David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Arrived in Nairobi and getting ready to head out tomorrow to the school project near Lewa. Took a moment to visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. It is an incredible program that rescues infants and helps get them healthy and mature enough to be released back into the wild. There is a great article this month in National Geographic about the organization and what they do. It also highlights all the challenges of poaching and the ivory trade. Worth a read. John
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A great way to start our trip to Kenya

Just wanted to pass along an email I received today.

I have been working very closely over the past few months with Faith Ruinga who heads up education development for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and she sent me this email yesterday which puts into perspective why we do this and the positive impact Equals3 Foundation can have at Karimba Primary School.

FROM FAITH****************

John,

We are all looking forward to seeing you. I was in Karimba yesterday and the reception is unbelievable! The parents are so excited and are looking forward to bringing in the children for evening preps and waiting for them while attending adult classes and then walking home together at nine. Was very interesting to hear their plans.

See you soon, a different community it is that awaits you.

Many thanks

Faith

*************************

Sometimes it all feels worth the effort.
John

We are on our way to Karimba School - Kenya!

Well it took over 6 months and tons of logistical issues but we are on our way to back for our next school project in central Kenya. Karimba primary school is located near Mt Kenya in the highlands that surround the mountain. This school supports approximately 300 children as well as adult education. The photo above is the library where we will be adding electricity for evening education and daytime use.

We will be working in the area between September 1st and September 12th. Please visit the blog often for stories and photos. I will be posting daily.

Thanks for all the support.
John

It is official!

Equals3 Foundation is now a public 501(c)(3) charity. All gifts are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.

Over the next few months, we will be implementing new online programs to make it even easier to send a gift. Until that time, you can go to our website to for the latest details on how to donate.

www.Equals3Foundation.org

I just want to thank everyone involved in getting this done. Your support has been amazing.
John

Crating the Power System for Karimba

We are well on our way to getting everything we need over to Kenya for our project at Karimba primary school. We have already procured in country the necessary batteries and solar panels and have had them trucked to our storage location at Lewa. We have also hired people to build our solar panels frames and complete the changes to the school to make the system secure. We are just about to ship the electronic components. The electronics have been assembled and tested in Ojai to make sure we can rapidly install everything once we arrive. From the time we crate a system to the time it arrives on site usual takes between 2-3 months because of all the approvals that have to happen before we airfreight the unit and the customs clearing when it arrives. Yes, we are air freighting the system and it still takes that long. Planning and logistics are always the biggest challenge but we are getting better at it. Mostly because we now understand all the pieces involved.

Hopefully all will go smooth and we will be installing in August!
John

Nairobi logistics meeting

We arrived back to Nairobi and had a logistics meeting with a recommended company that has a lot of experience with crate shipping for NGO's. It was very educational and with a little work we should be able to simplify some processes which should save the foundation time and money. Our next school project is Karimba which is shown above. Amazingly we need to be ready to ship equipment in the next few months if we want to install electricity by the end of August. It is very hard for us to get used to having to plan so far in advance for projects but it is the way of Africa...

Thank you all for the great emails and support. We should be home in a few days and already have so much work to do for Equals3! Sounds like fun...

John
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Joy's Camp

We arrived in north Kenya on a reserve call Shaba. When we landed, it was hot and everything around was dead from no water. We drove quite a distance over rock and dirt and to be honest, I was a bit concerned that this lodge may not be what I had hoped for. Joy's Camp is made famous by the book and movie "Born Free" and we had heard great things about this arid desert area. When we finally arrived I could not have been more surprised. In this dry and dusty area lay an amazing oasis fed by several natural springs. The luxury camp site is one of the best I have seen with all of the designs reflecting the Muslim culture of the area.

We have also met several people who are working on community projects that we may able to assist with in the future.

John
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Our ride

Our charter arrived to take us north and I was not if we would fit! We squeezed all of the luggage in and flew off without a problem. From the air we were able to get much better sense of the landscape and effects of they drought. Luckily, the area received its first rain since October a few days earlier and had given everything some temporary relief. From the air you could see the drought impact as we headed toward Somalia. The landscape looks completely burnt and most of the trees are dead. I am surprised that anything can survive on this area.

John
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Elvis

On our way to the air strip we stopped at a friends house on LEWA to say goodbye. We got a chance to meet Elvis the young wild Rhino. He was born on LEWA to a blind female and after birth was raised by the park because she could not take care of him. In this picture he was trying to get past the fence into the yard and decided to eat his way out. He is wild but I was able to touch his skin through the fence. It is amazingly thick and feels like thick rubber.

John
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Goodbye to LEWA

We have finished all of our work and meetings at LEWA and are getting ready to head north for a few days. Not sure what we will find because of the drought. We are moving off the plateau to the more northern dessert areas. I had to take one last photo of the incredible elephants.

John
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New Job

Carl and I have news jobs! We were headed back up to do a final review of our power system and meet with the school headmaster. Since it is Friday here people are heading home for the weekend. Most people work where the jobs are during the week and sleep in work supplied housing and go home for long weekends when they get a chance. Several people were walking to the village where we were headed so we offered rides for free. The walk would be about 12 miles through difficult terrain so the ride was greatly appreciated. Around Kenya there are small vans call MATATOOS which people can pile into for a fee. Carl and I where thinking of ways to increase our passenger count to make some money so we can get home.

John
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