Born to Fly. Saving Africa’s wildlife through education.
East Africa’s wildlife is fast becoming extinct. Up to 100 elephants a day are killed by poachers. At this rate, there could be no elephants left in Africa by 2025.
Helicopter pilot, Captain Roger Gower, was a constant presence in the skies above Kenya and Tanzania, tracking poachers to call in their positions to rangers on the ground. Tragically, on 29th January 2016, he was shot down and killed by a poacher he was tracking.
Roger and his helicopter were a magnet for local children. Through teaching these children about flying and helicopters, Roger came to understand the difficulties young men face in rejecting the lure of high-value, black-market tusks.
Many men in East Africa grow up in inter-tribal conflict, without any formal education, and limited means to support their families. By contrast, the sale of a single pair of tusks could feed and protect their family for years.
This human instability is one of the biggest root causes of our elephant crisis. Our charity aims to address this issue by developing schools in troubled areas. Schools give children the skills they need to earn a livelihood and bring warring tribes together into a common community.
Our Roger was born to fly: he loved his work as a pilot but he was also determined to live a life beyond the ordinary – to make his life count and help protect the wildlife of East Africa. Let’s help Africa’s children and wildlife flourish and grow, so they too can realise their full potential.