Royal African Foundation

Sand river corridor project the sand river corridor is the area between the maasai mara national reserve and the highland sacred forest of the lost child (naimina enkiyio), near the kenya-tanzania border. It links and encompasses areas with incredible biodiversity. In fact, in 2021 we helped sponsor the team that travelled a 100 mile stretch across the mara, sand river, sacred forest and down into the rift valley, and broke the world record for the most number of distinct mammal species seen in 24 hours anywhere on earth. Proving how biodiverse this area really is, and just how important it is to preserve it. Several elephant movement routes through this area have been recorded using geographic and elephant gps collar data collected by the mara elephant project, and this area is part of what keeps the serengeti, mara, great rift valley and amboseli ecosystems connected. Keeping these ecosystems connected is critical because it allows wildlife and communities to access different resources and maintain ecosystem health and resilience to changes in climate. The area has traditionally been communally owned rangelands belonging to semi-nomadic pastoralist maasai communities, but recent government policy changes mean the landscape is being subdivided and shared out into small individual titles. Parts of this area have already been fenced and converted into unplanned patchworks of small farms, which restrict connectivity and increase human-wildlife conflict. As part of a wider strategy to protect this area for the benefit of all who share it we are: 1.investing in land use planning and mechanisms to enable communities' governance and protection of their natural resources. 2.helping to create safe alternative sustainable livelihood options through our sand river soccer leagues project, beekeeping projects and adult education project which don't conflict with wildlife or restrict connectivity. 3.investing in research and monitoring through the mara elephant project. 4.continuing to support advocacy efforts for this area.

Westgate lpus leluai school lpus leluai school, is a very rural school in westgate community conservancy in samburu county, northern kenya. It already had some school buildings when we first visited it in 2008, but it didn't have much more than that. Over the years, they have asked for help and we and our donors have helped them by installing a solar lighting system in 2009 (which we repaired in 2022), an electric fence to stop elephants from chasing the students in the grounds (which we repaired in 2021). Together we have also donated things like desks, school books, stationary, sanitary towels for girls, mirrors, food supplies, gutters, and a water collection tank. Also, in 2022, the school had a total of 308 students, but only 3 toilets. So with the help of our donors, we built them 4 more toilets. We also restocked and refurbished their school library with textbooks and extra-curricular books. In 2023, they only had 36 beds for 54 boys and 28 beds for 48 girls in the school's boarding houses. So the aim of this project was to repair the boys' boarding house building and get 62 more beds to stop overcrowding in both boarding houses. This project has meant there are now 54 beds each for boys and girls (108 total), and that each student has their own bed. It has also expanded the school's boarding capacity for six more girls. At the same time the builder was to make renovations to the nearby westgate clinic as well including a new water tank, a new gate, new doors and chairs for staff and waiting patients.

Education sponsorships we sponsor students to achieve their dreams of finishing their education and many of these students become forces for positive change in their communities. In 2023 47 students were sponsored in kenya, tanzania and uganda, and in total the program had sponsored 83 students.

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