The Circle of Gratitude

Segera's Rhino Sanctuary

I see this so clearly at Segera in Kenya, where the world’s largest rhino sanctuary is taking shape. To watch a translocated rhino step onto new soil, knowing an ancient species has just been given another chapter, is profoundly moving. When you choose to travel to Segera with us, you are not just watching the rhinos, but underwriting a different future for the continent’s most iconic species.

You are also, in a very real way, planting a ‘Tree of Life’, sometimes quite literally in planting indigenous trees as part of Segera’s reforestation work, and always through Segera’s 4Cs philosophy of Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce, where every stay protects wildlife, sustains local families and keeps Laikipia’s wild beauty and stories alive for the next generation.

Rwanda's Muhisimbi Youth Centre

In Rwanda, the circle continues at the Muhisimbi Youth Center, a teenage pregnancy center, where young mothers with no family support learn new skills and begin to imagine a life beyond survival. Many of you have been moved to support this work after visiting. That is what legacy looks like in real time.

Guardians of the Wild

At the heart of so many of these stories are women and men: guides, rangers, educators and community leaders whose courage and tenderness hold everything together. Women like Tshepo at Xigera in Botswana, who stepped from behind the camera into the driver’s seat to guide our guests, and the female ranger teams at Segera who patrol with grace and strength. Jolie, the park ranger in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, guiding you to the gorillas; Tovhi at ROAR AFRICA who went from guiding to the Head of Guest Experiences and now leads a team and cohosts the best jet trip in the world The Greatest Safari on Earth; and Emmanuel who started the Muhisimbi Youth Center – a simply remarkable feat.

True to our vision, “If African women rise, wildlife will thrive,” I have learned, over and over, that as women show up for one another, children, communities and animals rise with them. My only wish is that women would do more of this for one another; that we consciously choose to support and uplift women whenever and wherever possible. How else do we shift culture and form a better more equitable world?

This is the circle of gratitude that you are part of when you travel with ROAR AFRICA. It is unique, precious and far reaching in a real way - and the continent holds these acts of kindness and support long after you step off the plane at home.

I will leave you with this powerful video from my dear friend, David Whyte - “Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given. Gratitude arises from by paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without and beside us…”

With the utmost gratitude for your support, loyalty and love.

Thank you for being part of our circle.