WorldWomenWork October Update

We watched, mesmerized as young lions played with a canoe paddle on our recent WWW adventure to Botswana and Zambia. There is no way to describe this magnificent and innocent moment. Meanwhile North Korea was involved in wildlife trafficking and in Myanmar elephants were being poached with poisoned arrows and skinned, their skin used for 'health' jewelry. Even when terribly depressed by the world's inhumanity something inspiring is taking place, which keeps our passions alive.

Nothing personifies this more than the story of Kabu's rescue 2 years ago. Many of you helped to make this possible. She worked for 20 years in the logging industry despite a terrible injury to her left front leg while also having two babies. The first female baby was sold to a tourist camp and the little male died after the torture of the training crush. She is the epitome of resilience, a beautiful and gentle elephant loved by all who visit the Elephant Nature Park. Lek Chailert is a savior who inspires all who meet her.

After being in Thailand with Kabu and Lek, I spent time in Samburu with the Grevy's Scouts and one of the highlights was trying to sew a sanitary pad on one of the new sewing machines WWW contributed. I was the center of a lot of laughter. I felt as though I was finally accepted into this amazing group. Not only are they tracking Grevy's with GPSs they are making additional income with a sanitary pad project which also enables their daughters to stay in school. These women are a true inspiration.

Samburu in northern Kenya is experiencing an unparalleled drought. The food situation is desperate for wildlife. The herders of cattle and goats invade the conservation areas causing armed conflict. We were fortunate to be able to help distribute hay for the Grevy's. In one area diseases carried by domesticated animals wiped out packs of wild dogs.

A young elephant enjoying a snack at Sheldrick Wild Life Trust in Nairobi.

I thank you so much for being a part of WorldWomenWork. You make everything we do possible. You are a part of every project. I hope that through these stories you feel just as inspired as I do.

Even though there is much to be depressed about in the wild world there is much to inspire us to feel passionately, to want to give back, to help.

Ewaso Lions September 2017 Project Update

Over the last 25 years the African lion population has fallen by half, there are only 25,000 left today.

I want to share with you a few very inspiring episodes in the lives of the Mama Simba whom WWW supports with great enthusiasm.

WWW is proud to be a partner in the Ewaso Lions Bush Bus. It will be used for their Lion Kids Camp program and to engage more kids across Kenya in conservation. It will also expose community members to wildlife safaris.

The mama Simba, Mothers of Lions, have become a true force for conservation. These are our lions and we must protect them. They go from village to village educating and empowering other women to be forces themselves!

Munteli, one of the two coordinators, has gotten her drivers license. Imagine the confidence it takes to do this. She has said, "So many of the ladies have seen she can drive that they now feel that the impossible is now the possible and they can do anything."

The Governor of Samburu was campaigning due to upcoming elections near by and Mparasaroi, the other coordinator, was speaking and told him how important conservation is to them and how a Samburu lady can drive, which he didn't believe and asked to meet Munteli and then asked her to drive him around which she did. Every single person came to shake her hand.

Last February when I had gone to help with a village plastic bag clean up it was decided to start a recycling program. An area was designated and now the bins have been acquired and put in place. This is such an achievement.

These are Naramat's cubs, the result of only the third time in 10 years that a lioness has successfully breed with in the community landscape and the first time cubs have been born in the conservation area. This shows just how important the Mama Simba are in helping to educate people on the importance of protecting their lions! Again the Mama Simba are an inspiration.

None of these projects would be possible without your support!

The BBC recently shared a wonderful article on these amazing women: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160802-these-brave-women-have-found-a-way-to-live-alongside-lions

Grevy's Zebra Orphans at the Reteti Sanctuary

These two adorable Grevy’s zebra, Ntapuli and Loituko, are being hand raised at the Reteti Sanctuary in Samburu, Northern Kenya. Ntapuli was rescued when he was 1.5 months old after he was seen frantically running around all alone near a small town, with his mother nowhere in sight. After waiting to see if his mother would return, Grevy’s Zebra Trust’s Simon Matacho, a Grevy’s Zebra Scout, successfully rescued Ntapuli together with the team from Reteti Sanctuary.

Loituko was saved after his mother was eaten by a lion in Il Ngwesi Conservancy. He was so tiny that when he first arrived at Reteti, his chances of survival looked slim. But under their expert care, his health gradually improved. Now, the two young Grevy’s zebra are thriving under the expert care of their Samburu keepers Lekupanai and Lengokwai. The chances of their integration back into the wild are high as Reteti Sanctuary is close to prime Grevy’s zebra habitat.

Grevy’s zebra is an endangered species and each life we save matters. You can be the bridge between rescue and success!

We hope to raise sufficient funds to support the ongoing care for Ntapuli and Loituko. Your donation will support the following:

Formula - $450 a month
Keepers x 2 - $200 each per month
Predator-Proof Stables and Enclosure - $4,000 (one-off cost)
Veterinary - $100 a month

About Grevy’s Zebra:
The Grevy's zebra is one of Africa's most endangered large mammals. The species has undergone one of the most substantial reductions of range of any African mammal. The current global population is estimated at 2,500, with more than 90% in northern Kenya where the Grevy’s Zebra Trust operates. The population appears to have stabilized thanks to the conservation.

WWW supports the Grevy’s Zebra Trust’s Scholarship program, the Scouts and the Sanitary Pad project.

A Farewell to Changila

By Oria Douglas-Hamilton

Flying with the vultures, I salute you Changila, to say farewell. You will now return to the earth where you and I came from a long long time ago. Piece by piece, vultures will take you away and bury you, leaving only white bones by the river to mark your grave, where you stood that last moment in your life. We did not know you well, but you were named Changila, “Fighter.”

Changila destroyed by poachers, January 3, 2013. Photo courtesy of Chris Leadismo, Save the Elephants.

You came from the north in December, as you always do. Now at 30, having survived droughts, war, and floods, you stood tall and strong, heading south in full musth over well trodden paths, leaving a scent trail behind, your trunk sweeping the ground as you searched for fertile females to mate with. The land was lush and green after the rains. Butterflies fluttered from flower to flower, and step by step, your great big feet crushed the long grass stems. Like all warriors, you came to fight, to do what you were known for. Did you leave us an heir in your kingdom?

The new year had just begun. We’d seen you here and there for a few days, and then you disappeared, walking back west. Oh yes, people saw you—you were so determined; no one stood in your way. You drank and washed and crossed the river. Alone, you stood on warm earth pondering your next move while the sun’s rays lit the sky red. The day was ending.

Gunfire broke through the silence of dusk, and you fell.

I apologize for man, my species. You did not deserve this.

Changila destroyed by poachers, January 3, 2013. Photo courtesy of Chris Leadismo, Save the Elephants.

As I flew over you, I scanned the eroded gullies on the hillside, wondering where the men had been sitting, watching, waiting for you to turn and face them, guns at the ready. They hit you not once but two, three, times, and you fell. I saw your leg covered in dark red blood. Your eyes were open. Did you see them as you were dying, coming toward you with their axes? And then, without a moment to waste, demented, they hacked into your skull, just below your open eye, your blood spattering those hands that would steal the prize you carried: two beautiful tusks, white like your bones will be, but stained with blood.

I will never forget your face, so savagely butchered. Rage fills my heavy heart, Changila.

Where will your tusks go? They will leave Africa, hidden in dirty sacks, in boxes, trucks, and stores, changing hands from man to man. No one will know who you were, where you lived. You will be like thousands of others, unknown, abused, and used. One day, a piece of you will be cut into myriad items.

I’m sorry, Changila. May your name live forever—we will miss you.

Grevy's Zebra Update

There are less than 2,500 Grevy's Zebras left in the world.
The Grevy's Zebra Trust needs our help!

The Grevy's Zebra Trust has been monitoring herds and conserving habitats through partnerships within communities in the northern Kenya region since 2007. 

In 2015, the Grevy's Zebra program was able to to reduce poaching incidents in El Barta by 60% through engaging communities that live off of wildlife and providing them alternative income through conservation. In 2009, the proportion of foals and juveniles among the population increased from 12-21%, and remains at this level today.

The Grevy's Zebra Trust is doing amazing work, and we are so proud to be a partner in these projects. We all need to protect these magnificent creatures before it is too late.

WorldWomenWork's supports the Grevy's Zebra Trust through funding 5 educational scholarships that send local Samburu girls to secondary school. We also provide the salaries of 5 scouts that track and monitor the zebra herds. WorldWomenWork also provides the full funding for the Nkirreten Project. 

The Nkirreten project is a program that trains women to fabricate and sell reusable sanitary pads. This program not only provides a less expensive hygeine product for local women so they can continue with their everyday lives during menses, but it also gives local women an alternative income source through the sales of the pads. As a bonus, this project promotes environmentally friendly consumption.

At WorldWomenWork, we believe that the way to protect endangered species and conserve the natural world is through empowering local women. By providing educational opportunities and environmental training, we are preparing a new generation of leaders to protect our world.

In 2015, the Grevy's Zebra trust trained a total of 685 women, 591 elders, 491 warriors and 31 local leaders to improve environmental stewardship. Just imagine how much more they can do with your help. 

Your support of this program in 2017 will be able to provide the salaries of more scouts to protect the endangered Grevy's Zebra and more educational opportunities for girls and women. 

Thank you for all that you do. 

The Mama Simba Are Inspiring The World

Powerful Women Providing Opportunities
The Mama Simba Are Inspiring The World

As the sole sponsor of this program run by the Ewaso Lions in Kenya, We are so proud that the Mama Simba are able to do truly amazing things with our funding. Since 2013, this organization has engaged women all over northern Kenya in educational programs, environmental campaigns, and lion conservation. This year, the Mama Simba expanded their educational program from class instruction one day a week to four days a week. The ladies even built their own school equipped with blackboards, pens and all the books they need.

In 2017, in addition to training women to create beaded crafts, the Mama Simba are planning to start a new recycling program that will teach the women how to make new products out of recyclable materials. The project is based on an initiative started by the Zingira in western Kenya. You can read about our Mama Simba coordinator's experience at a product development workshop with the Zingira in this blog post. We will also give funding to send a prospective teacher to college, purchase a new safari vehicle and to send another teacher to driving school. 

If all of these efforts go as planned, the Mama Simba have proposed to organize an official training center, where women from around the region can come to learn from the Mama Simba.

It is not just WorldWomenWork who gushes over these women, the BBC just published an article in August that highlights the Mama Simba program. Read it here.

Save The Elephants: The Elephant Orphan Project Update

What happens to the herd when all the big tuskers are gone?
Save The Elephants is going to find out.

We are in a crisis. Almost all of the big tuskers are gone from surges in poaching across Africa. The price of ivory has fueled the widespread killing of elephants. There are now only approximately 30 of the great tuskers left. 

Now, these animals are dealing with a new problem. Without the matriarchs to lead the heard, the orphaned elephants do not know where to go. These herds are now wandering into new areas at risk of encountering dangerous habitats. The Orphan Project by Save the Elephants helps to understand the orphaned elephant's migratory patterns as they expand their ranges into uncharted territory. Over the past three years, WorldWomenWork has donated over $300,000 to this project for radio collars, vehicles, and staffing.

This monitoring will be increasingly important for ensuring the saftey of the herds during the Kenyan government's Vision 2030 development plan that will build road, rail and pipline links through both East-West and North-South in the Lamu Port, South Sudan, and Ethiopian Transport Corridor (LAPSSET). The Orphan Project's monitoring system will ensure that any development is created with access for migrating wildlife. 

We anticipate to give another $100,000 in 2017 for additional tracking collar deployments, collar replacements, aerial patrol, monitoring time, and GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis of movements. This data will be crutial to ensuring the future of these elephant herds across the African savannahs. 

WorldWomenWork has been fortunate to fund the work of Shifra Goldenberg and Dr. George Wittemyer through Save the Elephants. They have been researching the orphan's new migratory patterns and social behaviors in the Samburu National Reserve. Their work has been highlighted recently in the New York Times and National Geographic. 

In this video by National Geographic, Shifra explains more about social bonds between elephants and their behavior when finding an elephant who has died. 

This program is completely funded by generous donors like you. We are almost at the end of our 2016 fund drive, and need your support now more than ever. 

Save The Elephants Scholarships, Northern Kenya Girls Win

Edina Dararo and Flavia Mwena come from poor villages in northern Kenya, where they face lives of considerable hardship. Flavia’s parents both died of AIDS-related illness, leaving her in the care of her grandmother. Edina’s family is destitute, having lost most of their livestock to severe drought. Thanks to WorldWomenWork’s support of a scholarship fund created by Save the Elephants and Elephant Watch Safaris, these promising young women are able to attend secondary school.

Singer has leveraged a close personal relationship with powerhouse Oria Douglas-Hamilton to achieve such targeted assistance. Not only are the girls receiving a quality education but also hands-on training in environmental awareness and elephant conservation. Students are encouraged to become cultural ambassadors, and graduates of the program are now involved in conservation and Eco-tourism.

New Cubs and the Mama Simba

Nothing can stop the Mama Simba

Reading, writing and the conservation of lions in Kenya 

We are so inspired by the Mama Simba's hard work and dedication. This year, the "Mothers of Lions" have added 9 new members to their group, bringing their numbers from 10 to 19. In exchange for weekly educational classes, the Mama Simba have been a watch group for lion sightings and conflict issues. The group's support of conservational issues has allowed for a safe environment for the local lion population as well as the opportunity for increased income for the women participating.

Outreach programs like the Mama Simba and the Warriors founded by the Ewaso Lions, have had a positive impact on the lion population around the Samburu National Reserve. In December 2015 alone, the teams have stopped retaliatory lion killings 26 times. The goal is to transform human conflict with Lions into coexistence. This is done through the Ewaso Warriors & Mama Simba programs that promote prevention of conflict through tracking and reporting lion behavior.

It isn't just the adults that get to have all the fun. The group has held two Lion Kids Camps with a total of 122 Kenyan children learning and practicing conservation. The next generation of lion keepers are being made, and it is beautiful.

Now for the adorable news, new cubs have been found in the study area. They are the most amazing creatures. Jeneria, who found the cubs, had this reaction, "Because of the excitement, I almost threw my camera. I was shaking all over and it took me so long to take the first photo".

Thank you for continuing to inspire us with your love for conservation and support of women around the world.

We love this story! Within a week of the Lion Kids Camp, we heard that Zawadi, one of the young herding children who attended the camp, spoke to some warriors in her village and said "Do not go after the lions and hurt them. If you do, you will have to answer to me." The warrior spoke back and said "who are you to tell me what to do Zawadi? to which she replied, “I am the one who will teach you about lions."

Zawadi (pictured right in the photo) is the daughter of Mparasaroi (on the left), the leader of our Mama Simba programme. "We can see that Zawadi is becoming just like her mother - a real lion spokesperson!" From The Ewaso Lions Facebook Page

WorldWomenWork Adventures: Our trip to Kenya and Rwanda

Safari in Kenya, Trek in Rwanda, Camp in Luxury

Our WorldWomenWork explorers took to the plains and jungles of Africa this February in search of adventure. What they found, besides the captivating landscape, spectacular people, and the majestic wildlife, was an unforgettable experience engrossed in the raw abundance of nature. Enjoy these memories with us! 

WorldWomenWork Adventure Trips are organized every year, as an educational as well as fundraising initiative. A portion of the trip fees go directly to the projects that we support. Read more about these projects on in our News and Projects pages. If you would like to be the first to know about our next trips, sign up for our mailing list. Thank you!