An Inside Look at The Future of Conservation in Africa

In the South Luangwa Valley in Africa, one of the many important organizations doing work to support wildlife conservation and local education is the Chipembele Wildlife Education Center. 

The faces behind the organization are Anna and Steve Tolan, who chose the African nation of Zambia as their home in 1998. This followed several visits to Africa where they developed an affinity for the culture and the people. The two came from the U.K. after retiring from careers as police officers.

They chose Mfuwe, Zambia, because it felt like home and still had a “wild” feel to it, Anna said. After being gifted some land on the Luangwa River by the local chief, Anna and Steve wanted to give back. 

That’s when Anna founded Chipembele, which is focused on educating students and giving them the necessary skills to become a new generation of conservation leaders in Zambia. The name Chipembele, which translates to “rhino,” pays homage to the extinct species and serves as a reminder that no other animal should meet the same fate. 

Anna has built Chipembele from the ground up while Steve has worked to support the local area through voluntary forest and wildlife patrols. Anna built classrooms, launched programs, sponsored the education of numerous local children, recruited other sponsors, and managed operations for the nonprofit. 

“For the first 10 years I was a one-woman band,” Anna said.

Now, Chipembele has grown into an organization with offices in the heart of the community and six educators on staff who can help Anna with education. This year alone, Anna has sponsored 62 children, 12 of whom are now in college, with the intention of having these students pursue a degree in wildlife or conservation so they can give back to their communities. 

This year Chipembele also launched a new leadership program called the Mentors at Chipembele, which gives students who are waiting to go to university or find jobs an opportunity to gain additional leadership skills. For 2020, Chipembele selected eight students for the program, and next year there will be 10. 

“We pick our real stars for this program,” Anna said.

With a smart, motivated team in place and a clear purpose, Chipembele is poised to change countless lives. But doing the work is particularly hard right now because of the economic hit Zambia has taken from lost tourism dollars during the pandemic. Anna said it’s been difficult to plan for the future with limited funding.

Morale remains high – Anna has been able to keep all her staff employed while many other organizations have laid people off – but Chipembele needs financial support. 

A donation of any size to Chipembele will support local students in Zambia and help Anna and her team continue to educate conservation leaders for the future. A commitment of $480 would pay one year’s tuition for a child in daytime secondary school and provide necessary supplies, while a gift of $5,000 would cover a year of college-level education for a student, including tuition, accommodation and transportation.

Africa Hope Fund has supported Chipembele through student sponsorships and skills training since 2007. CEO Carol Van Bruggen feels that Anna has touched hundreds of lives in the South Luangwa Valley over the last 22 years she has spent in Zambia, and would like to see this important work continue.