Educate a future Wildlife Conservation Leader

I'm raising money for Loswitha Muriugani who I met last summer whilst volunteering with Painted Dog Research Trust in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  I was struck by what a bright, diligent, friendly girl she was, who did not have the easiest start in life, but was committed to trying to protect the wildlife in Zimbabwe and to educate people why conservation and wildlife are so important.

Loswitha has been given the opportunity to join the Wildlife Conservation Training Programme run by Wildlife ACT in South Africa in February 2020.  **UPDATE  9-1-2020: Loswitha got in touch late last night to say that her father had died unexpectedly.  She will therefore join Wildlife ACT in June during her long holidays from University.  Whilst it's a really sad reason, it will help with the fundraising as it will give us longer to try and cover all the costs for her attendance, and for Loswitha to do as much paid work as she can to raise the funds for this amazing opportunity**

For years, Wildlife ACT has been providing expert in-house training for their monitoring staff, to equip them with both theoretical knowledge and the practical skills needed to help save endangered and priority species, including the Black Rhino, African Painted Dog, Cheetah, Lion, Leopard and Vulture, from extinction. For the first time, the Wildlife ACT Conservation Training Course is open to selected members of the public. Loswitha has been offered a place on the course starting in February, but needs to raise funds to pay for the course (this is the majority of the cost) and also the transport costs to/from Zimbabwe to the renowned Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park - known to be the birthplace of wildlife conservation in Africa – where the course takes place.

Loswitha lives in Zimbabwe and although she didn't start her education until much later than most children, she worked really hard and became the first woman in her community – Sizinda - to attend a university.  She is currently studying Conservation Biology.

She has been working with Painted Dog Research Trust based in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, since 2015, helping with the project during every school and university holidays. 

The training programme will give her an understanding of the most up-to-date, in-field conservation techniques and practices.  During the four-week long course she will gain more experience with field work, which involves tracking of wildlife during the day and at night, mapping of sightings and creating identity kits using photographs for different species including birds. It will increase her understanding of how wildlife research and conservation work is done, the effective monitoring of wildlife habitats and behaviour and how this can be used to predict changes in ecosystems and  also how extinction of endangered species can be prevented by managing wildlife populations.

Loswitha told me "This training programme will help in my conservation biology studies as well as my undergraduate research project. It will help me in my chosen career in wildlife research and conservation. Having learnt how to study habitats, make predictions on future changes and apply necessary measures for the benefit of wildlife by conservation of species and the environment; these skills will be shared with my colleagues at University and the local community so that everyone understands why nature has to be conserved."

All contributions will make a huge difference and are greatly appreciated by Loswitha. Because she lives in Zimbabwe she is not able to set up her own GoFundMe page, but she has access to this account so that she can collect all the donations. Thank you in advance!