Help protecting Malawi's elephants

Dear All,

With Christmas around the corner, we like many others reflect back as another year goes by and have all reasons to be very excited about 2012. Some great projects will be starting and many volunteers will visit and support our work.

Next year, we hope to be able to extend our elephant fence a further 12 kms to assist with the human-elephant conflict. We also hope to do a lot more work in the local communities to improve their livelihoods which in turn will help reduce them coming in to hunt inside the Reserves... and of course have more scouts trained.

But for now December in Malawi brings not only the festive season but also alot more work with the
poaching season at its peak. The ranger team is on high alert and out all day and night trying to protect our wildlife.

The following list shows some of the achievements over the last year, made possible due to continues support, generosity and efforts of so many and we would like to to thank you all so much for your committment:

• 22 arrests for illegal poaching
• Department of National Parks armed Rangers on site 100% of time
• Dedza Ranger Camp refurb Nov 2010
• Elephant Fence first phase - fully operational and maintained -100% operational all year -
• Zero elephant break through (they walk around it now!!), has been rewired, new Batteries, new regulators, new lightening diverters, new sirens, all functional, need new regulator for south fence which will be bought asap.
• Roads opened - and maintained - roads have been opened
• Start of elephant identification, updating and adding to bird listing
• Solar systems working in both camps and at gate
• Base camp buildings - all buildings have been maintained for rainy season, several new buildings have been built to try promote some small eco- tourism, new showers and toilets have been built,
• 2 WAG scouts sent on Ranger training
• 5 day operation working with the Malawian Army – DOF activated and paid for over 40 army personnel to be active in and around Thuma to clear up and arrest and confiscate any charcoal. We had 20 based at Thuma who did patrols with us inside and outside, many bags of charcoal were confiscated.

Please share information on this amazing project and our current Global Giving Fundraising Challenge widely with your friends and networks to help us succeed and earn a permanent spot on Global Giving. Please do remind them, that on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 there will be another Bonus Day with $6,000 in funds.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Susanne Kneissl