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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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Wildlife Warrior Program – the past month

Over the past month, we have conducted a range of Wildlife Warrior activities in our supported schools.

This term’s theme has been “Living with Elephants”. We decided to choose a positive theme to engage with the children, and provide real ideas and examples for the children and communities on how to coexist with wildlife.

Our project coordinator David has been busy, visiting the schools and showing  the children conservation videos which highlight the challenges and solutions of living with elephants. The children were enthralled, and David was excited to learn that for some of them this was their very first video!

After the videos David held a question and answer session, and led a discussion on elephants and living with wildlife. The reaction of the children showed that this was a worthwhile effort, as based both on their responses to the questions asked and their own questions they had learned a lot. The teachers were not left out as they had a lot to learn as well.

The children are now in groups and drawing posters based on the termly theme. In a few weeks poster competitions will be held at each of the schools, judged by a panel of staff and guests from the nearest Elewana property. The winning groups will be awarded a game drive to the nearest conservation area and get a chance to visit the nearest camp or lodge for a treat!

We have also given all teachers a small token of appreciation for all their efforts in supporting the Wildlife Warrior activities in their schools. In total, we have given teachers incentives worth USD 580.

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Running for a good cause

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This Christmas help us keep their wishes alive

Christmas is here and, in keeping with the season, I want to share a story packed with hope and good news. And I hope you’ll make more stories like this come true.

Elosy is 15 years old. She lives with her mother and younger sister in a small village near Elsa’s Kopje neighboring the Meru National Park. Her father was killed by robbers 8 years ago and now her mum is the sole provider.

Her mother runs a simple grocery shop but what she earns barely pays for rent and food. This story is all too common in rural communities across Kenya.

Elosy dreams of being an electrical engineer. With the help of her school, she’s working hard to make her dream come true. She knows it’s only with hard work and determination that she can live a better life.

It’s rare that families can afford to give their children the chance of a life that we take for granted. Education in Kenya is out of reach of most rural communities, meaning a life of poverty and hardship for so many children.

But you can help children like Elosy. So far, the Land & Life Foundation has given 19 youngsters the chance to fulfill their dreams through our Wildlife Warrior Scholarship program. We still have 8 more children who desperately need funding and next year, we’re hoping to change even more futures.

Remember a time when someone helped your wish come true? This Christmas, make that person be you.

Here’s how you can do it:

  • $100 will just about cover a family trip to the cinema, but that same amount will send a pupil on conservation training, vital to their education
  • $200 might buy you a dinner for two, but it can pay for a child to receive tuition for a whole term
  • $600 gets you a scuba diving trip, but it also pays for someone like Elosy to attend school for an entire year

Please show your gratitude this Christmas and join us today to grant youngsters like Elosy their wish and a promising future.

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What do we do that gives our children something to smile about?

Smiling children at Plaster House

Our work at Land & Life Foundation always aims to give help to the people and places that need it most. Arusha Plaster House is one of the best examples where we’ve made a real, positive change for the children of our local communities.

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Working with Elewana’s Arusha Coffee Lodge, we’ve been supporting this home for children who need surgery since 2008 and we’ve seen it grow from a small set up in a guest house to a thriving centre providing surgery, therapy and education.

What exactly is Arusha Plaster House?

  • It’s a medical centre that provides pre and post surgery care for up to 100 children at a time
  • It performs corrective surgery and has specialist orthopedic, plastic and neurosurgeons to help children live the lives they want to
  • It provides therapeutic services for the kids when they’re staying there, to make sure they’re ready to get back to their community after surgery
  • It even has a classroom so having an operation doesn’t mean missing out on vital education

The real success of the Plaster House is that it turns what can often be a negative or traumatic experience for children into something where they receive expert treatment in a clean environment, surrounded by professional medical and care staff. The children leave Plaster House as stronger people, both physically and mentally.

Our efforts in supporting the centre in partnership with Arusha Coffee Lodge helping put smiles on the faces of hundreds of children. Remember, by encouraging people to stay at Elewana’s Arusha Coffee Lodge and support Plaster House, you are also contributing to those smiles.

As always it’s a team effort to be proud of, every day, and thanks for all your support in helping make the difference.

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Help your communities this World AIDS Day

World aids day

World AIDS dayOn this World AIDS Day people around the globe are coming together to join the fight against HIV, showing their support for people living with HIV, and commemorating those who they have lost.

At Land & Life Foundation, we’re very proud of the work we do to support people with HIV and their communities. We often think of Kenya as a natural paradise but it has the joint 4th largest AIDS epidemic in the world, a million and a half people are living with HIV and over a million children have been orphaned because of AIDS.

So Land & Life Foundation initiatives such as the Aitong Medical camp are vital to the future health of our people. At this year’s camp, 240 people volunteered to be tested for HIV and learnt how to avoid getting and spreading HIV. It’s not only the people who got tested who will benefit – what they’ve learnt will be passed on and help keep the community safer.

Spread the word today and help keep everyone healthy and safe.

We look forward to seeing even more people at the 2017 Aitong Medical camp – more information to follow soon!

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Let’s stand by Fredy

Meet Fredy

Meet Fredy, he’s one of our Wildlife Warriors and a star pupil who just completed his first year at secondary school. He’s very smart, ranking top of his class, enjoys all his lessons (his favourite subjects are Biology and Physics) and like many boys his age, loves football and athletics. More than anything, Freddy loves attending school.

Fredy lives with his extended family near Kitich Camp in the Mathews Mountain Range – an area of outstanding natural beauty and a place that means so much to him. He’s determined to help protect his home and areas like it, by becoming a Manager of Conservation at Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy.

Just one year ago, Fredy’s future was uncertain. He is an orphan and currently lives with his ageing grandmother who can’t afford to pay for his education. However, thanks to the unwavering support of our friends and supporters at Land & Life Foundation, he is now attending and excelling in school, and his future looks brighter than ever. You can be part of that future too.

$200 will cover Fredy’s tuition for one school term in his fourth and final year. Please stand by Fredy and donate now to help him finish school.

With eight new scholars enrolling as Wildlife Warriors, we need your help:

  • $200 will pay for one child’s tuition for one school term of their secondary schooling
  • $600 will pay for one child’s tuition for one year of secondary school
  • $2,200 will pay for one child’s tuition for the entire four years of secondary school

All your support & generosity goes a long way in investing in the future of our scholars and communities. Please join us today to give promising youngsters like Fredy a brighter tomorrow.

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885 lives changed for the better at Aitong Medical Camp

We’ve just finished holding our 5th Aitong Medical Camp and we are pleased to report it was our biggest success yet. It’s fantastic to see the impact that these camps have on the local community and I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved.

The camp, which ran from November 1st – 3rd was only possible by working in partnership with Elewana Collection’s Elephant Pepper Camp, Kicheche Community trust, and Safarilink Aviation and brought vital medical services, support and supplies to the people around Aitong.

There was a lot of hard work to get the camp running and even more meant we could help hundreds of people each day. The community has no regular access to medical services, so the camp is literally a lifeline for many of them.

This years’ medical camp focussed on:

  • Gynecology and obstetrics (childbirth and midwifery)
  • Adult health
  • Paediatrics
  • Dentistry

We had six dedicated specialists (2 Gynecologists, 1 General Practitioner, 1 Pediatrician and 2 Dentists) who were kind enough to offer their services for free. Through their efforts, they managed to treat an unbelievable total of 885 patients in only three days!

Not only is this a fantastic result but also a tremendous increase from the previous medical camp. That’s nearly a thousand people who are in much better health, who have received the care and attention they need and can start to live better lives.

But that’s not all. Together with our partner, Kicheche Community Trust, we also donated medical supplies worth USD 685, so even more people got access to both the expertise and the medicine they needed.

Once again, I’d just like to say a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to the medics for giving up their time to be part of the medical camp, to everyone at Elephant Pepper & Kicheche Camps for hosting them during the medical camp and to everyone else who made the event such a vital success. The positive impact on the community will be felt in so many ways and we can’t wait to see what we can do next year!

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Bringing the wildlife to the Warriors

The theme for this year’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is “it’s your story – don’t lose it”. We’ve found the perfect way to promote the day as part of our Wildlife Warrior Program.

In partnership with local schools, the Wildlife Warrior Program gives community leaders of tomorrow, the skills and experience to work in harmony with the environment and wildlife, protecting them for generations to come. By educating students today, we hope to build a bright and sustainable future.

We have recently introduced the use of conservation videos in our program. This has given us the opportunity to teach conservation themes in a more practical and exciting way to the students. And the more we can engage the students, the more they are likely to excel at their studies.

In the recent past, we have shown conservation videos to children from some of our supported schools. This has been received with great joy by both the children and the teachers – some of whom have had the chance to see motion pictures for the first time in their lives.

The videos have had a really positive effect on the children, bringing the subjects even more to life as it broadens their understanding of nature and wildlife conservation. The films can add a new depth to the studies, showing how conservation works at both local and international levels.

After the great success we’ve had so far, we’ll continue to show the films to all our supported schools and hope to continue the fantastic impact they’ve had.

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Meet Eunice

Today we would like to share with you some heartwarming news.

31 year old Eunice Kapeen is a devoted mother of six and dedicated community health volunteer. Without the Aitong Medical Camp, Eunice wouldn’t have been able to get back to health and continue these vital roles.

For two months, Eunice was suffering from recurrent tonsillitis, causing her great pain and making it impossible for her to care for her family and community.

Without treatment, the bacteria that causes tonsillitis can spread through the body, affecting the kidneys, immune system and lead to further complex and dangerous complications.

Luckily, Eunice was able to get help at the Aitong Medical camp. “The doctor who treated me was very good and professional.” she says with a smile. “She explained to me clearly what I needed to do to prevent future infections and prescribed some medicine which I was given for free to be taken for five days.

“She asked me to go for review after a week but it was too costly for me to come back to the health facility. But I am very grateful because without their help I would not be well enough to take care of my family and community. I would like to commend the organisers for this free service to my community. ”

Eunice is part of the Olosogon community in Aitong. Like so many of her friends, family and neighbours trying to thrive in the area, Eunice faces health, social and economic challenges every day.

Her community are semi-nomadic farmers who rely on cattle to live, bringing the added challenge of wildlife attacks on their livestock .

Land and Life Foundation has worked with the Olosogon people to show the benefits of working with rather than against nature. They have become partners in our conservation work and as one small way of giving back, we hold these free medical camps annually. In the last 4 years, the camps have treated over 1,200 people, bringing life – and community-changing results.

Because of her successful treatment, Eunice has offered to go back to her community and try to encourage all those who need help to visit the medical camps. The demand today for medical attention, supplies and professionals is growing.

Please support our work and make sure we continue to help save and improve the lives of people like Eunice.