Wild Africa

I've been longing to return to Africa and reminiscing about an amazing 3-week trip to Kenya in 2017.

That was my fifth trip to Africa, and my third to Kenya. I was joined by a friend from Scotland and a couple from England, all of whom I had met the previous year on a trip to Kenya. The trip saw us visiting four different camps in northern Kenya, for stays lasting from four to seven days each. 

This adventure was outstanding in so many ways. In addition to seeing and photographing lots of wild animals, we went for a horseback ride in Borana. We were able to get pretty close to giraffes and zebras, as well as enjoying the beautiful weather. We followed a pride of 15 lions one late afternoon, with two of the pride's three adult males walking just an arm's length from our vehicle. We watched a beautiful leopard and her cub over the course of three days. She was totally unperturbed by the presence of numerous safari vehicles.

Also while in Borana, we were part of a group that replaced a radio collar on a lioness. Once she was located, a Kenyan veterinarian tranquilized her with a rifle-fired dart. After she was down, she was quickly moved into the shade, her eyes were covered and water was poured over her to keep her body from overheating. After the old collar was removed and the lioness fitted with a new one, the veterinarian collected blood and tissue samples. Then a lion researcher took a variety of body measurements -- from length of the animal's tale to the size of her paws -- before the vet gave her a drug to reverse the anesthetic. We had hoped to be involved with the collaring of a male lion the next day, but he and his pals were in an area too inaccessible to be safely reached.

I visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's elephant orphanage in Nairobi three times. The 11 a.m. visit is open to anyone, while the 5 p.m. visit is open only to those who sponsor one or more of the orphans and who sign up in advance. It was great fun watching the babies rush to their individual stockades at the end of a day spent in Nairobi National Park. Each baby gets a bottle or two of special milk formula, as well as freshly cut greens before being closed in its individual stockade for the night. 

I spent several minutes with one of my three sponsored orphans (the other two had moved on to the next phase of their preparation for return to the wild). Mbegu is now four years old and described as a 'mini matriarch.' While making our final visit to the orphanage, we ran into Iain Douglas-Hamilton, noted elephant researcher and father of Elephant Watch Camp's manager and wildlife filmmaker Saba Douglas-Hamilton. We had met Iain the previous year while visiting the camp in the Samburu National Preserve.

We visited the Maasai Mara to watch the Great Migration. Some 1.5 million wildebeests and countless zebra make this annual circular migration through Kenya and Tanzania.

I got to meet the student whose high school education I am sponsoring. She 8is Turkana, from one of the many tribes in Kenya. She was very shy, probably due to her developing English skills and the fact that females in her culture are expected to be submissive. She said that chemistry is her favorite subject in school. We learned that we both love Coke (she had had Coke only once before), and both of us have blue as our favorite color. The lunch that was served was entirely foreign to the students, and mine definitely did not like lettuce! Another sponsored student, also Turkana, visited his sponsors at the same time.

I tried some portrait photography with a few of the incredible Samburu people who work at EWC, although I would have liked to photograph more of them. The tracker assigned to my group, a young man named Skanga, was extremely cooperative and seemed to enjoy being photographed. 

This trip was a bonanza for watching lions, including males, young adults and mothers with cubs. We were lucky enough to see a lone male cheetah, as well as two different mothers, each of which had two older cubs in tow.

In all, I shot more than 9,500 images with my two cameras. Of course, thousands got deleted when I got home, but I still have some good images. The wildlife viewing was phenomenal, and my photography has improved considerably since my first trip five years ago. I won't get to visit Kenya again for a couple of years, but I hope my trips to Ethiopia and Botswana will be equally as rewarding..

The World in Black and White

While on vacation in Kenya recently, I decided to experiment with my camera's 'monochrome' setting, which allows me to take photographs in black and white.

We were watching a large herd of elephants trying to decide whether to cross a crocodile-infested river. The animals had been standing in the river for several minutes, so this was a good opportunity to switch the camera to 'monochrome.'

When I got home, I submitted one image (I would have submitted more but my computer was acting up) to a photo contest at www.viewbug.com. You can see the image here: https://www.viewbug.com/photo/74378314?type=myaward  and below.  I was pleased the next day to see that a fellow photo enthusiast had given this image a peer award. 

I took a couple other shots in monochrome as well.

Finally, I took this image of several Samburu warriors celebrating and dancing. 

 I don't think I will switch all of my photography to black-and-white, but it's fun to see the world from a different perspective once in a while.



 

What To Do With $1,500

What can I do with $1,500?

• I could pay rent for one month in some US cities. 
• I could buy a fancy 4K television. 
• I could buy a nice camera or a decent telephoto lens.
• I could go shopping and buy some nice clothes.
• I could buy a couple of the latest smart phones.

Or, I could change a life by making a charitable contribution to the Save the Elephants scholarship fund. This will pay for one year of high school for a deserving student in Kenya. This is what I have chosen to do.

My $1,500 annual donation helps provide education, uniforms and supplies for a young lady named Jecinta, who was left orphaned when her parents died of AIDS. She was taken in by an older brother with a family of his own. The brother can't afford to send Jecinta to school. If she doesn't go to school, she will spend her life herding goats or cattle. She might be married off at a very young age and end up taking care of a husband and several children. Instead, she is attending high school.

This young lady has dreams of a better life. She wants to work in the medical field, hopefully as a doctor. If she can't get into medical school, she wants to become a nurse or a pharmacist. Despite the challenges of going to a new school and having to learn twice as many subjects as in her primary school (including physics and chemistry), her first semester grade average was B-. (Kenyan schools typically start in early January). She wasn't satisfied with that grade, however, writing that "it was very painful" for her to get that grade. She has promised to work even harder the next semester. She also has joined her school's wildlife club and vows to work to protect Kenya's wildlife, particularly elephants.

So far 129 students have completed their secondary school education under this program, with 10 currently in college. One, who completed his secondary education in 2005, emerged as the top student in his district. With the help of the program and his sponsor, in 2013 he completed his 6-year medical degree at Nairobi University and is now a doctor in that district. Another, the program's first-ever scholarship student to get straight ‘A’s in his final exams, has graduated with first class honors in geospatial engineering at the University of Nairobi, a path that has led him back to studying the very elephants that brought him his education.

I can think of nothing more worthwhile on which to spend $1,500 than providing an education for a deserving, intelligent student. I chose to sponsor a female student because opportunities for girls are fewer than for boys. 

One day I hope to meet Jecinta in person. Because her school is in Samburu, in northern Kenya, I likely won't get to meet her during my next trip there. She will be in school. But I have bought five books, a photo album (with pictures of me, my family and house) and a New Mexico T-shirt that I will give to a Save the Elephants representative in Nairobi to give to her during their next meeting. I also will send a letter of encouragement to this blossoming young scholar. 

For more information about sponsoring a deserving student, go to http://www.savetheelephants.org/project/elephant-scholarships/

Trying Something New

I'm trying something new this year -- wall calendars.

I travel a lot and take thousands of photographs every year. My online friends always comment about how much they enjoy seeing my pictures of far-away places. So this year, I am offering to make a calendar featuring any of my photographs for only $20, domestic postage included if paid by PayPal.

Here's what makes my calendars unique: I will make each calendar using the photographs the buyer chooses. I have just finished the first six orders, and no two calendars are the same. Most of my photographs feature either wildlife or landscapes, although I do have photos of ancient ruins, buildings, etc. Here are a couple of examples.

If you or someone you know loves elephants, for example, I can design a calendar with only photographs of elephants. Or perhaps you prefer scenes of the American Southwest. I can do that, too. I just finished a calendar as a gift for a friend I met on this trip to Kenya, featuring photos of elephants and other wild animals we saw on that trip.

By offering these one-of-a-kind calendars for sale, I hope to raise funds for the scholarship program of Save the Elephants, a wonderful organization in Kenya that has been studying and protecting elephants for many years. Through its scholarship program, high-achieving pasturalist students will have the opportunity to attend high school. Without a high-school education, these bright students will likely spend their lives herding goats and cattle. I already am sponsoring a female student, whom I hope to meet in Nairobi next summer.

My best shots are on my page at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-ann-sullivan.html?tab=artwork or you can choose from the many photos on my FB page, Desert Mountain Photography. I pay for the printing of the calendars, the tax and PayPal fees, so a full $10 from the sale of every calendar will be donated to the scholarship fund. I make NO profit from these calendars.

I get a couple of new wall calendars every year, and I know lots of other people do, too. So why not order a custom wall calendar and help a deserving student go to school at the same time?

Questions? E-mail me at desertmountainphotography15@gmail.com 

New Art Available

Announcing the availability of a couple of new photographs from my recent trip to South Africa:

These and other images are available at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-ann-sullivan.html and at https://desertmountainphotography.smugmug.com/

All proceeds from the sale of images and other photographic products on these two sights will be donated to the Save the Elephants' scholarship fund to make it possible for a deserving but impoverished Kenyan student to attend high school. Details are available at www.savetheelephants.org

Sponsor a Student, Change a Life

I recently signed on to sponsor the high-school education of a deserving student in Kenya who otherwise would not be able to attend high school. I have joined other like-minded people who believe in the power of education to save lives, and who are willing to commit to sponsoring a $1,500/year scholarship through the Save the Elephants scholarship program.

I am sponsoring a female student, whom I hope to meet next  year when I visit Kenya. But I want to do more. There are many students deserving of a chance at a better life. This is where you and others can help. 

I have set up two Web sites: https://desertmountainphotography.smugmug.com/ and http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-ann-sullivan.html with my best photographs for sale. Every penny raised from the sale of

photographs and other items will be donated to the Save the Elephants scholarship program. 

Or you can donate directly at www.savetheelephants.org

Please check the websites from time to time, as I am adding new images all the time.

Just imagine the difference an education can make in the difference of a student in Kenya. Imagine the possibilities that lie ahead for these students from pastoralist communities who otherwise will spend their lives herding goats and cattle, living in huts. 

I visited a school in rural Kenya in 2014. Despite the fact the school had no electricity or running water, no computers, and no classroom supplies or equipment, the students were engaged and eager to learn. Most of them, including the little ones, walked several miles to and from school each day. They ate their lunch, brought from home, on the ground. Their classrooms had dirt floors. Yet the students wanted to learn. Now imagine what your donation can do to make a direct impact on their lives. 

For more information, go to http://savetheelephants.org/project/elephant-scholarships/

Buy a Photo, Change a Life

I love to travel, and I love photography. I also am a firm believer in the power of education to change lives and to make the world a better place. 

So when I heard about the wonderful scholarship program of Nairobi-based Save the Elephants, I had to learn more. According to the group's Web site (www.savetheelephants.org), they "work closely with local primary schools in the area to select highly motivated intelligent students who come from pastoralist backgrounds and whose families are unable to afford the school fees.

Sponsoring these young people provides them with a rare and precious opportunity that will change their lives.

So far 29 students have already completed their secondary school education under this program and 10 are in university. One, who completed his secondary education in 2005, emerged as the top student in Isiolo District. With the help of the program and his sponsor Chip Owen, in 2013 Anthony Lekoitip completed his 6-year Medical degree in Nairobi University and is now a doctor in Isiolo. Benjamin Loloju, our first-ever scholarship student to get straight ‘A’s in his final exams – appearing in the country’s top 100 students of 2009 – is taking on the technical world of Geospatial Engineering at the University of Nairobi, a path that may lead him straight back to studying the very elephants that brought him this far.

Dr. Lekoitip says: “I thank Save the Elephants and Elephant Watch Camp for all they have done for my life. They are my heroes and heroines.”

This program goes the extra mile to build both intellect and character, and the sponsor has a unique opportunity to be part of this journey. The students build friendships with their sponsors, and with STE and stay in close contact the whole way through termly letters and pictures."

The cost to sponsor a deserving student through four years of secondary (high) school is $6,000 US, or just $1,500/year. I am sponsoring a female student, who will be chosen in January when scholarship recipients are named.

I have set up two Web sites, https://desertmountainphotography.smugmug.com/ and at www.fineartamerica.com, with my best

photographs for sale. Every penny raised from the sale of photographs and other items will be donated to the Save the Elephants scholarship program. 

So if you believe in the power of education to change lives, please consider sponsoring a deserving Kenyan youth. If you can't afford $6,000 for a four-year scholarship, please help by purchasing a photograph. And please, share this opportunity with friends, family and coworkers. If you prefer to donate directly to the scholarship fund, please do so.

The Kenyan people are warm, kind and extremely nice. I have visited Kenya twice and I am planning another trip next year. The students are eager to learn, and with your help, more of them will be able to make their dreams come true.