They are back on patrol!! Thanks to your generous support, the Rafiki Wildlife Foundation in Tanzania are back patrolling the Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Throughout the week, our partners at Rafiki have been meeting with the District Game Officer and the Management of Burunge WMA, and have been allocated a small team of scouts in order to be able to complete their patrols and surveys.
The Babati District is rich in wildlife and when the initial patrol went out on Tuesday, they encountered a number of wildebeest, elephants, impala, zebra and waterbuck, as well as giraffes and buffalo.
The team are following the herds that stick to the borders of the reserve.
Thankfully the farms in the area patrolled on Tuesday have already harvested their crops, so animal conflict in that area is currently at a minimum, however in one of their next patrols, they intend to visit an area where elephants and buffalo continue to disturb farmers crops. It is an on-going problem in the area, which they are working hard to overcome, with their scouts attending a two day seminar about Human Resources Policy, organised by government officials this week.
The Rafiki Wildlife Foundation is working to protect humans and wildlife alike!
It has been a difficult few months for all, and whilst many of our projects have been put on hold due to restrictions over the summer, we’ve been doing what we can to help our communities in need, and we really couldn’t have done it without you.
Your generosity towards our COVID Campaigns has made all the difference in helping our partners around the world and helping the communities they live in. We want to take this opportunity to extend our sincerest thanks to you all.
In the USA our seamstresses were able to make hundreds of masks. This directly helped our community in Sumatra. Rudi and the team at ISCP distributed dozens of care packages in an effort to save impoverished communities in Leuser, in the wake of the economy collapsing. The effort to keep them healthy was also to help prevent people from turning to wildlife exploitation to survive.
The resources donated included bags of rice, hand sanitiser, pet food, soap and of course face masks.
Much of our resources during this period went to Tanzania, particularly the patrols in the Burunge Wildlife Area. With other donors pulling out due to COVID, and their main local income coming from tourism, it has been a particularly difficult time for them.
Much of your generous contributions have initially gone to ensuring upkeep on the facilities there and maintaining their patrol vehicle but they are now in a position to continue patrolling, so we anticipate some exciting updates in the coming weeks of the patrols that are so vital to support the livelihood of an entire community that’s been left in the dust by other charities and the crashed tourism economy.
During this time, we have also been working with the wonderful Ismael at Animal Rescue Tanzania on alternative economies.
The Masaai are currently making beautiful, traditional art dog collars of recycled leather which will create a brilliant business cycle for the rescue centre, and an opportunity for all of us to purchase these amazing products, so watch this space!!
Whilst in Morocco schools are still closed down and the country is still locked down by federal law so we can’t begin the Youth Rangers program yet, we have been working closely with our partners in Morocco. They have been helping facilitate our meeting other African contacts from the UN conference who expressed interest, and they’re acting as go-betweens particularly with the interest coming from Kenya and Zimbabwe.
As you can see your generosity at such a hard time has made an amazing difference and is helping to facilitate many interesting developments for the future. We can’t wait to update you all further!!!!
Without you, none of this amazing work would be possible, so we want to give you an enormous thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you for your amazing generosity this Summer! And stay safe wherever you are.
