The African Conservation Fund

African Conservation Fund director Roseann Hanson spent most of August and September travelling the UK, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya, meeting with supporters and the staff of our partner organization, the African Conservation Centre.

I've been asked several times, "What was the best experience of the trip?" And not surprisingly - given the length and breadth of the trip, not to mention the dozen or so communities and hundreds of people visited - I find it nearly impossible to narrow it down. I'll share highlights perhaps, all equally wonderful: The warm, fun, and incredibly dedicated staff at African Conservation Centre, who made me feel welcome and part of the team  . . . The roar of lions passing one night at Tarangire Whistling Thorn Camp, a new Partner in Conservation in northern Tanzania . . .

A game drive through the new 70,000 acre Siana Conservation Area (left), an imporant wildlife corridor next to Masai Mara, with the ladies of the Siana Women's Group, a dedicated and hardworking group who are forging local acceptance of their new roles as community leaders  . . .

Sunrise from my tent at Sampu Camp, facing the cleft where the growing elephant population moves from the Rift Valley up the Nguruman Escarpment; Sampu Camp is an important part of the conservation plans of the Olkiramatian Maasai community . . .

and the Olkiramatian father with his young son at one of the community meetings, who came to symbolize to me the critical importance of the community-based work that we - African Conservation Fund and African Conservation Centre - are working so hard to support.

 
Present and future.

Community.

Culture.

Nature.

This trip had many goals: Forging new partnerships; meeting with African Conservation Centre's board of trustees and staff to work together on development and communications plans; investigate new programs like "Art for Conservation" - buying Maasai beadwork and crafts from women's groups to sell online and at house parties in the US, Canada, and UK.

In the coming weeks I'll share more of the trip's experiences and the exciting plans and projects for which we're mobilizing support. Many thanks to everyone who sent messages of support and interest.

 I will close with an image that really sums up the fun, the friendship, and hope for the future that set the tone for a highly successful trip. This is me greeting the chairwoman of the Olkiramatian Women's Group, during a dance of welcome and celebration - ladies greet each other during this dance by laying their heads along each others' arms in a mutual show of respect.