Empowering young Zambian eco-leaders

As this is the first report for GlobalGiving since launching our campaign, I would like start by thanking each of you for your involvement during the campaign and beyond, and for making it possible for us to expand our support for the next generation of conservation leaders in Zambia.

We were pleased to conclude our intensive year-long conservation leadership programme with a graduation ceremony for our six very motivated students, one of whom even received a distinction. The programme is for the top school leavers from our conservation clubs to help bridge the gap from school to tertiary level courses in conservation and a conservation-related career. They all have been accepted for places at University and we are currently seeking funding to help sponsor them. The students have all shone in their different ways during the programme and we are excited to see what incredible things they will go on to achieve.

One recent example of their commitment was linked to a call we received about a baby elephant stuck in a makeshift well in a local community. The rescued elephant was taken to our Rehabilitation Centre for stabilisation before it could be moved to an orphanage in Lusaka. The elephant keepers who had been used in the past were unavailable so we selected two of the students to fill in. They did a fantastic job caring for the elephant, which needed constant company and to be feed every 3 hours.

We have also been busy with many other community activities, one of which was distributing our conservation-themed magazine called 'Kalata for kids' to school children. Our dedicated and knowledgeable Community Conservation Educators engage the children by reading through it with them.

The Chipembele team wishes everyone a very happy 2022 and we are looking forward to a busy and conservation-filled year ahead.