GREAT PLAINS FOUNDATION IMPACT REPORT JANUARY – MARCH 2022
We are in Kenya’s Maasai Mara again, having flown directly from New York to Nairobi and into Mara Nyika. I am amazed at how convenient that Kenya Airways flight is, landing at the right time to allow for a direct ‘to the bush’ transfer. From that hustle and bustle to hearing lions call in just a few hours is incredible. I went through the Great Plains Foundation Quarterly report on the plane and decided to share this widely.
The report details a very impressive array of work we are involved in based on a solid strategy from a dedicated Foundation team working with our Great Plains Conservation tourism team to the degree where it is hard to find the line between them. The enthusiasm everyone has for Foundation projects is contagious in our staff. In many ways, the conservation and community work we do really defines Great Plains, and the ‘mission’ behind it is what our staff love.
We’ve just hired a new team leader in Kenya (Marietta Keru) for the Foundation and a new Director of Development in the USA (Nicci Wiese) based in New York. Our ambitions, as you will see, are significant. All this is putting our money to good work across our portfolio of influence as a company.
I hope you find this as exciting as we all do and would like to get involved.
The first quarter of the year saw a burst of energy into our Foundation projects as travel restrictions were lifted across the continent. New community projects set up in remote areas of Kenya and Botswana have seen a pioneering impact in education, women empowerment and wildlife conservation. Our existing projects continue, such as Solar Mamas, Conservation Roots, Project Ranger and Rhinos Without Borders. Under the Green Heart of Great Plains’ vision, we continue to be innovative and break boundaries in waste management and sustainability.
Thank you for supporting our Great Plains Foundation initiatives and our long-term vision of wildlife conservation and community upliftment across Africa.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
- Great Plains (In partnership with 4x4Outfar) hosted a mobile Eye Clinic through 6 communities on the edge of the Okavango Delta, testing 1,200 children’s eyes and distributing glasses where needed.
- 2 Bridges Built in the Masai Mara to safely transport communities across to get children to school, families to food markets, health centres and clinics, and rangers to patrol the area.
- The first all-female anti-poaching unit was established in Botswana, hiring and training 7 women from communities surrounding the Okavango as the leaders.
- Our Solar Mamas have now installed over 200 household units in off-grid communities in Botswana.
- 1,078 indigenous trees were planted from January to March for ecosystem restoration and climate change resilience.
