustainability manager, Rasme, recently had the chance to see the impact of our Travel for Good initiatives first-hand with a trip to Daha Village in India. Joined by our trusted partners from Just a Drop, she witnessed the lengths residents are forced to go to for fresh water and what every donation goes towards. We recently sat down with Rasme to find out more about her experiences, the work that goes on behind the scenes, and the impact it's already made on the village's residents. Here's what she had to say.
Could you outline the project we’ve been working on with Just a Drop?
Our partnership with Just a Drop centres on something really fundamental: access to clean, safe water. Just a Drop is an incredible charity that works with communities across the world to deliver sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene projects, and over the past couple of years, Newmarket Holidays has been proud to support their work financially. The project that brought us to India was focused on Daha Village, where the funds we raised as a company went directly towards installing a clean water supply for the community. It's the kind of project that stays with you - practical, life-changing, and real.
Had you ever visited India before?
No, this was actually my first time in India, which made the whole experience even more vivid. I had no real frame of reference, so everything felt fresh and new - the colours, the sounds, the pace of life. In some ways, going for the first time as part of a project like this felt like the right way to arrive. It wasn't just a holiday; there was a real purpose to the visit.
What were your first impressions of the area?
India doesn't ease you in gently - it hits you with everything at once in the best possible way! The landscape, the warmth of the people, the sense that life is very much lived outdoors and communally. Daha Village itself was modest and beautiful, and there was a quiet dignity to the community there that I found really striking. It was a world away from what I knew, and yet the people we met made us feel completely welcome from the moment we arrived.
Did your visit change the way you see India?
Absolutely. I think a lot of people carry a picture of India in their minds, usually built from other people's stories or images, and the reality is so much richer and more nuanced than that. What stayed with me most was the resilience and warmth of the communities we visited. People with very little, by the standards many of us are used to, who were generous with their time and genuinely joyful. It completely shifted how I think about what we take for granted.
What was it like seeing the work Just A Drop does in person?
It's one thing to fundraise, to see the numbers, to know intellectually that you're making a difference, but it's something else entirely to stand in a village and see it. Watching clean water flowing into Daha Village was genuinely humbling. Access to something so simple, something most of us turn on a tap for without a second thought, was now a daily reality for that community. Just a Drop's work on the ground is meticulous and deeply respectful of the communities they work with, and seeing that up close gave me enormous admiration for what they do.
Do you think engaging with the local communities added to your experience?
Without question, it was the whole point. You could have read about the project in a report, seen photographs, and followed the statistics, but nothing prepares you for sitting with the people whose lives are genuinely changed by it. The conversations we had, however brief or through translation, were the heart of the whole trip. It reminded me that travel at its best isn't just about seeing new places, it's about connecting with people and understanding that the world is bigger and more varied than our own daily experience.
Do any moments stand out as being particularly memorable?
One moment in particular will stay with me for a very long time. We visited one of the homes in the village, a modest house, but full of life. Three generations were all there together: grandparents, parents, young toddlers running around, and teenagers. It was a real family home, and you felt that immediately. I got the chance to speak to one of the girls there, who had just turned 17. Through conversation, I learned that for years, not occasionally, but every single day, twice a day, she had been walking miles to collect water for her family. That had just been her life. Her responsibility. Something she carried, quietly, while also being a teenager trying to grow up.
When I tried to speak to her about what this change meant, she became very emotional. She didn't need to say much because the feeling said everything. I found it very hard to hold it together myself in that moment. Here was a young woman the same age as many of our own children or younger siblings at home, and something as basic as not having to make that walk anymore had moved her to tears. It put everything into perspective in a way that no statistic or report ever could. That conversation is one I won't forget.
What did you find most inspiring about this experience?
The people. Both the communities we visited and the Just a Drop team, who clearly pour everything into this work with enormous care and humility. But also, if I'm honest, my own colleagues, knowing that what we raised together as a company had found its way here, into this village, into real lives, was incredibly moving. It's easy to feel like individual actions don't amount to much. This was proof that they do.
Would you return to India in the future, and if so, is there anything you’d do differently?
Absolutely! India has given me a lot to think about, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. If I returned, I think I'd carve out more time to simply be present, to slow down, wander, and let India come to me rather than trying to pack everything in. And I'd go back to Daha Village in a heartbeat, just to see how things have grown and changed since our visit.
Looking ahead to the future, what’s next for our partnership with Just A Drop?
This feels like the beginning rather than the end. The India trip has deepened our relationship with Just a Drop and shown us first-hand the difference that committed, long-term support can make. We're looking at how we can continue to grow that partnership, whether that's through further fundraising, future trips, or finding new ways to involve our customers in the story. Responsible travel matters deeply to us at Newmarket Holidays, and Just a Drop is a partner who shares that commitment completely.
Travel for good with Newmarket Holidays
Whether you're keen to participate in fundraising or want to know more about how we can all travel more sustainably, our Travel for Good initiatives make it easier than ever to give back to local communities. From supporting peatland restoration in the UK to helping provide clean drinking water to rural communities across the globe, you can support the invaluable work of our trusted charity partners by simply enjoying your holiday. To get the ball rolling on your next escape, give one of our friendly holiday planners a call or check out our full range of escorted tours on our dedicated destinations page.
