CONSERVATION NEWS
A Special Holiday Message from Coe, Victory & The Nsefu Wildlife Team!
Coe shares her thoughts on our progress in Zambia.
Coe & Victory with Team!
Dear beloved Nsefu Wildlife friends, we wanted to wish you the Merriest Christmas and Happiest New Year! Thank you for making 2019 the most successful year ever in our fight against extinction in Zambia. My cofounder Victory Wallace and I wanted to share some major highlights of the year in this final newsletter of 2019.
We are so proud to announce that Nsefu Wildlife, in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Department, have REDUCED poaching almost 70% in the past 20 months in our game management area! This statistic is staggering considering we are still a young foundation. By engaging the community in its future, by educating the children and adults about conservation, by empowering the locals with economic opportunities, and by enforcing wildlife laws with our ranger team…our multi-pronged approach is truly working. Our motto is, “Extinction? Not on our watch” and that is how we approach each day.
Zambian people protest animal transfer.
A MAJOR achievement this year was the government’s decision to stop the sale/transport of wildlife out of the National Parks in Zambia for relocation to private reserves (aka hunting reserves). This massive government decision was directly linked to our work and relationship with Senior Chief Nsefu who took a stand against the removal of animals from his sector without his authority when he received information on the impending withdrawal. NWCF works closely with the Chief and helped him in writing the President about the inherent problems with this relocation program and its lack of foresight. The group involved with this particular removal of animals was TURNED AWAY by the local community when they attempted to remove wildlife from South Luangwa National Park. The community rallied to protect their wildlife! The Chief and the community were on national news and in all the newspapers! Because of this story, the Minister halted the practice of wildlife being sold to private reserves effective immediately! Your foundation Nsefu Wildlife worked side by side with His Royal Highness Chief Nsefu and to help secure a MAJOR victory for wildlife in Zambia!
Coe and Team with Chabwera Students.
Another MAJOR highlight includes our announcement of the first Secondary School in the Nsefu Sector to be built in 2020 thanks to the wonderful Park Lane Foundation. Our Nsefu Team - Zambia did an excellent job researching and enlightening the Park Lane Team about the needs of the Nsefu School District and the desperate need for a Secondary school. For children to continue their education, they have to leave the area or go to a boarding school which is financially prohibitive for the local community. So many children are never able to continue past the 7th grade and now they have a chance to continue up to college levels! We also explained how NWCF installed conservation clubs in the other schools to get conservation education in front of the children. By teaching children throughout their school years about conservation helps develop leaders for the future. Having a Secondary School commitment made the whole community CHEER!! We are deeply grateful to our friends at Park Lane. Your humble foundation is achieving way more than it really should be for its size.
Your support is helping us reach beyond our means and expectations and we are grateful for your belief in our important work. May you and yours have a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Healthy New Year! Love, Coe, Victory, and the entire TEAM NSEFU.
Nsefu Wildlife & Holiday Shopping at Kendra Scott!
20% of all sales during the event went to conservation in Zambia.
Nsefu Wildlife joined Kendra Scott in Fashion Valley for a Holiday gift shopping event. 20% of all sales benefited Nsefu Wildlife's conservation efforts in Zambia.
Thank you Kendra Scott for supporting Nsefu Wildlife Conservation Foundation.
Check out the photos.
Nsefu Wildlife Rangers get new Raincoats!
Rangers getting ready for the rainy season.
Nsefu Wildlife Ranger Team and their new rain gear for the rainy season! Poachers work in the rain...so do we! Looking good Team Nsefu!
Nsefu Wildlife holds the first ever Conservation Expo!
Nsefu Wildlife and Local People working together to stop poaching.
Reported by Nsefu Team Member and Ranger Team Operations Mgr. Steven Zulu.
The first Conservation Expo held in the Nsefu Sector of Zambia was a great hit. The event took place on Saturday, November 9th and was sponsored by Nsefu Wildlife Conservation Foundation (Nsefu.org). It was a unique and special event that was attended by more than 400 school children and 300 community members all taking a stand against poaching.
The team wanted to figure out a way to not only educate the children but get them “involved” in conservation. So it was determined that Nsefu Wildlife would put on the first Conservation Expo where children would be given an opportunity to showcase their knowledge in conservation to the community.
The event was attended by the following:
His Royal Highness Senior Chief Nsefu’s representative.
Victoria and all team Zambian Nsefu members.
Other organizations like Chipembele.
Our 9 scouts directly involved in the anti-poaching.
60 teachers from all schools.
The primary objective of the Nsefu.org Team is to support conservation through our main objectives of Rangers on the Ground, Educational Support, Beekeeping, Sewing Program and Snare Removal. We feel that for us to achieve these goals, we must get the community on board.
We therefore feel that it's prudent to work with local schools, with the aim of imparting conservation knowledge while the children are still young and hope that when they grow up, they can pass on what they've learned to future generations.
The Nsefu Sector has 10 schools:
5 are community schools.
4 are primary schools and,
1 is secondary school (in Kakumbi).
We have so far formed conservation clubs in all the 10 schools and every Wednesday, these clubs meet in the afternoon for conservation lessons with their teachers.
The pupils showcased in the following activities:
Conservation poems.
Paper presentations on conservation.
Drama on conservation.
Traditional dance and songs about conservation.
Quizzed on conservation.
Scouts talk about Conservation
The scouts also had a chance to educate the gathering on the importance of conservation. They explained what they experience in their conservation work and also gave motivational talks. Our rangers gave impassioned speeches to the attendees which were very well-received.
After all activities were done, there was an awards presentation and each school walked away with a k500 ($40) which has never happened in the history of Nsefu, because no organization has ever done anything like this. The Conservation Expo was a first and it was a smashing success. This made pupils even more motivated, teachers and inclusive of all community members.
We had 3 schools which did extremely well and as sign of appreciation, were awarded them slightly higher than the others.
The Conservation Expo wouldn't be possible without support from all of our supporters and donors. Every dollar that is raised goes directly into our conservation efforts.
All Nsefu Team members promise to continue represent our supporter’s passion for wildlife.
'I'm here to save Mother Nature' – meet the man battling poachers in Zambia!
Benson Kanyembo is this year’s winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award!
Benson Kanyembo is this year’s winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award, initiated by the Duke of Cambridge. Sarah Marshall shares his story.
Frowning with concentration, Benson Kanyembo stares through the window of a Cessna 180, scanning every inch of Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. Flying low and slow, the light aircraft glides above a sun-scorched savannah, where mopane trees cling on to their last remaining leaves, sandbanks are streaked with hippo trails and herds of elephants march towards the river in a weary, thirsty parade.
Although scenic, these flights have far greater importance. The law enforcement adviser is searching for smoking embers from fresh fires, tell-tale signs that poachers have invaded the park. This morning – to everyone’s relief – only old scars pockmark the landscape, although they serve as a reminder of why Kanyembo and his team can never give up.
Employed by NGO Conservation South Luangwa (CSL), the 48-year-old ranger leads a team of 66 community-based scouts to protect one of Africa’s most popular safari destinations.
In an announcement today, he was named 2019 winner of the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award – a prize initiated by the charity’s royal patron the Duke of Cambridge four years ago, to give international recognition to the men and women risking their lives to defend Africa’s wildlife. On Nov 21, he will be presented with a medal and a grant of £10,000 at the Tusk Conservation Awards in London.
“This is my national heritage, my birth. I’m here to save Mother Nature,” explains Kanyembo while walking briskly from the airstrip to his four-wheel drive. The robust mountain of a man takes everything in his giant stride. “This isn’t work for me,” he says.