As you'll have seen, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, based in Nairobi has now become a part of the curriculum of the Conservation entities whose work Safaritalk will be promoting. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick provided her assistance in preparing the article here and granted me an in-depth and fascinating interview which can be found here. A truly fascinating Lady with whom it has been my great pleasure to speak with.

You'll see how the format of the site is developing, (in addition to the forum area) inasmuch as once a group becomes involved they will have an introduction page, and their own sub forum within Safaritalk, where for instance news, appeals, volunteer talk etc can be posted. Also a section devoted to donations and sponsorships which will be linked to from the portal page (the menu "How You Can Help") - and then this page itself will link directly to the Conservation entity's official site and donations page.

With regard to the big name groups this won't necessarily provide anything new but for smaller groups previously without publicity this could attract new donations in the long run, especially as they will be side by side by the more well established groups.

Another article I've started is "The 25 dollar donation - does it make a difference?" which can be found here. For those of us unable to donate a larger amount but who would still like to help, this gives an idea of just how far that amount can stretch and the difference it can make with people like Anna Tolan from Chipembele and Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick giving an insight on exactly how they could spend it. So as the weeks pass I'll make new additions to the article talking with people on the ground in Africa and publishing their comments on the initiative.

I have recently made a 50 UK pounds donation to The Chipembele Wildlife Education Centre and will be writing on short article soon following the donation from Credit card to purchase of equipment in Zambia. And that's what I think matters to someone considering financial assistance - if they can actually see the end result and how it makes a difference on the ground in Africa. I'll know exactly how my money has been spent and see the difference it makes to someone's life.

And before signing off I just want to make note of spam messages that might appear from time to time on the forum. I try to make time both in the morning and evening to go through the whole site and remove anything that is suspicious or unwanted but there will be times when I'm unable to do so. In that case bear with me for an hour or two or if something has been up a while just send me a P.M or email in case I've missed it for whatever reason. I actually will be going on holiday soon, alas not Africa but a week in New York and I'll advise you all in good time about my departure and arrival dates so no one is worried that nothing is happening on Safaritalk.

In the meantime I'd like to welcome new members and I hope you enjoy your stay with us - this is a resource for you so please feel free to post or make comments, send me any feedback and so on, I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time, safari njema,

The Game Warden