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Meet the changemakers

Constantine inspecting the new shamba (garden)

Our relationship with Birgit and Constantine officially began in 2015 when they established support for our just launched Wildlife Warrior Scholarship Program at Esiteti Primary School.  One thing we know for certain about ‘B&C’ as we affectionately call them is that they are great advocates of education for positive social change.  They strongly believe in quality education as a means of eradicating poverty and have walked the talk.  They have championed this cause by ensuring as many children as possible in this part of Amboseli get access to quality, life-changing education.  Between the end of November and mid-December 2020 they gave a very generous gift of $110,000!  These funds will be used to pay school fees for 600 primary school students, salaries for 12 Esiteti Primary teachers, handyman, and cook, tuition for secondary and tertiary students, address the community’s priority needs, to mention a few.

Constantine entering their manyatta

Additionally, is because of them that we have over the years awarded 12 Wildlife Warrior secondary school scholarships, 58 annual bursaries, constructed 4 classrooms equipped with desks, a large modern school library well stocked with books, art supplies, furniture, and computers, a modern school kitchen well equipped with fuel-efficient stoves, erected a school shamba (garden), installed rain-water harvesting systems, renovated exis

Birgit chatting with Carol and Steve of Land & Life inside the new library

ting infrastructure and much more in Esiteti.  The community has also received huge support from them.  They received cows, household supplies – mosquito nets, food etc (before and during COVID) and so much more! They have embraced them to the extent of building a manyatta (house) for them in the village.

Thank you very much B&C, A.E. Reimann Foundation, and SKÅL International Monaco for your unwavering support for our community in Amboseli.  You are the quintessential changemakers!

 

 

 

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In her own words

I love receiving the newsletter and being kept up to date on all that Land & Life is doing. I also see the Facebook posts which I enjoy reading.

When I traveled to Ethiopia several years ago,  I brought a suitcase full of medical and school supplies that were requested from an organization that I was going to be visiting. It was easy to transport and well received. When I started to plan my trip to Kenya/Tanzania, I was traveling “light” and knew I had the capacity to include another suitcase. I felt it would be a waste not to take advantage of bringing another suitcase full of supplies with me.

I was not personally involved with any organization in Kenya so I started to network and seek referrals for a reputable organization that would welcome a suitcase of supplies.  I do not recall how I got to Rebecca Rothney from “Pack for a Purpose” but it was a magical connection. She put me In touch with Millicent Kimaita and the rest is history……Well, not really……after receiving a detailed list of needs, I went shopping, soliciting and collecting as many items as I thought I could fit into the large suitcase and not exceed the airline weight limits. It brought joy to me to pack each and every crayon, book, toothbrush, etc. I struggled with the immense need of items listed and my one measly suitcase. I questioned if I was really going to make a difference with what I was bringing…..I do understand that every little bit counts and I am committed to continuing to support Land & Life.

The story continues as my next hurdle was to actually get this suitcase to the office in Nairobi. I literally landed at midnight after traveling 24 hours from Colorado and was leaving at 7:00 am the next morning for the Mara. Millie was so accommodating and helped to coordinate for the suitcase to be picked up from the hotel I was staying at after I left that morning. I never met her face to face but that initial correspondence has developed into a deep connection and I actually consider her family now and I look forward to returning back to Nairobi after Covid so that she may personally give me a tour of the many projects Land & Life Foundation support.

Alissa West – Facebook

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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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Gigi Cares and so do we

Over the years, Land & Life Foundation has been honored to work with many supporters from across the globe whose love for our youngsters and communities knows no bounds. Since October of 2019, Land & Life Foundation has been very fortunate and privileged to partner with Jim and Georgios at Gigi Seasons in delivering key community projects in both Kenya and Tanzania.  From October 2019 to February of this year, Gigi Seasons provided Land &  Life Foundation with over $20,000 which was used to build a new, modern kitchen for Ganako Primary School near Elewana The Manor, Ngorongoro, Tanzania.  The kitchen will serve over 500 children and has been fully equipped with institution size fuel-efficient stoves and cooking pots.  Part of the funds was also used to provide 40 new, durable, metallic desks for Kachiuru Primary School children near Shaba National Reserve, Kenya. This month, Gigi Seasons donated another very generous gift of $35,000 to the Land & Life Foundation!  These funds will go towards constructing a new classroom and plumbing works for Morijo Primary School, near Loisaba Conservancy as well as build a school administration block that will have offices and a staff room for Kachiuru Primary School.

No words can truly express how phenomenal Gigi Seasons is. The impact they have created and continue to create will be remembered for many generations to come.  We are very grateful for their thoughtfulness and generosity towards our communities.  It is supporters like them who make our work possible.

Reached for comment, Georgios Georgiou, the founder of Gigi Seasons said, “We have a vibrant passion for doing good,” He continues, “Ever since my visit to Elewana the Manor in 2019, I knew I wanted to be a small part of the transformational work being done by the Land & Life Foundation.

Gigi Seasons is a seasonal home decor and lifestyle brand retailer grounded in social good. Through their philanthropic arm, Gigi Cares: Projects for Humanity, they strive to provide others with the tools they need to live better lives!

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Free HPV self-collection campaign, 5th to 9th October 2020

From the 5th to 9th of October we will be running a free HPV self-collection campaign in Aitong Health Centre and Angama clinics, Maasai Mara.  We are targeting 200 women and girls of reproductive age i.e. between 12 and 49 years.  We have partnered with Angama Foundation (the CSR for Angama), Kicheche Community Trust (the CSR for Kicheche Camps) and Community Health Partners our hosts in Aitong.  This will be a follow-up from last year’s campaign in which we tested 138 women and out of these 32 tested positive for HPV presenting a 23% prevalence rate which is quite high. 

 In our HPV campaigns, the women take the samples themselves, in privacy, because we are aware that uptake would be higher if we eliminate pelvic exams often administered by doctors and clinicians.  Also because of cultural inhibitions in our Maa communities issues around reproductive health are still considered taboo and embarrassing.  In addition, a sizeable number of women have experienced abuse and because of the trauma, they prefer self-sampling.   We have trained the nurses and clinicians in Aitong to instruct the women on how to take the samples and once collected, they are tested in a lab here in Nairobi.  The lab will email the test results directly to our volunteer doctors.

 Why HPV testing?  Human Papillomavirus is one of the viruses that cause cervical cancer, and cervical cancer is the second most common cancer amongst women aged 15-49 years old. The good news is that it can be prevented before it develops through vaccination and screening. Screening with the appropriate tests allows doctors to determine if a woman is at risk and, if they are, they are advised on what needs to be done to prevent them from developing the disease.  Those women who tested positive last year and those who test positive this year will be seen by our volunteer doctors on the 27th of October at Aitong Health Centre and Angama Clinic.  Dr. Claudia Mason gives more details:  Watch video 

Angama has provided funds to test 100 women and will provide accommodation for 4 people (two staff from Land & Life and 2 volunteer doctors). Kicheche has provided funds for fuel, transportation of the HPV kits to the Mara, and the samples from the Mara to the lab. 

Next steps:  We see this as a 10-year project. To ensure that it is sustainable, with the women’s consent our two doctors will do a survey this year.  With our help, they will collect data and use the findings to publish in medical journals, present in conferences, and submit proposals.  These are all aimed at creating awareness about the prevalence of the cases in this area and look for partnerships with organizations that support cervical cancer prevention and treatment.

If you wish to get involved in any way or need more information please write to us, we would love to hear from you!

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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.

Land & Life Pamoja Fund Silent Auction

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