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Christmas toy drive at ACL

It’s the Season of Giving and we at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge are keen on giving back- and hoping you can help us! We will be running a Toy Donation Drive for the month of December, with all gifts to be donated to local schools and orphanages in the Arusha area. So if you have any old toys that are no longer flavour of the month please do donate them to the Elewana Toy Drive!

Drop Off Points is at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge.  Items needed (New or Used in Good Condition)

  • Plastic Toys – without batteries needed
  • Wooden Toys
  • Dolls
  • Teddies or Cuddly Toys
  • Books – in English or Kiswahili
  • Pencils/Pens
  • Colouring Books
  • Balls/Sporting Items

Merry Christmas and Thank you for your continued support of Arusha Coffee Lodge and our communities!

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Land & Life Christmas sale!

Looking for gift ideas this Christmas?  Buy these amazing Wildlife Warrior resource packs today via our secure online platform at $10 if paying in cash and $12.50 if paying by VISA (to cover wire fees), and change a child’s life. How?

  1. By buying just one pack we will donate it in your name to one youngster attending one of our supported schools located near Elewana properties. Each pack contains 9 conservation topics and interactive activities with pictures and illustrations tailored to meet the children’s needs.
  2. $5 from the sales will be ploughed back to reprint more copies, meaning that we will be able to reach even more children!
  3. The remaining $5 will go towards supporting a child’s education in secondary school through our Wildlife Warrior Scholarship Programme.

The WWP packs will also be available this Christmas in the following Elewana properties: Tortilis Camp, Sand River Camp and AfroChic Diani.

To purchase online using your VISA card:

  • Click here  and select ‘Make a secure donation’
  • Enter amount
  • Select Wildlife Warrior Program
  • Enter your details and feel free to leave a message instructing us on which school you would like us to donate the pack(s)
  • Then make your donation!

We cannot reiterate how grateful we are to our dear friends and partners at Safari Pros for providing us the funds to print these Wildlife Warrior packs.

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Update: There’s always time for tea!

Clarissa and Sean are a fine example of how creative ideas infused with the spirit of giving can make a difference. As a teacher herself, Clarissa understands the demands that teachers in Ganako Primary face to remain productive and motivated. But how do you go about motivating them? was the question. And the answer was tea! There’s always time for tea! As William E Gladstone put is so well:

“If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”

Their fundraiser through the sale of beautiful polymer hand-made clay coasters garnered a total of $740! Because all our operation expenses are covered by Elewana, 100% of these funds will go towards purchasing tea making facilities (burners, gas, cups, pots, sugar, powdered milk etc) for the teachers in Ganako. The balance will be channelled to meet the school’s priority needs.

Thank you Clarissa and Sean for your thoughtfulness!

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Making a difference, one coaster at a time!

In June 2019, Sean and I had the opportunity to visit Ganako primary near Elewana The Manor, Ngorongoro, Tanzania. It was an eye-opening experience, one which I remember so clearly because really, the whole hour we spent there was pretty hard to forget.

We learned that record-keeping was still handwritten in books, some classes had a teacher to student ratio of 1:70-80, there is a single teacher specially hired to teach a deaf student in sign language and special needs students, the school bell to gather the school was simply through hitting a round metal piece and the headmaster addressed the entire school with just his voice, etc.  

Despite all these, the teachers there still strive to do their best for the students with whatever little resources they have. As teachers ourselves, we understand how much fellow teachers hope to do for the students and limited resources can be a challenge to overcome. So as Teacher’s Day approaches, Sean and I, together with Heather, would like to do a little something to help Ganako Primary School and at the same time, celebrate the effort of the teachers by contributing to the setting up of a tea station as a morale-booster for them. It will require the procurement of equipment such as burners, cooking pots, thermos flasks, gas bottles and the food items such as sugar and milk powder enough to last for a while. Their headmistress also shared a list of school needs:

  1. School stationery – textbooks, writing materials, exercise books
  2. Water tanks for storage especially during dry seasons
  3. Electrification – connecting the school with electricity
  4. School infrastructure – some classrooms and teachers’ offices require finishing i.e. painting,  windows, doors, and flooring 

Recently, Heather has been exploring polymer clay and with some help from us, created some handmade, one-of-kind coasters. So we thought to channel her interests into helping those in need.

 So yes! We are now taking custom orders for these coasters till 3 September 2020 2359h and 100% of proceeds will go to setting up the tea station for teachers and helping the school fulfill their “wish list”. To place your order, simply go to this link! 

Each coaster is unique, lightweight, durable and waterproof. It costs $8 for a piece and a set of 4 will be $30. Please note that due to the handmade nature of these coasters, there may be slight imperfections which will offer unique character, but not affect its quality. 

In partnership with Elewana Collection’s Land & Life Foundation, please consider joining us in helping the school because these teachers need the resources to provide a more conducive learning environment for the children. Every coaster purchased will go a long way in helping the teachers and students in the school. We thank you in advance for your support and look forward to creating usable, and unique process art for your home!

Clarissa & Sean – Past guests at Elewana The Manor, Ngorongoro

 

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5 days to go!

As we countdown to the end of our Pamoja Fund silent auction, we would like to share with you a video from one of Land & Life’s valued friends and supporters.  In a small town called Aitong, Maasai Mara she has become a household name.  She is also not your regular safari guest.  Her name is Dr. Claudia Mason from Florida, USA.  She a gynecologist by profession with a specialty in cervical cancer.  Her love for Africa and specifically Kenya is not just for wildlife but for the people.  Over the years, she has combined her safari with philanthropy by visiting and supporting Aitong Health Centre, Land & Life’s supported facility in the Mara.  These visits have culminated in successful HPV self-testing and cervical cancer screening initiatives among women in Aitong and its environs, of which she has fully funded and volunteered her medical expertise.  Additionally, she has donated gynecology equipment and supplies to the facility.

Dr. Mason, like many of our friends, has become a tower of strength to our communities and she has done it once again by supporting Pamoja Fund!  Watch her video below as she explains why she has chosen to continue supporting the Land & Life Foundation.

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Wildlife Warrior School Updates

 

Esiteti Primary in Amboseli – The boys dormitory construction is on course and almost 80% complete. We hope to have our first ever group of boys boarding at the school at the beginning of term 2 2019!   The school’s shamba project is also doing well. They have purchased cabbage and kale seedlings and now the new school year has begun, planting is set to commence. A new water tank is being delivered to supply water to the shamba and ease pressure on the main school water supply. 

 

Embiti Primary in the Maasai Mara – The huge new concrete water tank is basically complete, giving the children onsite access to clean drinking water for the first time . Funds to construct a new classroom are arriving in the bank in the next couple of weeks and construction will begin in the second quarter of the year – Land & Life is in discussions with a number of contractors to ensure the best job possible for the school. The school received donations of maths sets and crayons to the delight of the youngest children.

Ololomei Primary in Mara North is excited about the new kitchen project which is finally starting to take shape.  We have raised funds and are entering into discussions with a number of contractors with a view to starting excavations as soon as we can once we have found the right group for the job.  Ololomei has also been the recipient of the Giving Tuesday Donations collected by the staff of Elewana and Cheli & Peacock in November 2018 – toys and books for preschool and primary students were collected and are to be delivered to the school for student use.

Ura Gate Primary in Meru is looking forward to the first project of this new year, in which the administration block will soon be powered. We are installing a solar system that will enable the teachers to catch up with marking, prepare lesson plans  and complete administrative tasks should they wish to work after office hours. The reliable power source will also ensure that the photocopier and computers which have been donated to the school by guests and Land & Life  can be put into good use.