A 2020 Holiday Message from Coe & the Nsefu Team!

Dear treasured Nsefu Wildlife friends,

Well, what a year this has been. If someone told us that a virus would bring the globe to its knees…take countless lives, wreak havoc on families, jobs, finances, and more…you simply wouldn’t believe them. It sounds like a horrible nightmare, but its real life and it’s still going on BUT there looks to be hope in our future. It just can’t get here fast enough.

Despite 2020 being an incredibly challenging year for everyone, it has been exceptionally difficult for all nonprofit foundations. Even in these tough times, our foundation has achieved unbelievable successes and we have wowed everyone we have worked with. In our earlier newsletters, we stated that we were going to stand our ground for our foundation team in Zambia, and keep everyone at least on half pay in order to keep them safe and with food on the table. This decision was challenging because donations plummeted, but it was something we were going to find a way to make happen.

Nsefu Wildlife was NOT going to force the staff to have to poach to survive by not giving them a steady paycheck!

Bigger organizations in the region let their staff go, but we were NOT going to do that. That decision has paid dividends in that your foundation has earned much respect from the Zambian Dept. of National Parks & Wildlife, Senior Chief Nsefu and the community of Nsefu, not to mention our team on the ground. We have been called “The Hope of Nsefu”. That means the world to us and the only way that respect was possible to earn was because you believed in our work and you supported us. This is a team effort and you are a vital team member and we are so grateful for you. Here are some highlights of 2020 of what you have made happen on the ground in the fight against extinction in Africa.

RANGER PROGRAM

The NWCF Ranger team has impressed everyone and we have helped DRAMATICALLY drop poaching in the sector since our inception. Working side by side with the Zambia Dept. of National Parks & Wildlife, our rangers are outperforming other teams in the region and we are beaming with pride.

Despite the pandemic, we were able to get the funds together to enroll 3 Nsefu Wildlife scouts into the intensive government ranger training program. Once again Nsefu Wildlife wowed everyone by having THE top ranger trainee (our female ranger Maless Banda) and our other two ranger trainees (Frank Chulu and Mackenzie Phiri) scoring at the top of programs i.e. sharp-shooting and weapon assembly/disassembly. At graduation, our Nsefu managers were told how impressive our ranger team has been and how impressed they were with our trainees. Nsefu Wildlife is the talk of the region!

EDUCATION PROGRAM

In our work in educating the children of Nsefu beginning with the Chabwela school (which we hope to expand with more classrooms)…our partnership with the amazing Jan Bebr and Park Lane Schools is flourishing with the beginning of construction of the first SECONDARY School in the sector! Our Program Director/Liaison Enrico Carretta is the lead on the project and is doing a fantastic job. This school will serve kids grades 8-12… and the community, Senior Chief Nsefu, and the indunas are beside themselves with excitement! Teach children the importance of wildlife and conservation and their future is bright.

SEWING PROGRAM

The Nsefu Wildlife Women’s Sewing Program was the FIRST in the sector to respond to the COVID pandemic with the production of hundreds of masks for the community to use to fight the virus. Our Program Mgr. Evans Graph and the sewing team adjusted their sewing production to meet the needs of the community and we are so proud of this accomplishment. Nsefu Wildlife is helping keep people safe and being an excellent partner in the community.

SOCCER PROGRAM

In our all-encompassing anti-poaching initiatives, 2020 saw the start of the Nsefu Wildlife Soccer League with over 20 teams of boys and girls participating in afterschool activities. Our Operations Mgr. Steven Zulu did extensive interviewing of residents about ways to decrease poaching in the region and the result was the creation of organized activities for the youth. Thanks to Danny Donnelly and Ben Protas of 5 Star Communications for funding the soccer equipment!

BEEKEEPING

The Nsefu Wildlife Beekeeping Program is up and running and we are selling honey in the community to help fund our programs! Program Mgr. Ephraim Mbewe has done a fantastic job getting the program to this point working closely with the village headman Mr. Chomi. Honey is produced and sold and the beehives will support our biofencing program to protect crops and fields from wildlife damage. It’s a WIN WIN for wildlife and people!

DOWN THE ROAD…

Nsefu Wildlife is shipping a container this January to Zambia! Thanks to monetary donations through Facebook, we were able to purchase a 20-foot container that will ship towards the end of January. We will be shipping furniture for the schools and a forthcoming project (to be announced in 2021) thanks to the wonderful donation from the San Diego Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. AND mega-thanks to the Nsefu volunteers who helped us move the furniture to storage! We are also shipping donated clothing, tools, computers, school supplies, ranger supplies, sewing supplies, and more to help tackle extinction from all angles. The container will be used in a multitude of ways i.e. storage, ranger offices and more. Every square inch of that container will be filled with much- needed items sent with a lot of love from many supporters.

If you would like to donate items for the container or donate towards shipping costs, please email Coe at coe@nsefu.org.

We are working hard in 2021 to be a bigger and better Nsefu Wildlife in order to be the best we can be. We are now working with Bloomerang to better serve our supporters and will be ramping up quickly in a post-COVID world. With the year winding down, we hope you will think of your foundation for tax-deductible charitable contributions. Honestly, it’s been a brutal year financially…but we remain committed to saving wildlife and bringing about long-term change in Zambia for the betterment of both animals and people. We are well on our way and that is simply because of YOU. YOU are why Nsefu Wildlife is defying the odds. And YOU have the power to save wildlife and change the world with your foundation. We are your biggest fans and we are incredibly grateful to you. Thank you for everything,

Happy Holidays and here is to a MUCH better New Year,

Coe, Victory, and the entire Nsefu Wildlife Team