KARIBA ANIMAL WELFARE FUND TRUST

KARIBA ANIMAL WELFARE FUND TRUST- appeal for donations – small or big

The Kariba Animal Welfare Fund Trust (KAWFT) is a registered trust and was formed in 2010, by a group of conservation minded Kariba residents who were concerned about the numbers of snared and injured animals that were being found in the Kariba area. They realised that Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority manpower and resources were limited, so they formed an alliance with this regulatory body to assist them in the protection of the wild life in the Kariba area.

Over the years, the operation has grown to the point where a team consisting of 2 KAWFT "Scouts" and 1 ZIMPARKS ranger are out on patrol 5 days a week in various areas in and around Kariba, looking for and removing snares, as well as seeking to curtail any illegal wildlife activities or environmental degradation, such as illegal tree cutting. It was this team that discovered the recent snared lion.They also now have equipment that allows the teams to do 2 and 3 night overnight patrols in such places as Zebra and Antelope Island.

Because KAWFT now have a local resident licensed professional guide who has a Dangerous Drugs License for darting wild animals, the ZIMPARKS have come to rely on KAWFT whenever they have a snared or injured animal, and this has even covered such instances as far afield as Mana Pools. They also have an arrangement with Harare based wild life experienced veterinarians who are on call to attend whenever necessary.

There is no doubt that their efforts have been successful as they have removed many hundreds of snares and been involved in the saving of many snared animals including elephants, buffalo,zebra, hyena and the odd lion and smaller antelope. Also the numbers of snared animal incidents has decreased, and the numbers of game around Kariba, and on the foreshore, has increased both in numbers and variety.

KAWFT activities are now wide ranging, as they also get involved in anything else that will protect the animals and environment, such as clean up and collection of road side garbage, and this year undertook a major project, namely the complete diamond mesh and electric fencing around the Kariba Municipal rubbish dump. This was necessary as the elephants and other game were foraging and ingesting plastic and other toxic materials, from which some of them unfortunately died.This fence was funded buy a few donors but the majority was from a German Aid Agency.

While all the management and control is undertaken by volunteers, there are always of expenses!  These include wages, rations and uniforms for the game scouts, vehicle operating costs including fuel, insurance and repairs and maintenance, cell phone airtime and internet, 2 way radios and licenses, rations donation to ZIMPARKS, publicity material, etc etc. At present this is mainly funded by a few regular private donors in small amounts, by a number of 'one off' donations both cash and kind, and by fund raising events, all of this, while greatly appreciated, unfortunately makes the cash flow irregular;  this makes current operations difficult and future planning problematic. At this time, their one and only vehicle is off the road and in need of major repairs, so the deployment of game scouts etc., is being undertaken by volunteers in their private vehicles.

KAWFT's funds are strictly and transparently controlled. What is needed is a regular and reliable source of funding, and this is the reason for this appeal. I am soliciting regular donations, either monthly, quarterly, 6 monthly or annually in an amount of your choosing but no amount will be to small, (regularity of payment is more important than the amount), from anyone who has an interest in Kariba, or a general interest in preserving the wild life around Kariba, or purely because this is a just cause that is worthy of philanthropic support.

Derek Adamson
Kariba Resident Fundraiser.
Cell 0779410914

DONATION PAYMENT OPTIONS

  www.paynow.co.zw/kawft

ECO CASH REGISTERED NUMBERS for donations below

Sonya Mc Master (Registered Name – Stroebel) 0772 874 352

Debbie Ottman  0773 996 487

CABS PAYMENTS:

CABS KARIBA

ACC NAME – KARIBA ANIMAL WELFARE FUND TRUST

ACC No: 100 265 7636