From Orphan Elephants to Education Lilayi Lodge Makes an Impact in the Community

Through three pillars of conservation, Game Rangers International have established the greatest impact upon the landscapes where we focus our projects.  Resource Protection focuses on empowering the frontline Rangers who protect wildlife against threats such as poaching as well as protecting the communities and promoting Human-Wildlife Coexistence.

Our Wildlife Rescue Programme manages the Elephant Orphanage project, rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing the majestic African Elephants who have been separated from their herd and mother through human intervention.  The Wildlife Rescue Teams support all wildlife in need where possible.  Finally, Community Outreach focusses on educating, empowering and engaging the communities living contigious to protected areas, ensuring that this generation and next appreciate the importance of a viable eco-system.

The wildlife and protected areas of Zambia and Africa suffer ever increasing threats from poaching and encroachment whilst underfunded and under resourced law enforcement struggles to combat these threats.

To address this, GRI’s Resource Protection Programme (RPP) empowers government and community Rangers to better secure Zambia’s protected wildlife areas, via support from anti-poaching and firefighting teams. GRI supports operations with essential equipment and supplies, delivers training to ensure that Rangers have the skills to operate effectively and safely, and provides crucial welfare support for them and their families.

Long-term conservation can only be achieved if communities living around Protected Areas are fully educated, fully engaged, and fully able to experience the benefits of healthy and viable ecosystems. GRI’s Community Outreach Programme supports the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to raise conservation awareness and support sustainable livelihoods in communities contiguous to Zambia’s Protected Areas.

GRI Wildlife Rescue Programme works with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Veterinary Unit to support welfare provisions for Zambia’s wildlife. Our efforts began in 2007 with the establishment of GRI’s Elephant Orphanage Project, and has grown to support a number of additional wildlife species over the years. The Elephant Orphanage remains GRI’s primary project with an Elephant Nursery in Lusaka and a Release Facility in Kafue National Park.  Here, the orphans are gradually reintegrated back into the wild.

In addition to the Game Rangers International Program, Lilayi Lodge supports Shantumbu School, an educational program located in the Kafue district. The school was founded in 1959 and consists of both primary and secondary school. Between both schools there are approximately 2,600 students and only 44 teachers.

Along with difficulty regarding the teacher pupil ratio, the infrastructure of the school inhibits children from having a proper environment for learning. Most infrastructure is dedicated to the primary school leaving the secondary school with two classroom blocks. These two classroom blocks are not enough to support the 2,000 students. Additionally, there are not laboratories for science, computers, or math.

Along with the lack of classroom infrastructure, there is no running water at the school. Students and staff must use the pit latrine which creates sanitation hazards. Fortunately, the school has enough land to build more classrooms or buildings for staff however, there is not enough supplies or resources to include those on the property.