Coast to Coast Creatives
Jens von Gierke & Michael Barry

Name an experience while traveling that has stuck with you forever.

Michael Barry: I stayed at an interesting Riad in the medina of Marrakech, down a little thousand-year-old alley. There were donkeys pulling carts, street vendors, and from this unkempt little alley, you come into this amazing courtyard full of flowers, with birds chirping and a water fountain babbling away. This authenticity is something that sticks in my mind and I wanted to recreate that feeling with Timber Cove. If I was to use one word to describe Timber Cove, it would be “unique”. One can’t recreate that experience anywhere else and that’s what travel and hospitality should be about.

Jens von Gierke: For me, that would have to be a trip that I took with my wife and daughters to Nairobi in 2018. We asked if we could visit a rescue center that a hotel there is supporting. But it was very challenging, since most hotels do not like the guests to see much of the local community. However, our driver, who became our friend, decided to take the matter into his own hands. He called the founder of Children’s Garden Home in Nairobi, and we were able to visit on our last day. The experience, meeting 300 kids, was absolutely emotional, and we left the place with the desire to do more.

Many people who have such experiences during their travels are moved to the point of action, but upon returning to their home, their lives, they don’t follow through. But not you.

JVG: Well, it wasn’t simple. Back home, I did a lot of research, and it became obvious that the best way to help is to take things into your own hands. We had met many locals during our stay in Nairobi, and subsequent stays there, and were able to develop the WAVE Children’s Foundations work, which is an international nonprofit organization that brings about sustainable solutions for everyday challenges among underserved communities in Africa. We work in food and education programs and support children rescue centers and orphanages with a variety of integrated projects focusing on basic needs. We are also committed to empowering international volunteers to see themselves as global citizens and agents of change. For us, education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Can you cite a specific example of something WAVE has achieved?

JVG: Our Greenhouse and IT lab project at Children’s Garden Home started in 2019. We were able to purchase a piece of farmland, and within 12 months we had drilled for a well and installed a water tank and solar-powered irrigation. Then we added a farmhouse and water kiosk for the community and greenhouse. This was only possible with the support of our donors, who are drawn to our hands-on, local-presence approach, which ensures that all donations are spent as planned and promised. We are very proud of giving the kids at Children’s Garden home daily, nutritional food, and the opportunity to be self-sufficient with their food supply.

And the future for WAVE?

JVG: Right now, we are getting ready for our next project, a water well for a primary School and local community in the small town of Ole Seria in the Masai Mara of southwestern Kenya. It will change the lives of many kids and parents in that school and community.