News February 2007
I do apologise for the long delay in updating you all on the achievements for the latter part of 2006.
Thanks to the continued support and involvement of Mdonya Old River Camp, we have raised more funds through sales of T-shirts and the Ruaha Maps. To keep you all in the picture and to say how grateful we areto you all for your support, the funds have been utilized as follows:-
A small donation was given to EMI the village group we support, for
their World Environmental Day celebrations on June 6th. The tree seedlingscontinue
to be grown and we are very encouraged to see how the villagersare now
contacting EMI tree nursery on a regular basis to obtain trees forplanting
in their areas and homes.
We are further encouraged to hear that the District have come to hear of EMI and were so impressed at the initiative done by the villagers themselves that they have promised to donate to the program a further Tsh500,000/-. These funds however are still being processed.
Some more funds went to assist in the re-vaccinating of domestic dogs
inthe village areas adjacent to the park against rabies. This is part
of Dr Dulles Wild Dog program and an update on this activity is given
separately.
We also donated a large sum to the Idodi Primary school which enabled over 100 standard 5 students to visit the park on a day trip. This outing is always an enormous thrill for these children who have never had the opportunity to see their wildlife, or visit the park before. The day begins early, once at the Park Gate a park guide takes them on a morning game drive this is followed by lunch at Park Head-Quarters. A short, informative and fun lecture is then given to the children who then enjoy a short game drive to the hippo and croc pools before heading back to their homes in Idodi village. I understand that on this trip they did indeed manage to see lions, which is always a huge highlight for everyone. Thus, I believe it was a memorable day for the students.
The above funds are raised from the sales of T-shirts only. However a substantial amount has been raised from the sales of the Ruaha maps. This money has been given to the Environmental Centre which is under construction at the Idodi Secondary school. There is a separate up-date given over to this important program which is coming along very well indeed and we are extremely excited to see the interest that is developing here.
Finally to end off, in October I went with Naiti Masonda, one of the key Mdonya tour Guides, to visit the Idodi Village Chairman who happens to be a real expert on trees and their local uses. Naiti and I spent an extremely interesting and informative day with the Chairman, who was indeed a walking book of local knowledge. We are hoping that this will become a regular activity between the various camps in Ruaha and the Chairman.
On another note, it would be marvelous if I could find a sponsor who would facilitate us to make a book on the local uses of trees and plants in this area. It would be good to make this book in Kiswahili. The Chairman was distressed by the lack of interest shown on the subject by the younger generation in the village.
We have also had new developments with the Jongomero Camp. They are commencing a scheme to help some of the orphaned children in the Idodi area with secondary school fees. They are beginning with sponsoring 5 students for the next 4 years to go to the Idodi Secondary School. They are also helping some of the poorer families with school uniforms and books for 25 primary students. We are very grateful for their support
Full,
detailed accounts of all expenditures for the Ruaha Conservation Fund
programs are available. Should any of you wish to
see them please let me know.
Best
wishes and our thanks to you all, Sue