The Gift of Giving

Travel to Africa holds a unique power: the power to transform, the power to teach, and perhaps the greatest power of all in our distracted world - the power to inspire feelings of profound gratitude. In my nearly two decades as the founder and CEO of ROAR AFRICA, I have seen countless guests return from the vast, inimitably wild savannahs of my childhood, motivated and forever changed by the simple joy of experiencing warm, authentic people, ancient culture and untouched nature as it should be.

Every year around the holidays, I smile and think of these guests, their gratitude and the immense impact they have left in their wake. I am also reminded of our conservation partners, many of whom are women flying on the winds of change toward a better future for themselves, their fellow Africans and for the wild spaces they call home. The holidays are a time devoted to bonding and celebrating with loved ones. However, this season is also a time to meditate on the idea of gratitude and all the abundance we are so fortunate to enjoy. Today it is my pleasure to celebrate the conservationists and the ROAR AFRICA guests who are the changemakers of tomorrow.

I opened this message to you with a moving quote from Cindy Gentry, a guest and friend, who, after traveling with ROAR AFRICA to Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa was inspired to pass the torch forward and become a board member of the Girls Foundation of Tanzania (TGFT). This life-changing organization sponsors and educates 100 high-achieving girls battling extreme poverty, transforming their futures and encouraging them to realize their full potential. What greater purpose is there? Cindy is but one of dozens of guests who have become agents of change for Africa, creating new initiatives of incredible and lasting impact on the ground, including educational opportunities, scholarships, documentaries, funding for conservation projects, TED Talks, new businesses for African women and more, which you can read about here.

Our company mission statement is, "If African women rise, wildlife will thrive", and every year this core belief proves more and more true. From the progress of female conservationists in the field like Dr Moreangels Mbizah of Wildlife Conservation Action and ecologist Sarah Clegg of The Malilangwe Trust in Zimbabwe to the continued success of primatologist, Dr Tara Stoinski’s work protecting Rwanda’s wild mountain gorillas (read here), and Dr Lucy King’s continued impact with her Elephants and Bees Project. It’s also been an especially momentous year in rhino conservation. In March, we were delighted to share the announcement of what will be the world’s largest rhino sanctuary at Segera, Kenya. Thanks to a very generous donation by our ROAR AFRICA guests to the project, Segera is forging ahead with this groundbreaking initiative that will change the trajectory of rhino conservation in Africa forever. We are deeply grateful for this commitment to the preservation of our last remaining wild spaces and the protection of this species. (In other Segera news, their incredible 2021 documentary, Ranger, on Kenya’s first female ranger program, hits American streaming services Apple TV and Amazon this month.) We were also thrilled to see the development of Kennedy Zakeer, founder of rhino conservation initiative The Council of Contributors, new 1540-acre rhino rehabilitation haven in South Africa. Both sanctuaries will safeguard and shine a much-needed bright light on this critically endangered keystone species.

My life’s mission has been to share my home in a thoughtful, sensitive and responsible way with guests, friends, whoever will let me…As we step into the bright lights of the holiday season, I would like to express my personal gratitude to you, our beloved ROAR AFRICA community for joining us in our commitment to leave a legacy of positive impact in every way we can and urgently protect the wild spaces that are the source of our greatest joy. I’ll leave you with another quote from Cindy that beautifully sums up the feeling of gratitude only Africa inspires, “I was struck by the beauty of the African savannah, the importance of maintaining and conserving the biodiverse environment and the need to protect wildlife; it changed my life.”

To learn more about responsible safari travel with ROAR AFRICA or to book a journey, click here. To learn more about conservation initiatives and our 2025 Women’s Empowerment Retreat, click here.