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Giving Tuesday 2017

On 28th November Land & Life took part in #GivingTuesday, a global giving movement built by individuals, families, organizations, businesses and communities around the world. We were supported in this initiative by our sponsors the Elewana Collection, Cheli & Peacock Safaris and Sky Safaris.

Across their offices in Kenya and Tanzania, staff brought in donations of books and food for our Wildlife Warrior Primary Schools as part of a company wide charity drive.

Staff also participated in a WEAR GREEN day, making individual donations to the Land & Life Foundation and its Wildlife Warrior Program. Great fun was had as employees came in and dropped off donations while comparing green outfits.

The drive was an enormous success, with a vast amount of food and books for primary schools collected. In the New Year, the food and books will be delivered to the Wildlife Warrior schools in Kenya and Tanzania, so watch this space for updates.

 

Funds donated will go into the pots for Kachiuru School in Kenya and Ganako School in Tanzania. We will engage with the school committees and staff and make a decision on how to disburse the funds. As above, keep an eye on us to find out where and how the money is spent and what benefits the schools will receive.

And remember, it’s never too late to join in and give, so if you’d like to follow suit and contribute to Land & Life’s great work, please click here to find out how you can make a contribution.

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Land & Life and Elewana Collection host celebrations for World Sustainable Tourism Day!

An enjoyable evening was had by all at Arusha Coffee Lodge in Tanzania, where Land & Life and Elewana Collection hosted a celebration of UNWTO World Sustainable Tourism Day. Approximately 80 representatives from the top tier of Tanzania’s travel and tourism industry came together to celebrate the achievements in community and conservation and the strides taken in sustainable tourism in Tanzania. Live music, canapes and drinks welcomed the guests to Arusha Coffee Lodge as they mingled.

Guests included the Vice Chairman of the Board of Tanzanian Association of Tour Operators (TATO) Henry Kimambo and the CEO Sirili Akko, the Chairman of the African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA) Julian Edmunds, and the team from Responsible Tourism Tanzania (RTTZ) Damian Bell and Julius Lesanoi.

Government representatives included Mr Michael Ndaisaba Tourism Officer from Arusha City Council and Ms Flora Mwambo from Arusha Regional Commissioner’s office.

The private sector was well represented, with attendees from almost all the large scale and many smaller local tour operators and hospitality companies, food and beverage suppliers, and more.

The guests enjoyed watching the Official Message from the President of the UNWTO Mr Taleb Rifai, who spoke of the need to work together to harness the power of sustainable tourism to contribute to global development. Guests also watched a short film from the International Year of Tourism 2017 team’s Travel.Enjoy.Respect. campaign and heard some words from Elewana Collection’s Hannah Wood on the importance of a sustainable approach to tourism and the activities of the private sector in conservation and community.

A light-hearted “Do-ers and Dreamers” competition was held, for companies and organisations to highlight their sustainability achievements to date and to encourage conversation and sharing of innovative ideas. Prizes were donated by Shanga by Elewana and the Honeyguide Foundation and the judging panel consisted of Damian Bell and Julius Lesanoi (RTTZ), and Tira Schubert (London-based East African and conservation specialist journalist).

First prize for sustainable tourism practice in action was won by Laurens Sans of Nyayo Discovery for their impressive range of community and conservation activities, including donating 10% of all profits to projects supporting local Maasai tribes. The prize for most innovative future suggestion was awarded to Niall Anderson of &Beyond for suggesting banning the use of fins in marine parks as so much damage is done to coral and marine life directly from fin use.

The evening was a great success, generating much discussion of the role of the individual stakeholder in sustainable tourism and the importance of the sector in contribution to regional development. Land & Life and the Elewana Collection are happy to have hosted the event and plans will be made for a follow up event next year.

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Over $20,000 for Plaster House!

Over $20,000 for Plaster House!On Friday 24th March Land & Life Foundation co-hosted a Fundraising Gala at Arusha Coffee Lodge. With beer generously provided by Tanzania Breweries Limited and wine kindly provided by Upper Zonal Trading, there were plenty of drinks for everyone, and the lodge provided a fine spread of snacks for all guests. Prizes for the silent auction were donated from a wide range of generous sponsors including Coastal Aviation, Serengeti Balloon Safaris, Elewana Collection, Sopa Lodges, Salt Restaurant Dar es Salaam, Nomad Tanzania, Amani Forest Camp, and many more.

The event was a huge success and we raised over $20,000! This amount is being donated directly and in full to the Plaster House Arusha, a rehabilitation home for children recovering from life changing orthopaedic, plastic or neuro surgery. Plaster House will be using the funds raised at this event to purchase a Toyota Hiace van, and this will be used to transport  the sick children and their carers to and from the hospital for surgery and appointments.  Everyone is thrilled, and the staff and patients and Paster House would like to thank everyone who attended the event and contributed to the successful evening.

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Coming up this week – Fundraising Gala at ACL

In support of Plaster House, a home in Arusha that enables children from all over Tanzania to recover from corrective and orthopaedic surgery, Arusha Coffee Lodge will host a Gala Cocktail Evening this Friday 24th March from 7.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Land & Life is co-hosting the event, at which a  silent auction and raffle will be held. The money raised will purchase a new van for the Plaster House. Currently the children and their mothers are transported to and from town and hospital in the back of a pick up, which is far from either safe or comfortable, particularly given the disabilities suffered by many of these infants and children. The purchase of a Hiace minivan will make a huge difference, allowing the Plaster House staff to carry the children safely and comfortably, out of the dust and rain.

Donations for prizes have been generous from many businesses in Arusha, including of course the Elewana Collection , who have generously offered 2 nights for 2 at  the luxurious Kilindi in Zanzibar, and 2 nights for 2 at the exclusive Manor Ngorongoro, as well as a dinner for two at the Arusha Coffee Lodge.

Photographs from the event will be forthcoming!

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Running for a good cause

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