project

Mar

2019

Kafue Nationaal Park – Een plek met potentie

Na de inspirerende ontmoetingen met de mensen van VisionZambia en hun projecten (lees hier), zijn we op weg gegaan naar Kafue National Park. Dit nationale park is het grootste park van het land en één van de grootste ter wereld. Met een oppervlakte van 22.500 vierkante kilometer is het bijna net zo groot als België. Wanneer je dan ook nog de zogenaamde bufferzone meetelt, is Kafue bijna 1,5 keer zo groot als Nederland! Lonely Planet vermeldde dat de noordelijke vlaktes op de Serengeti leken; een groot aantal grazende dieren en een geweldige plek om luipaarden te spotten. Je kunt je onze enthousiasme voorstellen. We kampeerden op Roy's camping, een kamp net buiten de ingang van het park, direct naast de Kafue rivier. Nijlpaarden dreven rond in het water op ongeveer 20 meter van onze tent en we leerden dat deze dieren behoorlijk luidruchtig zijn! Wanneer er één begint te knorren (wat regelmatig gebeurt), knort de hele groep als antwoord. Luidruchtig, maar erg leuk!

We waren van plan om enkele dagen in dit gebied te verblijven, deels om toeristische redenen, maar ook omdat we dachten dat het een goede plek zou zijn om een project te starten. Toevallig bevonden we ons precies op de juiste plek om ons onderzoek naar het gebied te beginnen. Roy (de baas van de camping) bleek één van de belangrijkste figuren in het gebied te zijn met betrekking tot natuurbehoud. Hij zit in een regeringsraad die beslist over de indringers in het park, plus hij was één van de slechts twee mensen die vanuit Zambia naar een Afrikaans ivoren handelscongres in Namibië werden gestuurd. Behalve Roy waren er ook nog anderen waaraan we onze vragen konden stellen. Zo was er een ander kamp op een paar meter van onze camping. Dit was een Panthera-onderzoekskamp, wat al meer dan twee jaar thuis is voor Kim (cheetah-projectleider), haar man Jake en hun kinderen. Jake was er op dat moment niet, omdat hij op een anti-stroperij patrouille in Angola was. We hebben echter wel Kim (Nieuw-Zeeland), Rico (Nieuw-Zeeland/Nederlands) en Anna (Verenigde Staten) ontmoet met wie we een gezellige avond rond het kampvuur hebben doorgebracht. Kim liet haar geweldige gitaarvaardigheden zien en probeerde Lars te overtuigen om te spelen. Hij moest haar beloven dat hij niet terug zou komen voordat hij tenminste één nummer kon spelen! Oftewel, iets om te oefenen voor thuis!

Kim gaf ons ook veel informatie over het gebied en het onderzoek dat ze deden. Bovendien gaf ze ons de contactgegevens van andere mensen in de omgeving. Allereerst zijn we met Lyndon en Ruth gaan praten. Dit is een stel uit het Verenigd Koninkrijk dat een aantal jaar in Malawi werkte voor een anti-stroperij-NGO. Ze besloten om te vertrekken en hun eigen bedrijf te beginnen. Ze hebben eerst een half jaar in Nalusanga (het dorp van de ingang van Kafue) gewoond tijdens het opzetten van een lodge. Dit is 18 maanden geleden en de lodge die ze hebben gebouwd ziet er geweldig uit. Zodra ze winst beginnen te maken, willen ze dit gebruiken voor anti-stroperij maatregelen.

Ten tweede ontvingen we de contactgegevens van Jeni van Game Rangers International, die we helaas een andere keer zullen moeten ontmoeten. Maar één van de dingen die ze heeft opgezet, is een Women Empowerment Group, waar de vrouwen afval gebruiken en er prachtige sieraden van maken.

Uiteindelijk brachten we een dag door met Mulyo, een zeer enthousiaste en opportunistische man met een enorme hoeveelheid kennis die hij maar wat graag deelde (lees, hij praat veel!). Hij bood aan om helemaal uit Lusaka te komen (ongeveer 4 uur rijden) om alle vragen die wij konden bedenken over Kafue NP te beantwoorden. Heel aardig van hem! Voordat hij aankwam, stuurden we hem een lange lijst met vragen en de volgende dag hebben we ze allemaal behandeld. Ik wist niet dat iemand zo veel kan praten zonder een pauze of een slokje water te nemen. Maar dit was uiteindelijk natuurlijk super positief, wij hebben goed geluisterd en zoveel mogelijk opgeschreven. Aan het eind van de dag hebben we niet alleen veel informatie, maar ook een diep respect voor deze man gekregen. Blijkbaar werkte hij zichzelf helemaal op van een kind in een arm plattelandsgezin tot aan het hoofd van een afdeling voor resource management voor een hele provincie en meer. Zoals je je kunt voorstellen, zullen we deze relatie koesteren.

Laat me je vertellen wat we van al deze mensen samen hebben geleerd. Allereerst is Kafue National Park omringd door gebieden voor game management (GMA's) die zouden moeten functioneren als een bufferzone. Hier zijn de hoofdactiviteiten plezier jacht, vissen, lodges en (foto)safari's. Voor al deze activiteiten zijn vergunningen nodig en er is geen landbouw toegestaan. Het belangrijkste verschil met het eigenlijke park is dat er helemaal geen jacht is toegestaan in Kafue NP. Na deze zogenaamde GMA's zijn er de Open Areas. Dit is waar de lokale mensen wonen en mogen verbouwen en boeren. Eén van de eerste problemen waar we over hoorden zijn de zogenaamde indringers (encroachers). Mensen van buitenaf, geen lokalen, dringen de GMA's binnen en richten grote boerderijen op. Hierdoor worden vele bomen gekapt en verbrand en de dieren worden afgeschrikt. Deze inbreuk is illegaal, maar omdat het in de GMA is en niet in het park, is de verantwoordelijkheid voor wetshandhaving onduidelijk. Ze hebben toestemming van de hoogste regeringsdirecteur nodig om deze mensen uit te zetten en er gaat veel tijd voorbij voordat dit echt gebeurt. In de tussentijd zijn de oorspronkelijke bewoners van de GMA's, degenen die werden verwijderd en aan de randen van de GMA's werden geplaatst, boos. "Als de overheid deze mensen niet straft, waarom zouden we niet gewoon teruggaan?" Eén van de oorspronkelijk negen GMA's is vanwege dit exacte probleem al verdwenen. En de GMA die wij bezochten neigt ook sterk richting dit punt te gaan.

Das is één van de problemen. Dan is een ander probleem, zoals gewoonlijk, geld. Er waren verschillende geldverhalen te horen, allemaal verbonden met de rol van de overheid. We hebben gehoord dat de prijs op de wilde dieren (game money), die de jachtconcessiehouders moeten betalen aan de overheid, te hoog is. Het is zo hoog geworden dat de jachtexploitanten het zich niet kunnen permitteren om duurzaam te jagen, waarbij bijvoorbeeld alleen oude/zieke dieren worden doodgeschoten. Om toch aan hun inkomen te komen, jagen ze op alle dieren, ook de gezonde. Hierdoor raken op de lange termijn deze bronnen uitgeput; als ook de jonge dieren worden afgeschoten kunnen ze zich niet meer voortplanten. Ten tweede is dit zogenaamde game money niet goed verdeeld. Laten we zeggen dat honderd mensen werken in een jacht-GMA, waarvan 25% overheidsfunctionaris is en de rest de lokale gemeenschap. Het game money wordt precies andersom verdeeld; 75% gaat naar de overheid en slechts 25% naar de gemeenschapsmensen... (Red: dit zijn geen feitelijk gecheckte getallen, maar schetsen een beeld van de situatie)

Ten slotte zijn er veel dingen nodig om zo'n gigantisch park te beheren, bijvoorbeeld brandbestrijding, dierentelling, anti-stroperseenheden, onderzoek enz. Maar eerst en vooral een alomvattend beheerplan en voor zover we hebben gehoord (uit verschillende bronnen) is dit plan incompleet, om de simpele reden dat het managementteam ofwel de achtgrond of de middelen mist om dit te veranderen. Wat betreft middelen, de voertuigen zijn kapot of ze hebben simpelweg niet het geld om brandstof te kopen. De rangers dragen rugzakken en kleding die uit elkaar vallen. Het is zo triest en de oplossing moet komen van een regering die op zijn zachtst gezegd niet echt betrouwbaar is.

Al deze elementen samen hebben geresulteerd in een leeg park met nog maar 10-20% van de oorspronkelijke hoeveelheid dieren. Maar er is zoveel potentieel voor behoud en ontwikkeling hier, je kunt het gewoon voelen! We merkten dit op onze tweede dag daar, toen we het park in gingen. Om naar de Busanga vlaktes (de zogenaamde Zambiaanse Serengeti) te komen, moesten we meer dan 130 km door het park rijden. De dichtstbijzijnde betaalbare camping van Busanga was echter drie uur rijden terug van de manier waarop we kwamen... Dus er is niet eens een plek voor budget-reizigers om te verblijven in de buurt van de belangrijkste attractie van het park. Er waren natuurlijk lodges, maar deze waren voor de rijke mensen, degene die mensen die naar het park werden gevlogen.

Maar goed, dat is dus een belangrijke gemiste kans en een zeer frustrerende uitdaging voor ons. Normaal gesproken rijden we 130 km door een wildreservaat, in.. twee dagen? Dit komt omdat wij dus stoppen voor elk dier dat we tegenkomen, inclusief vogels! In dit park duurde het echter 'slechts' zes uur. En dat was omdat er eigenlijk gewoon geen dieren waren naast een paar puku's en impala's. En dat terwijl je langs een rivier rijdt, een constante waterbron. En we ook nog eens op de hele route door verschillende habitattypen zijn gereden. Hier klopt iets niet! Hoe is dit mogelijk? Toen we eindelijk de vlakten bereikten, was dat voor ons nogal een tegenvaller. Er was een kleine kudde gnoes en een kleine kudde puku's. Nu hoorden we dat we ook wel een beetje pech hadden, omdat je normaal ook buffelkuddes kunt vinden, maar het was absoluut niet wat Lonely Planet ons beloofd had. Gelukkig zagen we een leeuwin met een jong op de weg daarnaartoe, en op de terugweg werden ze vergezeld door twee andere leeuwinnen. Dus dat maakte onze dag toch nog goed!

De mensen, deze plek en het potentieel hebben ons geïnspireerd om een plan voor dit gebied op te stellen. Wat is ons voorstel als we uiteindelijk een project in Kafue NP beginnen? We willen optreden als een katalysator zodat er een situatie gecreëerd wordt waarin de lokale bevolking van het park zal profiteren. Wij zijn van mening dat als zij hiervan profiteren, zij de hulpbronnen van het park niet onduurzaam hoeven te gebruiken (stroperij en landbouw). En meer nog, zij zullen de eersten zijn die de natuurlijke bronnen willen beschermen. Waarschijnlijk is het onze belangrijkste taak om de gemeenschappen zoveel mogelijk creatieve en duurzame economische prikkels te bieden. Onze ambities reiken uiteraard nog veel verder. Als je meer informatie hierover wilt, neem dan contact met ons op :).

Red: ondertussen hebben we een projectplan opgesteld. Lees hier meer over.

Maar laten we nog niet op onszelf vooruit lopen! We hebben nog twee maanden reizen door Zambia, Botswana en Namibië voor de boeg om meer inspiratie, andere perspectieven te krijgen, te leren of zelfs een betere locatie te vinden om een project te starten! Misschien heeft deze blog ook enkele ideeën in jou geïnspireerd? Ideeën of suggesties die je zou willen delen? Hoe kunnen we deze mensen bijvoorbeeld een beter leven geven? Of misschien wil je gewoon reageren op onze avonturen? Laat het ons weten in de commentaarsectie hieronder.

Nov

2017

Mayuni Conservancy Namibia – And a way to build up some good karma!

Voor de Nederlandse versie – Klik Hier

After our beautiful wildlife trip in the Okavango (read about it here), we went for a cultural experience. From Maun, we traveled the long distance to the deserted area of the Tsodilo hills. An area also known as the Mountain of the Gods. We drove up around sunset and we could feel why this area is and has been a sacred area for many different cultures over thousands of years. The mountains arise out of nowhere in an else-wise flat and dry country. In these mountains, there are about 4500 different rock art paintings of which many are over 3000 years old!!

We arrived at the campsite where we met Craig, a South-African bloke who had been travelling on his own for a while. He and we were happy with the company. We enjoyed a beautiful chatty, star-gazing night together and the next morning we woke up early to hike the hills in the cool of the dawn. We were guided by two local men, Tshebe and Phetolo, who told us everything about the paintings and the area. Besides visiting the paintings, we also did some rock climbing and caving. Okay, I might make it sound a little bigger than it was, but it was very nice for a change to do some active things instead of sitting in a car the whole day! During the hike, and in one of the caves they showed marks in the rocks. These marks in the shape of holes, were made by the many, many tools that were sharpened so long ago. It was very weird and at the same time impressive to see something so touchable and real like the paintings and these marks, and then realize it was made thousands of years ago by people so alike and yet so different from us. Nowadays, however, they still use the holes in the rocks, only not for tool sharpening, but for a game! It’s called Diketo, and works like this: you repeatedly throw a rock up in the air, and while the rock is in the air, you scoop several smaller rocks out of the hole, after which you try and put them back in one by one. Phetolo showed us and made it sound and look very, very easy. But this hand-eye coordination is a lot harder than you might imagine! Lars and Craig both tried, but were failing miserably, throwing rocks in all directions except into the hole! It was kind of dangerous! And I guess, after that, I was afraid to even try. Plus, I might have been a bit more interested in exploring the cave (even though we were told there might be snakes…). By the time we finally got back from our supposed-to-be-2-hour-walk, it was very hot and we took a refreshing shower before we hit the road. As Craig planned to go in the same general direction, we convinced him to join us to the campsite we booked. What we didn’t know was that it was only for 4×4 cars…

When we arrived at the gate, the guy told us we still had to drive about 13 km on a road with a lot of soft sand. And looking at Craig’s car All-Wheel Drive Sabaru, the guy said he probably wouldn’t make it. I suggested he could pack his gear in our car, but with an uncanny amount of faith in his car, Craig said the car could do it! It was sort of a 4×4 after all! The gate guy looked at us sceptically, but let us in anyway… All right, we figured to just give it a try then! And it worked!!! His car kept going, even at the parts I really thought he wouldn’t manage. But then, about halfway to the campsite we had to drive uphill in deep sand, and the clearance of Craig’s car simply wasn’t high enough. So instead of reaching the top of the hill, he ended up on top of the sand just before the top, without any grip with his wheels whatsoever. As this was the third car (and the fifth time) we had to dig out someone else’s car, we were, what you would call, experts. We knew the problem was the clearance and that we had to remove the sand under the car. We knew we had to get some sticks to put under the wheels for some grip. And we knew that if we would push hard enough, while he kept hitting the gas, we would probably be able to get it out. Of course, Craig didn’t know all this, so he was in a bit of a worry, walking around his car frantically, while we were digging the sand from under his car. Then we told him to hit the gas while we pushed. At first, he hit the gas, stopped and hit it again. If you let go of the gas, you just roll back in the hole. We started shouting loudly at him to keep it going and very slowly we pushed the car out and on to the side of the road. As we were only halfway there, we decided to get his gear and leave the car behind. You should know that all of this happened while we were within a game area, were wildlife roams freely. I was explaining to Craig that our experience is that after a shitty ride (or a stuck car) something good is bound to happen here in Africa, especially in game areas. And not even a minute later we almost drove into a pack of wild dogs! And this is a very, very rare sighting, especially as this was a group of about four adults with nine pups! And there they were, right in front of us on the road. The pups were fighting over a kill that had just been brought over by one of the adults! Beautiful! And there is so much interaction amongst wild dogs, we saw one adult arrive and the pups went running towards her and just jumped on top so she rolled over by the force of the pups. After that, she gave them the kill and they ran off and five of them started pulling it in different directions. Lars and I were so happy and excited! At first, Craig was still with his head in worry mode for his car, but he got dragged in by the wild dog’s behaviour and our enthusiasm. And only after we arrived at camp and the staff told us how few wild dogs they saw, and how envious they were, he finally realized how rare this sighting was (even though we had told him). And it hit him (and us) how much luck we had that his car got stuck; we might have missed them if we would’ve been able to continue!

By the time we did arrive at the campsite, it was already dark, but we were lucky enough that the manager had not given our spot away. Again, we had the best spot of the whole campsite right on the edge, next to the river, and some other people kept on insisting they wanted to move there! I don’t know why we are so lucky with these things, but I am really happy we are. We went to put up the tent when Craig finally realized he had forgotten to take the box with his tent in it! It was so funny, and luckily the managers saw the humor as well when we walked back over to the lodge and he booked one of the luxury tents there. After that, we just got a beer at the boma (fireplace) and called it a day. The next morning, we went on a game drive with a local game ranger named Justus who had been working in the conservancy area since 1992. Besides the regular impala, lechwe and hippo, there was not a lot of game that morning, but we almost found lions! And even more important, Justus told us everything about the area. Which was one of the reasons we wanted to visit Nambwa and the Mayuni Conservancy in the first place. We wanted to know more about how this conservancy was set up, and the fact that, in part of it, hunting is allowed.

This is what we learned. First, let me just say it is a very successful cooperation between community and lodge owners with the aim of conserving nature so they can benefit from tourism. We had not realized this before we visited, so that was a very interesting finding. Mayuni conservancy was the third community conservancy set up in this region, after Salambala conservancy in the East and Wuparo conservancy in the South. It was started by IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation), an NGO which works in Namibia and has pioneered one of Africa’s leading models of community-based natural resource management. This is apparent from the successes of the conservancies we have seen in the Caprivi strip region (now called Zambezi-region). Hopefully we will be able to meet with someone from this organization, as we haven’t been able to get in touch yet, but we will try visit their office in the coming month ?.

Anyway, back to the Mayuni conservancy, the area where we saw the wild dogs (yaay!). When IRDNC came in, people were skeptical and suspicious of these people and their plans. However, four volunteers started with demarcating the conservancy area, thereby patrolling the border sort of as anti-poachers. However, in the beginning, they did not have any ammunition besides their hands. Locals just laughed at them. But over time, they received ammunition and even a vehicle and the community came to respect them. In the meantime, a meeting was organized, one with food and beers to make it attractive. And a lot of people showed up and the community came to understand what the conservancy would be all about. For example, if someone has a good well-substantiated idea to start a project, e.g. farming or small craft business or whatever, they can ask money from the conservancy. But they can also ask money for a guiding education, where the conservancy will see it as a way of investing in them. So, the money from the conservancy is coming back into the community. Take for example the campsite we were staying at, Nwambwa. This is a community owned campsite of which the profits all went to the community. Three years ago it was expanded with a lodge, which is partly owned by the community and partly by a British-Namibian investor. But besides the managers and a few game rangers, the rest of the employers are from the community.

Then another part of this conservancy is used for professional hunting. However, oppositely to how they do it around Kafue NP (read it in this blog), here they hunt sustainably. Hunters are not allowed to go without a guide and they can only kill old males; old elephant bulls, kudu’s or old hippo’s. If you ‘accidently’ shoot a female, you’ll have to pay a fine. And if you kill two instead of one animal, you must pay double the amount. And the beautiful thing here is that the conservancies in this area work together: at the end of the year each area does an animal count and if it turns out that for example no elephants are in one area, they will refer to the neighbor. Smart!

Justus, who worked for the hunting company in this area for a few years, told us that he thinks in this region they will probably stop hunting within two years, even though they earn money from it. He says enough money will come in from ‘plain’ tourism just like in Botswana. The main reason however, is that if they continue, they will enter a difficult relationship with their neighbors. In Botswana, hunting is not allowed and without fences separating Namibia and Botswana, the Namibian people are killing the animals that wander across the border. And for Botswana this feels like they are killing ‘their animals’, which makes sense. Furthermore, Justus mentioned that lodges are not the only thing that can provide money or the community. The area also needs for example a fresh vegetable garden, a restaurant, a shopping center and even a bakery. So, there will be enough jobs coming around when tourism picks up! And to show that this model has worked, I can quote Justus: ‘People from the village let lechwe and impala walk in their house and don’t see them as meat, but as a way to earn money from tourism.’ And that is a very good way to preserve nature!!

– Kellie –

Nov

2017

Simalaha Community Conservancy

Voor de Nederlandse versie - Klik hier

Now this was a different experience from what we have ever been in. In the Philippines we have encountered the importance of certain traditions and official ways to do things. But I have never felt this nervous for a simple meeting than what I felt in Mwandi! But I guess this is only natural, as we set out to meet at the Royal palace with the royal family of Barotseland. Apparently, it is kind of like meeting with our Dutch king, King Willem-Alexander, and then with a lot of rules. For instance, I had to wear a chitenge, which is basically a sarong. And our shoulders had to be covered. Some kids that lived around the palace took us inside, one was holding my hand. We walked over to a lady sitting there, and the kids all kneeled before her. The kid who was holding my hand started pulling me down. Apparently, we had to kneel! Then the woman told us to sit down and face towards the building. A man came out and after we explained what we were doing here, he told us what to do when we would enter the Mwandi Bre Kuta (the building); before the entrance, kneel and clap your hands, then go in and do the same thing before you sit on your chair. Luckily, we had a wonderful guy with us, Mike Mwenda, honorable councillor for Mwandi ward. I’m pretty sure he is the youngest councillor in Zambia with his 23 years, and he is very passionate about his community and all the people in it.

Anyway, we entered the building, feeling quite uncomfortable doing all these rituals. Five old men were watching us, lined up against the wall, and we were seated opposite them. These men are called Induna and are part of the Barotse Royal Establishment. Mike was with us to translate and we were bombarded with questions. As we went here with the idea that we would be the ones asking the questions, this was a bit of an adjustment! But we realized they were trying to find out if we could be of any help to them. You see, we went to visit this area because this is a one-of-kind Community Conservation project in Zambia where the initiators of the conservation are the actual people of the community. The King and one of the induna we spoke to, were the ones who had set up the Simalaha Conservancy with the help of Peace Parks and Kaza. They are now five years into the project and are ready to take on tourism, but there is no lodge yet. They wanted to know if we were interested in setting up a lodge! Wauw.. that was something to consider...

But first we laid out our plan to them and we wanted to know more about the conservancy. The manager of the conservancy was called and we could meet with him the following afternoon. In the meantime, councillor Mike showed us around. We visited Sikuzu Village, the village directly on the border of the conservancy, and its community school. This school was only set up a few years ago and still had several issues, especially concerning water. There was no water and due to climate change, several of the wells in the vicinity were dried up. The kids have to walk for 2 km’s to haul water! And then you have us, we just take all of this for granted in the Western world…. A similar problem had occurred with a garden community project. A very successful garden was planted and maintained by the community; they even gave free vegetables and money to the very poor. However, the pump next to the garden broke down/dried up a few months ago and hauling water from the river for this many plants is impossible. We saw that all the vegetables were drying out and only a few red tomatoes were left on the plants. So even though we had expected an area that had it all figured out, the major issues of Third World African countries remain. And as we found out here, climate change is increasing these problems. We can safely assume these problems will become even worse over time!

After this sad story, Mike took us to the Mabale fishing camp where his father and family live during the dry season. This is right on the edge of the conservancy. He told us there are still people living inside the conservancy where they fish and have cattle. We saw these cattle mix with the wildlife! At the fishing camp we met his father and family, and he showed the simple, one-year houses from grass where they live in. On the way back we squeezed in three young woman with their baby’s in our car, so they didn’t have to walk to the village (took us 15 minutes by car, can you imagine how long by foot!). And once we were back we were told we could camp at the lodge next to the Royal palace. Only later did we realize we were staying in the backyard of the prince!!! The next day we were to have another meeting at two ‘o clock, I’m already feeling anxious around one, imagining a similar meeting to the day before. Only this time without our translator!? But surprisingly enough they were an hour early. While we were having lunch, we saw one of the induna, the elderly one who helped set up the conservancy, walk up to us together with the manager! That was a bit awkward, but then they went and waited for us at the deck. Here we finally realized that the guy who was walking around the terrain in kind of shabby clothes, was actually the prince... Holy shit, that was weird, as we just assumed it was one of the guys maintaining the terrain. Nevertheless, this meeting was a lot more casual and we were able to get answers to our many questions. The prince was very helpful and the manager had some guys come over so they could take us into the conservancy after the meeting. During this meeting, they seemed to realize we were not the ones to set up a lodge as we had come to Africa with other intentions. This had been our conclusion as well, especially as we feel that this Simalaha project is already heading in the right direction in both community development and nature conservation. With the guidance of the king of Barotse and the help of the Peace Parks, there is enough people invested in this area to make it successful. However, if you know anyone, or are that person that wants to set up a lodge in Africa, here is your chance!!

The guys that showed us around in the conservancy after the meeting, pointed out the places they have reserved for a lodge, and they are pretty amazing! And so is the vision of the conservancy. There is a large floodplain that will have a very high carrying capacity for grazers and a lot of mopane forest for browsers. They are in the process of restocking with zebras, impalas, wildebeest and giraffes, coming from Botswana and Namibia and even Kafue NP. At the moment, the area is still fenced, but in the future, it will become a crossing area for wildlife between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola. A initiative called Kaza that has the aim of connecting the different wildlife areas in these countries, thereby becoming the largest wildlife area in Africa (read more about it here).

As Simalaha is right on the border, between Chobe NP and Kafue NP it is the crossing they need. Plus it is actually a good place for tourism because it is located along the Zambesi river. Going in the north-western direction there is the beautiful Ngonye falls we have visited. And in the south-eastern direction there is Victoria falls. However, if they ever want tourism to develop, one of the things they will have to improve is the road to Livingstone (Victoria falls). We have never in our lives seen such a bad road. A trip that should take about one and a half hour now took four! The road has more potholes than road! But that didn’t take anything from the impressive experience we had in Simalaha and we are happy to have visited this inspiring place. Read more about it here...

Oct

2017

Vision Zambia

Vindt hier de Nederlandse versie.

Vision Zambia is an NGO that supports three projects in Zambia: Linda Open Community School, Light of Hope Health Care Centre and Mother of Mercy Hospice. In combining these projects Vision Zambia focuses on improving the empowerment of woman, the physical well-being (through health care, clean drinking water and sports) and education of people living in the Linda community (about 50.000 people), located within the Lusaka region (location). We met with Sue and Jeff, two of the visionaries behind this beautiful charity. They are wonderful people and were very happy to help us. An absolute inspiration to us!

Linda Open Community School

We had a warm welcome at Linda Open Community School. Leah, the secretary of the school, awaited us and showed where we could find the Head Teachers office. Doreen, the Head Teacher, welcomed us and we could immediately feel that this was a confident and strong woman that has that natural aura of authority, which any Head Teacher should have. We had a good talk about what the school’s relationship is with Vision Zambia, what encompasses her vision for the school, what changes she implemented at the school and what impact this has had on the children. After the meeting we had the privilege to be shown around the school yard by Doreen. With pride she showed us the well-designed courtyard with a corner “just for reading”, the vegetable garden and some of the buildings that either function as classroom, laboratory or computer lab. Now and then she stopped with the tour and addressed one of the students to pick up some litter from the ground. She then told us that the specific mindset she wants the children to have, takes time and is a continuous effort. It was refreshing for us to see a woman in Africa with a long term vision, instead of having to focus on the short term struggle for survival that is so common in Africa. Money and opportunities, via the aid of Vision Zambia, can do that if given to the right person. This gives us the confidence that our plans for the future are definitely possible and excites us for what is still to come.

With Linda Open Community School, Vision Zambia supports about 1600 children in Linda Community. When Vision Zambia began working with the community the standard of education at the school lagged well behind government schools. There were not enough classrooms, no running water, toilets or electricity and the teachers did not receive wages.

With assigning the current headteacher, Doreen, to the school things started to change dramatically. During our visit at the school, we could see and feel it had become a school with a vision. Doreen emphasized that you have to involve everyone, from the children, to the parents, to the teachers, in your vision until they all share it. And then you become a success. She and the other teachers want the school to be a center for educational excellence in its own right. And they are well on their way of achieving this as there are ablution blocks, clean drinking water, 4 extra classrooms have been built, computers and desks have been supplied, teachers receive wages and, above all, students enter examinations. As Doreen stated: ‘this school now meets university standards’.

Light of Hope Health Care Center

The story of John Shawa is inspirational. He felt the urge to help his community out and made it his life goal of providing his neighbours in Linda with a health care centre, which was lacking at that time. Now the Light of Hope Health Care Centre provides the most vulnerable and poor in the community with basic health care and food supplements from, for example, Moringa trees which he grows in his backyard. In addition, he looks after the Light of Hope Football Association where boys and girls can channel their energies positively, instead of falling prey to drugs, criminality and alcohol or become isolated because of AIDS/HIV.

After meeting with John at the Light of Hope Health Care Centre we really admire that he can do so much for the community with the limited resources he has. The health care centre consists of one building and lacks most of the facilities that hospitals have. During our visit, he showed us that there is always a way to help the community out. For example, he helped in building an ambulance (a bicycle with a kart behind it) for the sick that are unable to get to the health care centre. Currently, he is also in the process of building a lodge next to the health care centre. He showed us around and told us that 30% of the profits will go back to Light of Hope to improve the quality and reach of his health care. True dedication.

At the Mother of Mercy Hospice we witnessed, for the first time, what HIV/AIDS does with a human-being. Undernourished women and men were lying in bed, probably also affected by other sicknesses like TBC or pneumonia. The Mother of Mercy Hospice offers these patients free palliative care in the form of medicines, a healthy diet and some well-deserved TLC. Locally, there are only a few alternatives, so the hospice fills an important void for men, woman and children that can’t afford health care.

The Mother of Mercy is a hospice because it is not recognized by the Zambian government as hospital. As a hospice it doesn’t receive funding from the government and therefore it is dependent on funding from Vision Zambia and other organizations to function.

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Are you as inspired as us about these projects? Do you want to help? Find the donate button via VisionZambia website (click here). Or contact us if you want to give some money to one of the projects specifically.

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Kafue Nationaal Park – Een plek met potentie

Kafue Nationaal Park - Een plek met potentie

Olifanten die de Kafue-rivier oversteken, direct naast ons kamp!

Zonsondergang over de Kafue-rivier, het uitzicht vanaf onze kampeerplek!

Roy's camping was een prachtige plek in de wildernis met alleen basisvoorzieningen, maar het meest geweldige uitzicht direct over de Kafue River!

Op weg terug naar het kamp waren alle bomen gevuld met pelikanen! We hadden geen idee waar ze vandaan kwamen!

De leeuwin die onze dag maakte !! Hier was ze op zoek naar haar diner!

Logischerwijs maakte deze schattige kleine welp onze dag in Kafue NP!

Mayuni Conservancy Namibia – And a way to build up some good karma!

Mayuni Conservancy – Some “good karma”-building

A blog about our adventures ánd a conservancy project!

Sun was setting behind the Mountain of the Gods when we arrived. Beautiful!

Our beautiful campsite with a deck looking out the river. We heard the hippo’s and saw some lechwe’s right across from us!

Simalaha Community Conservancy

Simalaha Community Conservation - Mwandi

A Project with Climate Change problems and Third World issues

The wildebeest that have been re-introduced to the Simalaha Conservancy area.

Vision Zambia

Vision Zambia

Support of several projects in the Linda Open Community

Linda Open Community School

One of the kids found a cool spot in the shade to study.

Light of Hope Health Care Center

The sign above the little building John uses as his Health Care Centre in the middle of the Linda Community.

Here John shows us his Moringa trees. He himself also uses it as supplements to his food.

Mother of Mercy Hospice

The entrance to the Mother of Mercy Hospice. A Hospice set up by a Dutch woman a very long time ago in support of aids and HIV patients.

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