Welcome to our new website ~ and our new "face" to the world.

Starting 2010, we will do business in North America and throughout the world as African Conservation Centre (U.S. office). For fundraising purposes, we will retain our 501c3 non-profit status under the name African Conservation Fund. Our board and staff remain the same ~ we are just updating our name to better reflect our mission, to support the work of African Conservation Centre and its affiliates and projects in East Africa.

Program and project information is fully described in the new African Conservation Centre main website at ConservationAfrica.org; our U.S. website will remain active for current news, events, and fundraising in North America and other regions outside Africa.

Even as the rains fall on the thirsty landscapes of Kenya's parks and pastoral lands, bringing new green grass and sweet water like the ultimate Christmas gifts, we must not lose sight of the lessons learned from this most devastating of East African droughts or of the work to be done in the near future if we are to ensure that the wildlife, landsapes, and cultures of this global treasure persist for coming generations.

Years of research and diligent conservation work by East Africans such as Dr. David Western and the staff at African Conservation Centre have brought to light the root causes of the tragedy behind the devastating drought: it is not the lack of rain that has caused the extent of the tragedy, but a deadly combination of land-use and cultural changes that, if not stemmed, will lead to the end of East Africa's landscape and cultures that we know today.

We are pleased to report a full success of the first phase of the distribution of relief food and teacher salaries to the pre-schools in the Magadi area, covering Olkiramatian, Shompole, Olkeri and Oldonyionyokie group ranches, as well as the Namanga region.

The relief food will enable many school children to return to school. Many of whom would not have been able to do so without this assistance.

The people of the South Rift send their heartfelt thanks to all of you who donated so generously to send $15,000 to Kenya; a special thanks to the Cincinnati Zoo, the Cincinnati Zoological Society, Angel Fund and all the wonderful people who work hard to raise significant funds - Daniel Grigson's seventh grade environmental club at Lee Burneson Middle School in Westlake, Ohio (who raised an impressive $3,000);  Karen Glum's science class in Cincinnati; and Marissa Ahlering's efforts through Facebook.