You can Help Wildlife & People in Africa: Adopt an Acre now!

In this time of crisis, many of us want to help those in need. But, with so many struggling, it's difficult to decide whom to help and how.

African wildlife and local communities are fighting for survival due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which is why...

Today we're asking you to help protect Kenya’s wildlife conservancies.

To help the wildlife and local people that depend on these protected areas for survival.

If you want to have a lasting and meaningful impact on habitat, wildlife and people during coronavirus, this is how:

Adopt an Acre: Save Wildlife & Communities

Adopt part of a wildlife conservancy in Kenya and make a difference today. Your donation will help struggling communities and protect vulnerable wildlife in Africa.

It only costs US$35 to adopt an acre of wildlife conservancy for a year. That’s a donation of less than $3 (about £2.5) per month!

The conservancies have set up a fund to receive and administer donations to help the local people and wildlife.

Who gets the donations?

Donations go to the Wildlife Habitat Trust. A trust set up by Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Camps in response to the coronavirus crisis. These companies run the wildlife conservancies at Masai Mara and Amboseli national parks, in Kenya.

All Adopt-an-Acre donations go straight from the Wildlife Habitat Trust to:

1. The local Maasai communities who lease their land to the wildlife conservancies. 2. The local staff working at the conservancies and safari camps.

Paying local staff and landowner rents; enables the conservancies to continue existing. The conservancies, in turn, protect the wildlife (including threatened and endangered animals). Wildlife that is under greater threat than ever before.

All donations go to the local beneficiaries, in full.

Here's how they split donations between conservancy staff and the local Maasai:

• US$35 donation for 1 acre: US$15 to conservancy staff and US$20 to local families for rental of conservancy land.
• US$175 donation for 5 acres: US$75 to conservancy staff and US$100 to local families for rental of conservancy land.
• US$1050 donation for 30 acres: US$450 to conservancy staff and $600 to local families for land rent. Note: you'll get a free safari if you adopt 30 acres (see below)!

Adopt 30 Acres & Get a Free Kenya Safari!

If you adopt 30 acres, you’ll get a FREE African Safari. The full credit is for a Kenya Safari to one of the wildlife conservancies that you helped save! That is full credit to the value of $1050, which is what it costs to adopt 30 acres for a year.

On your free safari, you'll stay at a safari camp in one of the wildlife conservancies at Masai Mara or Amboseli. So, adopting 30 acres is a fantastic way to get an affordable, yet high-quality African safari. And have a huge, positive impact!

Why not help Africa’s wildlife and people whilst booking an excellent-value safari?

Your free safari will be valid for travel in 2021 or 2022, giving you plenty of time and flexibility to plan. When you adopt 30 acres you can book your free safari with us at African Budget Safaris.

How to Adopt an Acre (or more) of Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya

1. Go to the Adopt-an-Acre Donorbox page.

2. Select the number of acres you would like to adopt (from 1 to 300 acres).

3. Make an online payment on the donation page by debit card, credit card or PayPal.

Although the Wildlife Habitat Trust takes donations in US dollars, you don’t need a US$ account to make a payment.

Who oversees the funds?

Grant Thornton Kenya audits the Wildlife Habitat Trust. This is a reputable auditing firm in Nairobi, Kenya. They ensure that donations go directly to local staff members and communities.

Why Adopt-an-Acre in Africa?

The communities and wild animals of Africa are some of the hardest-hit by the global pandemic. One of the major reasons is that so many communities and wildlife populations in Africa depend on tourism for survival. But tourism revenues have dried up because of the coronavirus crisis. This has left countless people jobless and struggling to survive. So even though we’re all affected by COVID-19; it is the most vulnerable people and animals in Africa that need help most.

Help African Wildlife in Crisis

In Africa, millions of people are getting poorer and hungrier as COVID-19 continues to spread. Many of the rural communities that depend on tourism revenues are broke and running out of food. This desperate situation spells disaster for local wildlife populations. Especially, without rangers and guides there to protect them in Africa's parks and sanctuaries.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the greatest threat to African wildlife in our lifetime. It has resulted in an unprecedented crisis in wildlife conservation.

As local communities become more desperate for food and income, snaring and poaching increases. At the same time, there are fewer rangers and guides in the field to protect wildlife under threat.

For more about the wildlife crisis, see How the Covid-19 pandemic is threatening Africa’s wildlife on BBC.

Adopting an acre is an effective way to help save African wildlife and support communities in need. The number of acres you adopt is up to you, starting with one acre for a year.

Which conservancies can I adopt a piece of?

You can adopt parts of these 4 Kenyan wildlife conservancies:

1. Selenkay Conservancy (13,500 acres): part of the Amboseli Ecosystem (elephant hotspot & diverse wildlife)
2. Ol Kinyei (18,500 acres): bordering on Masai Mara National Reserve (Great Migration destination)
3. Naiboisho (3,500 acres): bordering on Masai Mara National Reserve (Lion hotspot & high wildlife densities)
4. Olare Motorogi (7,000 acres): bordering on Masai Mara National Reserve (Wildebeest Migration destination)

There are 42,500 acres up for adoption in total so you can adopt vast tracts of the Mara and Amboseli ecosystems if you choose to. This is a rare chance to become a custodian of some of the most famous wildlife areas on earth and help protect Africa’s most iconic animals.

What is a Wildlife Conservancy?

A wildlife conservancy is a protected area owned and/or run by the local people. It is not an official national park or reserve because the government does not manage or own it. Wildlife conservancies often border on national parks and share unfenced boundaries with them. Find out more: Reserve, Park or Conservancy? What do the names mean?

Who will my donation help?

The local Maasai people. The communities who have a pivotal role to play in wildlife conservation in these key wildlife areas.

The 247 Maasai staff working at the conservancies and safari camps in the conservancies. And, the hundreds of local Maasai families that lease their land to the conservancies.

Which wild animals benefit if I adopt an acre?

The conservancies are home to most of Africa’s large mammal species; including the Big Five of Africa.

Your donation will help protect:

• Africa’s big cats: lions, leopards and cheetahs

• Endangered animals: rhinos and wild dogs 

• Large mammals: wildebeest, buffalo and elephants

• Plains game: zebras, giraffes and antelopes

• Predators: jackals, hyenas, African wildcats and more

Adopt an Acre to Help Save African Wildlife & People Today!

Across Africa, tourism goes hand-in-hand with effective wildlife conservation and community survival. Tourism revenue has, however, dried up because of the COVID-19 crisis, with disastrous results for many of Kenya’s people and animals.

The local Maasai families and dedicated people working in Kenya’s conservancies need your help to get through the COVID-19 crisis. So do the wild animals found in these important wildlife areas.

Help save wildlife, habitat and people in Africa, today. Help them survive these tough times by adopting an acre of Kenya.

Go to the Adopt-an-Acre Donorbox page and donate today.