Giving Tuesday: Today is a great day to give

Dear Friends,

During the holiday season, we think about others less fortunate than us. We have all been affected by Covid-19 but Kenyan children in rural areas have suffered in ways we cannot imagine. They have been out of school for a year with no access to online learning and returned this year at a time of great challenge. Many parents had lost their jobs, and the country is experiencing a drought that is annihilating livestock and wild animals across half of the nation. The prospects for children in public schools look tough. They never had much but now they have even less. We have not given up on them and we are determined to give them an end of the year to remember through trips to protected areas and a 2022 to look forward to.

One of our most exciting and fulfilling programs at WildlifeDirect is Education and Outreach. Children across Kenya join our Wildlife Warriors Kids Clubs for place-based learning in their schools and communities.

Does this program work? Yes! Our children need opportunities to engage experts, test their curiosity, and learn. We have seen our children grow and develop over the years, and graduate with better grades, win scholarships to high schools because they are more responsible, hard-working, and knowledgeable. Nature, after all, is the best classroom – curiosity and exploration lead to more reading, better math skills and an interest in STEM.