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Land & Life and Loisaba Community Trust in an exciting new partnership

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Land & Life Foundation (L&L) is very pleased to announce a new partnership with the Loisaba Community Trust (LCT), supporting our mutual efforts in conservation education outreach and initiatives. Together we hope to reach more children than ever before; to instill deeper and more comprehensive understanding of and love for the natural world than ever before; to lift and support the communities in which we work, giving people and wildlife the help they need to build themselves a better life; and to maximise the impact of the funds we raise, together, and make each dollar go further.

 

Loisaba Conservation Education Centre

Loisaba Community Trust is a leader in the conservation industry, known for the great success of their conservancy model and the strides they have taken in community support and involvement alongside science and wildlife protection and natural habitat preservation. They currently support the development of high quality education in the Loisaba area by working with 10 local primary and secondary schools. They have put in place an extensive bursary programme, provided infrastructural and resource developments for the school facilities and campuses, and introduced school visits for local children to the newly completed Loisaba Conservation Centre to help embed a love for the wild world in the hearts of the local youth. These visits are accompanied by game drives within the conservancy, and they also run adult literacy programs, school competitions and wildlife club activities in partnership with San Diego Zoo Global.

Paul (LCT Community Officer), Lori Denooyer and Caroline (Land & Life Project Manager in Loisaba Conservancy

 

This partnership is yet another example of our mutual commitment to improve and enrich the lives of people living alongside wildlife and ensure that they continue to receive tangible benefits from wildlife tourism. To kick off the new year, we will start by introducing Wildlife Warrior Clubs at Ewaso and Morijo Primary Schools; we will issue the children with membership cards and the Wildlife Warrior Pledge. We also plan to deliver the first ever WWP interactive club activity on ‘Animals and the world around us’ using our brand new resource pack.

 

Later on in the year, we will roll out the Wildlife Warrior Scholarship program whereby two bright youngsters attending Ewaso Primary will be awarded with a secondary school scholarship. We will fundraise for Ewaso and Morijo Primary School’s priority needs and give guests staying at Loisaba Tented Camp an opportunity to visit the schools and see how they too can get involved. Our plans for Ewaso dispensary will be to find ways to support essential capacity building through training for the clinic staff.

Ewaso Primary School (by Ami Vitale)

This strategic partnership will ensure that we harness the expertise and experience of both entities, creating a shared vision and giving us more power to reach our goals. This new venture will help grow the Wildlife Warrior Program, benefiting communities that we would otherwise not reach.

At Land & Life we are all thrilled about this new adventure. We believe that the ‘do-it-alone’ approach is not the best strategy for growth – our desire has always been to nurture as many conservation ambassadors as possible and what better way to do it that partner with LCT! Loisaba sees this as an exciting way to increase their footprint and make a greater impact, bringing additional benefits to their community and strengthening the existing extensive activity network. Both organisations hope that this partnership will open up new doors and a whole new world of opportunities. The community will benefit by having access to more resources, fundamental in the longevity and sustainability of any community projects.

So let’s toast to the New Year and to this new wonderful journey together!

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Scene & heard Journal supports Wildlife Warrior Program

Scene & Heard started out in 2016 as a literary and arts journal, and two years later they have become a brand promoting creative artistry in ALL its forms. In a remarkable gesture this year they have committed to supporting the Wildlife Warrior Program and have made the following announcement :

Between December 1st 2018 & February 15th 2019, profits from all sales will be shared with the “Wildlife Warriors” program through the Land & Life Foundation.

The salutatory issue is 132 beautifully laid out pages of “poetry, stories of fact or fiction, drawings, paintings, adornment, photography, music, dance, architecture, decoration ad-infinitum“. The journal makes a wonderful read, and is a great Christmas gift for family and friends.

Help them help us and click here to purchase your copy of Scene & Heard

 

 

 

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Fundraising for the future – baking to build

Recent guest Owen who stayed at Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp with his family in July visited our Local Primary school Ololomei and was touched by what he saw and what is still needed to help provide the children with a high quality educational facility.

 

He decided he wanted to do something himself to help the students in Kenya. His next step was to start raising funds through a bake sale and together with some friends from his high school he made it happen!

He reached out to the managers at Elephant Pepper Camp for photos and information about Ololomei School and used it to put together an information board about the school. His family and friends all help and on the day the bake sale was a huge success. Owen raised over $1000 dollars for the school!!!

 

Last year we managed to build a semi-permanent classroom for Ololomei School through generous donations from Elephant Pepper Camp guests. This year, with the help of remarkable people like Owen, we are working towards provision of a kitchen and dining area for the students.

A huge thank you from Elephant Pepper Camp, teachers and students of Ololomei Primary school and the Masai community to Owen, family and friends for making this happen!

Asante Sana ( Kiswahili) and Ashay ohleng (Masai)

 

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Little by little goes a long way …

Little Embiti Primary is located in Siana within Embiti village and lies about an hour and half from Elewana Sand River Mara. Land & Life’s relationship with the school started in the year 2016 when its population was a little under 100 students. The children are enrolled from early childhood level to grade 4 because the school lacks the infrastructural capacity to accommodate children beyond that level. Currently, it has 2 permanent and 1 semi-permanent classrooms.

We have been able to provide the school with numerous books & stationery and other in-kind donations as received from our generous donors and guests who stay at Sand River during their safari. We also hold termly conservation education sessions with the top students (grade 3 and 4) who make up the Wildlife Warrior club at the school. Last year, we were able to construct the first ever permanent toilet block, which was greatly appreciated by the school. This is a great start, but we know that a lot more remains to be done at Embiti.

Meetings with the school faculty and community representatives to determine the school’s top priority needs gave insight about their water challenge and which initiated our Water Project at the school. This entails providing the school with a new water tank, installation of a rainwater harvesting system and a pipe connection to the nearby community borehole.

We were slightly short of funds to complete this project until the Scopa family and friends (Mike, Caitlin, Shannon, Emma and Emily) visited and spent time with the Embiti children. They enjoyed their visit and on their return home they got in touch and made a donation to allow us to complete the water project.

Their generosity and support, which is so timely, doesn’t end at that. They are committed to providing funds for the construction of a new classroom at the school. Their daughter Emma and her best friend Emily are currently raising funds for the construction of a new classroom, which will enable the children to continue with their studies beyond grade 4.

An education is an opportunity to escape poverty, not only for themselves but for their families and villages. An education can be life-changing for these children and their families but only if they can continue to attend school – Emma & Emily

Read about their amazing experience at Embiti on their crowdfunding page:  A school for every kid and help support their goal by sharing their story and/or donating.

Kidogo Kidogo, hujaza kibaba! – “Little by Little, fills the cup – goes a long way”.

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Spotlight on …. Graeme and Candy Smith

Graeme and Candy

Land & Life sat down with some of our supporters, Graeme and Candy Smith, who are the General Managers at Elewana’s Tortilis Camp in Amboseli. They have taken on a personal responsibility – not simply supporting Land & Life as part of Elewana’s corporate role, but a personal sponsorship of one of the students at the local primary school Kosencha Lemaiyan.
Kosencha has had a rough ride, and now hopefully with the help of Graeme and Candy and the support of the Head teacher at the school, she will be able to complete her education and then go on to give back to this remote community, supporting her own family in her own way.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
We are both originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, and we have travelled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, Middle East, Far East, Australia and USA, spending the last 7 years managing various safari lodges throughout Tanzania. We arrived in May 2017 in Amboseli from Ruaha NP in Southern Tanzania.as new General Managers of EewanaTortilis Camp , Amboseli, Kenya. Both of us are very passionate about wildlife and conservation and and are excited to take over such an amazing lodge in such a fantastic location
Since you arrived in Amboseli, what have you felt has been the biggest challenge facing the local community?
The biggest challenges to the Maasai community since we arrived has undoubtedly been the drought, which had lasted for approximately 3 years until the rains arrived this year. A a lot of their culture revolves around their livestock so the poor condition or death of the cattle has proven hugely stressful and extremely damaging for the community. People have been forced to make very hard choices about how and where to spend what little resource they have, and often this has heart-wrenching results. We have come to understand the financial challenges of supporting, feeding and educating their families, not to mention maintaining their culture and heritage in an increasingly modern world, and feel great empathy for these welcoming people.

How did you become personally involved with Land and Life and what form does your support take?

Kosencha in school uniform

Land & Life has been working at Esiteti Primary School for some time, and have done a lot of work in both building classrooms and such like and channelling donations there for visitors. We happened to be visiting the school on behalf of Land & Life, taking desks that had been donated and meeting the children. We were just about to introduce ourselves to the Head Teacher when we heard the staff discussing a 13 year old girl – they had just stopped the parents from marrying her off and were discussing what to do next.
We had already decided we wanted to get involved with Land & Life, particularly with the work they are doing at Esiteti Primary School. Immediately we volunteered to sponsor this girl to help give her a chance of a good education.
Candy has a history of child development and we were both interested in helping where we could. We then learned her name, Kosencha, pronounced Kosenga. This is very similar to Candy’s mother’s name. Candy’s mother sadly died when Candy was 7 years old and she was called Senga, which is a traditional Scottish name. Knowing this we thought well, this was definitely MEANT to happen!!
So what do you know about Kosencha’s history and what are your future plans for her support?

Kosencha Lemaiyan is now fifteen but when we met her she was just 14 years old. She had been living with her uncle, as her mother was not capable of supporting her and her father has sadly had alcohol problems. Her uncle had recently

Kosencha with Candy

been having financial problems, and so he wanted to marry her off. She did not want to get married and she managed to run away. After failing to garner support from a Rescue Centre in Loitoktok, the HeadTeacher of Esiteti Ms. Phides took her in and she has been in her care ever since.

 
Kosencha has just turned 15 year and she is currently in class 3, so she has another eighteen months or so before she starts secondary school. In her free time, she likes to play football and is a quick runner! She does generally well in most subjects, but her favorite is Science, which is promising!
 
We plan to pay for her education right through until she finishes secondary school, so about another five or six years of support. We try to get to the school as much as possible and take a very keen interest in her and her education. Land & Life monitor her grades and her progress and keep us in the loop with any additional needs she has.
In your opinion, what is the most important work that Land & Life does?
The local community really need a helping hand. The people are bright, capable and intelligent but they face hardship every day and struggle to support themselves and their families. Often it is things like education which are seen as optional extras, and it is schools fees, or school support, which is the first to go. Land & Life plays a crucial role in uplifting the communities, turning their schools into places of good quality learning and giving opportunities to children who otherwise would struggle.
This is essential for conservation as well, since it is only through the commitment of the people of Kenya that the wildlife of Kenya stands a chance. By working with Land & Life the students a=are helped to understand the importance of conservation and wildlife, and see for themselves how conservation has direct benefits for themselves and their families.

Graeme and Candy delivering donations to Esiteti Primary

 Do you have a message to share for visitors to East Africa and for other Land & Life supporters?
 It is so very worth it! We are making a tiny difference with our support of Kosencha but we see the real impact of Land & Life and other such organisations’ work on the ground every day. Whoever you choose to support, make sure they are working directly – make sure they are honest and transparent – make sure they are doing their research with the community and will ensure your donation has the most impact possible.   We have  found Land & Life does all these things and are happy to support them. We see many visitors come through Amboseli who want to make a difference, to conserve wildlife, protect beautiful Kenya and life up the local communities. In our experience, Land & Life can help this to happen!
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Cheers to 10 years!

Land & Life Foundation was happy to help host the 10th Anniversary Celebrations for the Plaster House Arusha on Saturday March 17th. The event was held at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge, who generously provided the venue and all the food and much of the drinks for the evening. Wine was also provided by Red & White.

 

The event was a huge success, attracting over 100 guests who arrived at 6pm and stayed until late. Many sponsors supported the evening with generous donations, allowing a silent auction to be held. Guests were able to bid on wonderful weekends away in destinations across Tanzania and even as far as Uganda and Zanzibar. Other items on offer, thanks to supporters and donors, included hampers of wine, Lebanese food, pieces of art and beautiful household products.

 

An exciting live auction was also held, with guests bidding furiously on a wonderful package including a flights and accommodation for a family of four into the Serengeti. After some tense moments and great excitement, the holiday was bought for an incredible $7000!

The evening raised over $30,000 for the Plaster House. This is a phenomenal achievement and will allow the team to renovate their existing vehicles, making them not only road worthy but safe and sturdy for their young poorly passengers.

Land & Life is delighted to have been able to assist once again and we look forward to much mroe support for PLaster House in the years to come.

 

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Giving Tuesday donations reach the schools

 

You may recall that the end of 2017 saw a great effort from staff at Elewana, Cheli & Peacock and Sopa Head Offices, where contributions were brought in for our Wildlife Warrior Schools as part of the global Giving Tuesday campaign. We can now report that finally after a few weeks of logistics and planning, the donations have been delivered to the schools.

 

 

 

 

 

In Kenya, Land & Life delivered boxes of toys and books and bags of food to Kachiuru Primary School in Isiolo County, while in Tanzania several boxes of foodstuffs, bags of clothes and an additional generous contribution of cleaning products and hygiene supplies from Robico Chemicals we taken to Ganako Primary School in Karatu. Staff from Land & Life, The Manor and Elsa’s Kopje were delighted to visit the school and chat to the staff and students, hand over the goods and enjoy some time together.

 

 

Discussions are already underway as to the expenditure of the remaining Giving Tuesday funds, which in Kachiuru will be used in the construction of a boys toilet block, while in Tanzania the funds will go into the pot to support Ganako’s kitchen construction, for which fund-raising is still underway.

 

To find out more or to contribute to either of these schools, please do click here  

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“Pride of Africa” by Klaus Tiedge

We are delighted to announce collaboration with and support from renowned fine art and wildlife photographer Klaus Tiedge.  

In a demonstration of his commitment to conservation of the wildlife and culture of East Africa, Klaus has pledged to donate 50% of the sales of his latest book “Pride of Africa” to the Land & Life Foundation.

Klaus is a talented and experienced professional photographer, and his images have a unique and magical quality to them. To read more about Klaus and to purchase this lovely book and give your support to Land & Life, please see his website here.

Thank you again for your support, Klaus – and to everyone else, enjoy the remarkable images in this wonderful book, perfect for a Christmas gift for that special someone!