Baraza

Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Aug 12 2008 | By: baraza

Hello again everyone, we are back from an intensive few days of strategic business planning. Phew what a marathon!

Business planning can be frightening. It’s at times like this that one prepares oneself for the worst - a consultant telling you that you’ve got your plans back to front, your vision is impossible or your plans out of date and that THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE! But to hear the consultant, congratulating us for WildlifeDirect’s innovative and effective approach to conservation  was more than a relief. It gave us a renewed burst of energy and excitment. Not least was Richard Leakey who has always believed in the power of the general public in responding to emergencies if they have access to the right information.  He admitted rather sheepishly that he has never been absolutely sure that his idea could work though. So you can imagine how he took the news, he was grinning ear to ear as he listened to the consultant report on the great potential we have and advising on the way forward. As it turns out, most of what has been recommended was already thought of, much wasn’t ever implemented as we were not sure …. but now that we have seen the analysis and projectionsn we can push forward and break new ground. It is so exciting.

Isaac, Arisa (the cat-like dog from Turkana), Mary and I debate the vision of WildlifeDirect. We had the retreat at Dr Leakey’s house in the rift Valley where we had to work intensively in groups - the location is spectacular, the weather perfect for working outdoors, it was easy to get distracted by the splendid views, yet it was probably the most constructive planning time that we have had in months. The entire WildlifeDirect team participated and it enabled us to digest the outcomes of the various surveys and analyses that have been ongoing for a few months now.

David and Masumi in deep thought. A number of important decisions were made and we are really excited with the plans ahead - we will continue to do what we do well, while focussing on developing and sustaining our organization by building our team and securing sustainable funding for our core costs. We will also improve our website platform and facilities to make it easier for you readers, donors and friends as well as blogger. In terms of geographical focus, we will be investing in a major expansion over the next two years through the East and Central African countries of DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi to support the conservation of Africa’s most biologically important and diverse landscape, the amazing Albertine Rift.  Species like chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas, okapi, lions, monkeys, birds and fish in diverse habitats including lakes, swamps, forests, mountains and savannas.

Shelley, from the consulting firm TCC flew out from the USA for the retreat meeting most the WildlifeDirect team for the first time. Here she is with Mary, Maina and David. We have a huge amount to of work cut out for us and hope you enjoy helping us to achieve it!

Even though I knew that I had to focus only on planning, I felt totally cut off for those few days away from the blogs. It helped me think about the big picture, but it made me feel rather blog-homesick. Getting back to the blogs was like christmas - and there is a piece of news I was so excited to read on return - that Simon Thomsett’s effort to raise funds on his blog for an eye operation on a Crowned Eagle has already raised over $1,000! This is fantastic news and I called Simon to tell him. He was on his way to the eye clinic with Rosy who I could hear calling pityfully in the back seat. I’d like to thank you all for making it possible for us to help people and projects like Simon and Rosy.

We have had 2 months of overcast weather so the first day of sun was a great sign for us. In the evening we watched the sunset over the Great Rift Valley ……perfect!

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Tags: business planning, crowned eagle, richard leakey, Simon Thomsett, wildlifedirect

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