I am very passionate about wildlife conservation, especially the protection of Elephants in my birth country of Tanzania.  As a result of this I became friends with one of the true heroes in the battle to protect Elephants against the scourge of poaching, a man by the name of Wayne Lotter.  My friendship with Wayne commenced when I decided to become an ongoing financial donor to the wildlife conservation organisation (PAMS Foundation) that he helped establish in Tanzania.  Last year my wife, Fabienne and I spent a few months working as volunteers with PAMS. We have the deepest respect for the absolute dedication of the entire  PAMS team.  It has proven to be a highly effective organisation and has been credited with saving the lives of over 30,000 elephants and arresting over 2000 poachers, including the 'kingpins' of criminal networks through its innovative work in intelligence based and community based conservation. Its approach is now being adopted in other African countries

Shortly after we left Tanzania, Wayne was murdered by a criminal gang with international links that were unhappy with his effective work in arresting poachers and shutting down the elephant poaching 'industry'.  This was absolutely devastating for all those who knew Wayne and worked with him.  Eight people have been arrested and charged over his death.  However, Wayne's legacy continues to thrive through the ongoing work of the PAMS Foundation, whilst another new organisation called Wild Survivors has also been established in Tanzania to help reduce human-elephant conflict in rural areas through the construction of  beehive fences (yes Elephants are fearful of bees!)

Wayne's death was not an isolated incident.  Each year about 200 Park Rangers and other conservation activists around the world are murdered because of their dedication to the protection of all that is beautiful on planet earth.  

In honour of Wayne, during August Fabienne and I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro  in order to help raise funds to support the ongoing work of the PAMS Foundation and Wild Survivors.  The climb is being organised by the Founder of Wild Survivors.  Funds raised will be split evenly between both organisations.  I would be deeply grateful if you would sponsor our efforts by making a donation.

If you know of other people who may be interested in donating please pass this message on to them!

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Thanks for taking the time to read this.  All the best

Stefan