Giving More to Africa

We believe that travelling to Africa is one of the most viable ways to support the African wildlife, environment and people. But as we all know, Africa faces many challenges, including access to health care and education and balancing the conservation with development. Many clients have asked how they can give still more to Africa in the course of their travels.

We're proud to support the work of these non-profit organizations involved in education and conservation. Please return to this page for updates on our involvement with them and the progress of their work in Africa.

Education

• Teach With Africa was founded in the summer of 2007 by two Timeless Africa clients, Margie and Larry Schlenoff, who wanted to help improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged children in South Africa after falling in love with the country and people during their travels. They asked Julian if he knew of any schools which would be interested in working with a US-based non-profit, and Julian connected them with John Gilmour, founder and headmaster of the LEAP Schools - the rest, as they say, is history.

Teach With Africa (TWA) is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization focused on capacity building in the areas of education and entrepreneurship. By funding fellowships to send experienced educators to serve as mentors and trainers to teachers working in under-served schools and communities, Teach With Africa's "teach the teachers" model supports the growth and development of local educational and entrepreneurial leadership. Teach With Africa is committed to working closely with local partners to address locally identified needs and generate sustainable and lasting impact. Teach With Africa Fellows are experienced educators who work to build local capacity by providing teacher training including lesson planning and assessment practices; professional development for educators and student teachers in training; IT training and curriculum support; and entrepreneurship training and consulting. Teach With Africa facilitates fellowship placement; provides local support through a local program director; and funds travel, meals, and housing during the Fellowship. Ongoing support for community partners is provided through online mentoring and long-term engagement through returning Fellowship placements. Since Teach With Africa's inception, its core partner has been the LEAP Science and Maths Schools, an innovative educational initiative with remarkable success in educating the most economically and socially challenged students from the poorest townships in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In 2011, Teach with Africa launched an Early Childhood Development (ECD) program in partnership with Singita Game Reserves (Singita Sabi Sand), the Sabi Sand Consortium, and READ Educational Trust - a groundbreaking initiative which is being studied by the Department of Education as a potential model for an early childhood development curriculum in rural South Africa. Teach With Africa continues to grow and has sent over 120 educators to 6 program sites across South Africa. Julian Asher serves on the board of directors at Teach With Africa and received the Teach With Africa Spirit Award in 2012 for his contributions to Teach With Africa's growth and development. Timeless Africa is proud to be Teach With Africa's travel partner and a major sponsor of the annual gala fundraiser in San Francisco.

Donations can be made through the Teach With Africa website (tax-deductible for US residents), through Facebook, or through Timeless Africa.

• Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is dedicated to helping children whose lives have been disrupted by illness, poverty and the HIV/Aids epidemic. Using environmental education, therapeutic recreation and good old-fashioned fun, CITW opens up their minds, increases their self-esteem, strengthens their abilities to cope with life's challenges, and educates them with the life skills necessary to actualize their greatest potential. Groups of children aged 8 - 17 are hosted for up to a week at one of Wilderness Safaris' camps free of charge. A well-structured curriculum is offered in a safe wildlife environment where nature becomes the teacher and the healer, aided by well-trained counsellors with immense all-round life skills. They return home with enthusiasm and new ideas that rub off on their families and communities, promoting the conservation of critically threatened environments. CITW runs camps in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, the Seychelles, and South Africa.

The camps are always in need of funding and supplies. If you haven't used all of the free checked baggage space on your international flights and would like to help out, please contact us for an updated 'wish list' from the camps in the country you're visiting.

• SCALEAfrica is a newly created non-profit organization dedicated to improving rural schools in developing countries through the use of sustainable building techniques and active community participation. The model of sustainable design is intended to allow communities to build in ways that can be supported and maintained by their existing resources, with a focus on improving public health and education. In partnership with Luangwa River Lodge in Mfuwe, Zambia, its current goal is to begin rebuilding Chiutika Basic School, which, in February 2006, was destroyed by heavy rains and wind. This was the only four-room classroom that served more than 1,000 students. Setting aside the problem of the roof and too few classrooms for all the students, there are few books, desks or educational materials. The state of the teacher's housing is dire, most of it crumbling. Without enough houses to accommodate the teachers on the school grounds, many live in the villages and walk extremely long distances to the school daily. There is no running water, electricity or sanitation. Students and their families are asked to pay for school uniforms, lesson books and supplies. Click on the link above to learn more about supporting SCALEAfrica through money or donating supplies.

Conservation

• The Botswana Predator Conservation Trust is the brainchild of husband and wife team Dr J Weldon (Tico) McNutt and Lesley Boggs-McNutt. Founded as the Botswana Wild Dog Research Project in 1989 as part of Tico's PhD in Animal Behaviour from the University of California, Davis at a time when virtually nothing was known about this highly endangered carnivore in any region outside the Serengeti. The project provided immense insight into the behaviour of wild dogs and is now one of the world's longest-running large predator research projects; it has served as a template for wild dog research programmes in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa. Tico chairs the Wild Dog Working Subgroup of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Canid Specialist Group, the world's chief body of scientific and practical expertise on the conservation of canid species. Lesley Boggs joined Tico in 1992 while pursuing her PhD in Development Anthropology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on the relationships between protected areas and human use of the surrounding land, including photographic tourism, community utilisation, and livestock farming. In partnership with wildlife photographers Helene Heldring and Dave Hamman (owners of Chitabe Camp), Tico and Lesley authored the definitive book on wild dog behaviour, Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog. Renamed the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust, it is now an umbrella program for large predator research including leopard, cheetah, spotted hyaena, and wild dogs. A key aspect of BPCT's work has been to link conservation and environmental issues to decision-making in the ongoing development of rural Botswana. We are particularly involved in the support of continued research on African wild dogs, which remain one of the most endangered species in Africa, and Julian co-chairs BPCT's annual London fundraiser.

If you wish to support this programme, donations can by made via WildEntrust International (tax-deductible for US residents) or Just Giving (UK residents). If you are a UK taxpayer, please indicate this when you donate via Just Giving so that BPCT can receive the supplemental Gift Aid from the UK government.

• The South Luangwa Conservation Society is a non-profit community based organisation committed to the conservation and preservation of the local wildlife and natural resources of the South Luangwa National Park and surrounding game management areas. The society is involved in many projects, including anti-poaching patrols and snare removal; community development projects; educating local children to appreciate their heritage and work towards sustainable wildlife utilisation and a balanced coexistence; helping local communities in mitigating human/animal conflict through the chili fence project; management and sponsorship of Uyoba Community School.