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Recently while on safari, Empowers Africa Trustee Lyn Pedersen and her fiancé, Michael Bagley, agreed that &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve would be the perfect setting for an impromptu wedding! Story and more pictures below.
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ANNOUNCING THREE NEW GRANTS!
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 Exciting news! Due to the generosity of our donors, we have been able to make four new grants to the following foundations in Africa:
Click on each of the grants above to find out about the incredible work each of these organizations is doing.
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VISIT TO THE NKWAZI PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MALAWI
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Empowers Africa Trustee Lyn Pedersen and her husband Michael Bagley recently visited the Nkwazi Primary School on the island of Likoma, Malawi. The primary school has ongoing support from Malawi Dream. Malawi Dream supports and serves the local community of Likoma by addressing issues of health, education and sanitation.
Currently Nkwazi Primary School has 50 children in each class, and the principal himself teaches as many as 12 subjects a day due to a shortage of teachers.
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Above: pictures of students at the Nkwazi Primary School on the island of Likoma, Malawi. The primary school has ongoing support from Malawi Dream. Photo credit: Michael Bagley.
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Malawi Dream received increased interest after Madonna's adoption of David Banda and has since built three nursery schools and equipped another with necessary textbooks, notebooks and supplies. They have trained and employed 20 teachers from the local community. Malawi Dream has also built and equipped a resource center for the blind, deaf and physically handicapped and for those with HIV. Additionally, Malawi Dream has installed a computer laboratory and library at Likoma Secondary School. In addition, all the nursery schools in the area have been equipped with supplies and uniforms.
In conjunction with providing the schools with supplies and feeding programs, Malawi Dream has provided water standpipes in two nearby villages that are now equipped with running water.
In addition to its involvement in the education of the community, Malawi Dream has a substantial impact on the healthcare of the local community. With help from donors, Malawi Dream has paid for two hospital employees to undertake a degree in pharmaceuticals and a degree in nursing. The students are now back on the island and helping raise the standard of care at the hospital by sharing their knowledge with fellow hospital staff. Through donations and support, Malawi Dream was able to provide much-needed medication for the hospital.
We are pleased to announce that Empowers Africa recently made a grant to Malawi Dream to fund the construction of a shower block for the girls at Chipelya Day School.
For more information on Malawi Dream, click here.
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PROTECTING ELEPHANTS: DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST'S NEW UMANI SPRINGS REHABILITATION UNIT IN THE KIBWEZI FOREST
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Helping elephants in need
Empowers Africa grantee David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has recently opened its third elephant rehabilitation center. The new center is located at Umani Springs in the Kibwezi Forest. DSWT has worked closely with both the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service in implementing this third relocation unit. The Kibwezi Forest is nestled within the foothills of the Chyulu Hills National Park where DSWT has secured a concession of 18,000 acres from the KFS. DSWT and KFS have a public-private partnership to preserve and protect this unique ecosystem. The Kibwezi Forest forms one of the Trust's Saving Habitats programs, and just four years since its inception tangible success is evident, revealing that wildlife numbers have soared and illegal activity has been heavily reduced while poaching has been eradicated.
Protection programs have been put in place, and the community is benefiting from an end to human-wildlife conflict, increased employment, varied outreach initiatives and increased rainfall due to the rapid recovery of the forest. The forest is protected by 42 kilometers of electrical fence erected by DSWT. The area has plenty of food and is filled with a healthy variety of wildlife, including many wild elephants. For more information, click here.
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Finding a new home: five elephants make the trek to Umani Springs for rehabilitation, protection and care
On June 24, 2014, two elephants, Murera and Sonje, made the long-awaited journey to this new rehabilitation unit in Umani Springs in the Kibwezi Forest. Umani Springs was considered the most suitable rehabilitation unit for Murera and Sonje, who both suffer from permanent injuries; Murera had a broken hip, which has healed but has left her with a weak leg, and Sonje had a leg injury caused by a bullet wound, which has left her knee with little flexibility. Due to these disabilities these two orphans were never going to be elephants that would be able to live viable lives in the dry conditions of Tsavo National Park where they would have to walk huge distances in the dry seasons in search of food and water. Since Murera and Sonje's journey to the Kibwezi Forest, three of their Nairobi Nursery friends have joined them. Quanza, Zongoloni and Lima Lima made the journey in the early hours of the morning of June 27. All of the orphans now calling Umani Springs their home have settled down well.
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Feeding time! Murera and Sonje, pictured above, are two of the elephants at the new David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Rehabilitation Center at Umani Springs in the Kibwezi Forest. Read their story below.
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For a more comprehensive account of Murera and Sonje's move to beautiful Umani Springs, click here. For Lima, Zongoloni and Quanza's move, click here.
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A SURPRISE WEDDING FOR LYN AND MICHAEL AT THE PHINDA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE
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Recently while on safari, Empowers Africa trustee Lyn Pedersen and her fiancé, Michael Bagley, agreed that &Beyond's Phinda Private Game Reserve would be the perfect setting for an impromptu wedding. Their friends encouraged them to get married the very next day, and &Beyond's staff went to work and arranged the perfect bush wedding. Congratulations to Lyn and Michael -- we wish you both a lifetime of happiness together! Click here to see the article about the wedding in June's edition of &Beyond's BATELEUR Magazine.
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SUPPORTING STUDENTS AT THE ZIGA PRIMARY SCHOOL WITH SCHOLARSHIPS AND NEW SHOES
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A personal note from Advisory Committee Member Gabriella Gentil
 On a recent trip to Hwange National Park with my mother and my boyfriend, Richard Schenzele Sachse, I was privileged to visit the Ziga Primary School, one of the four schools on the southeastern border of Hwange, supported by Children in the Wilderness ( www.childreninthewilderness.com).
CITW is an independent nonprofit organization created and supported by Wilderness Safaris (www.wilderness-safaris.com). The organization works to promote childhood education by alleviating major obstacles, including hunger and poverty, as well as improving the standard of education in rural communities. The foundation has introduced a feeding program at each of the four schools that provides every student one nutritious meal during the school day. CITW has done a complete refurbishment of the schools, as well as provided classroom materials. CITW also has a scholarship program - approximately USD 250 covers annual school fees and uniforms for a primary student. To ensure the effectiveness of the program, the organization selects the most promising candidates and monitors each child's progress.
We were so encouraged by the work of CITW that we pledged to sponsor several students through Empowers Africa. We are delighted to report that Empowers Africa recently made this grant to sponsor six students at the Ziga Primary School. We also learned during our visit that many of the 166 registered students must travel over three miles to school each way on foot - many with inadequate footwear. We are pleased to share that Empowers Africa has matched our additional pledge and made a grant to provide 60 pairs of shoes to students at the Ziga Primary School.
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CHILDREN IN THE WILDERNESS HOSTS ITS 10TH ANNUAL NEDBANK TOUR DE TULI BIKE RACE
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Above, participants in the 2014 Nedbank Tour de Tuli. This very successful bike race benefits Children in the Wilderness -- an Empowers Africa grantee. Photo credit for all photos in this section: Peter Kirk.
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One of our grantees, Children in the Wilderness (CITW), recently hosted its 10th annual bike race between August 1 and August 6. The Nedbank Tour de Tuli bike race to benefit CITW is known as one of southern Africa's premier mountain biking events. This year 340 participants cycled across more than 250 kilometers of remote terrain in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
According to the group's press release about the event, "The Tour started at the Pont Drift border between South Africa and Botswana, followed by two days of exploring the Northern Tuli Game Reserve on ancient elephant trails. From here, cyclists crossed the Shashe River and entered Zimbabwe's Tuli Circle with a further two days spent cycling through communal areas and expansive bushveld. The final day saw riders wade across the Limpopo River into South Africa's Mapungubwe National Park and over the finish line."
One hundred percent of the funds from the bike race are donated to CITW, a nonprofit organization that runs sustainable education programs to bridge the divide between communities and the wildlife areas they live next to. Over the past 10 years, the tour has hosted 2,369 cyclists and raised approximately USD 1.16 million for CITW.
CITW was established after a visit from Paul Newman to Botswana in 2001. His organization The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is dedicated to offering educational and recreational camps for children with life-threatening conditions in America and Europe. Inspired and assisted by this foundation, CITW now works in southern African countries where Wilderness Safaris operates: Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Seychelles ( www.wilderness-safaris.com).
For a full press release on this event, click here. For more information on Children in the Wilderness, click here.
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A VISIT TO THE NKURINGO INTEGRATED MODEL SCHOOL IN KISORO, UGANDA
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In May 2014, Empowers Africa trustees and friends visited the Nkuringo Integrated Model School in Kisoro, Uganda. Nkuringo Integrated Model School serves 154 children and was established in 2013 with the aim of giving children formal and vocational training. After the May visit, Empowers Africa made a grant to fund the installation of a water system for the students. Five water tanks have now been installed at different areas of the school. This was to meet specific needs such as drinking, personal hygiene, food preparation, cleaning and laundry. One water tank was installed at the school's dormitories to provide water for drinking and personal hygiene. A second water tank was installed at the mushroom house to provide irrigation, a third tank at the kitchen for food preparation, a fourth at the administration block for personal hygiene and cleaning, and a fifth tank in the compound for watering the vegetable garden.
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Additionally, Empowers Africa made a grant to cover the school fees for one of the school's star pupils, Issac Muhire. The funds from the grant went to covering Issac's academic expenses, including meals (lunch, breakfast, evening tea and supper), tuition, clothing (uniform and causal wear), bedding (mattress, bed sheets, blanket and mosquito net) and scholastic materials (mathematical set, bag, books, pens, reams of paper and calculator). While this has improved Issac's quality of education, the school still has other pupils whose needs are similar to Issac's. It costs approximately $ 420 to put a child through an entire year of school. Empowers Africa has committed to funding the duration of Isaac's primary and secondary education. He is currently in fifth grade. If you would like to make a donation to help fund a student at Nkuringo Integrated Model School, please click here.
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SAVE THE DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2015!
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We are pleased to announce the Empowers Africa annual event will be held at the Explorers Club on February 5th, 2015. More details to come!
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Join our 3,000+ fans on our Empowers Africa Facebook page, where you'll find more information on our efforts to save endangered wildlife, support community development and more.
Click here to go there now.
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If you would like to donate to Empowers Africa to help any of the schools or projects we support, please contact us at info@empowersafrica.org or go to our online donation page by clicking here.
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2 Beekman Place, Suite 18B New York, NY 10022 (917) 328-1611 (Phone) | (917) 591-1979 (Fax) www.empowersafrica.org |
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