Since last november some of us have been working in a huge project that will join operators in a common initiative to present hunting as it is, that is, the only way to preserve rural areas and wildlife in huge pristine areas around the world.
Begining in Zimbabwe, the plan is to rapidly extend it around the world with the help of many good hunters and conservationists.

This first year we already count with the participation of CM Safaris, Trak a Hunt, Mokore Safaris and Classic African Hunting Safaris.
That is Corris Ferreira, Buzz and Myles, Gary Duckworth and Court and Guav Johnson, joining together more than 300.000 hectareas under this program.
The committe is formed by Corris Ferreira, Myles Macallum, Larry Shores and myself.
The areas already in the program are:
Kazuma, Matetsi unit 2, Dande, Gache Gache/ Kanyati and Mokore property in the SVC.

All the operators already involved will take care of at least one school, in which a full grant program for the best performers will be implemented, so every best performer of each course will have a full grant for next year and the one ending school will have a special grant to be able to begin a bussiness or continue some proffessional studies.

To fund this grants, the operators will ask their own clients to participate and make donations.

The areas and schools in the program qualified to get help to continue improving their efforts on conservation or education. That financial help for any projects or needs they will have, will be funded from the program.

Larry and me will look for that funds, with the help (we hope) of many others fellow hunters and sponsors.

The money will not be touched by anyone, it will go directly to the operator´s accounts so no penny will be lost in the way.

Larry and me will be doing this just because we love hunting and we love and need to help people and conservation of our heritage. We will not get a penny out of this.

I know many of you are already helping and funding many projects around. If you would like to join us and fund the projects already in this program, more operators will join, what means more kids will get a grant, what means more impact on media.

When this program will have a size, we will be able to communicate not only the good we are doing for the childrens education, but we will also show all other programs (antipoaching, watering, sanitary help, hospitals, electrification, etc)

I hope you can see the importance and size this might have and hope you would like to help, so it will push more operators to enter it.

Everybody is welcome, hundreds of projects are possible to fund, you just tell us and we will find a place in one of this areas in which your idea can be implemented, financial feedback and results will be given to participants.

I want to thank with all my heart to Larry for joining this project despite all the work he already have. Thanks to the operators who trust on it, specially the ones entering the committe even it will mean an extra work, and special thanks also to Andrew Baldry, who sent me some of his great paintings for free, so I can sell it to get money for kids.

I hope this will be interesting for many of you and hope we can get more help to make it bigger and stronger.

Best regards

I have some pdf brochure, but dont know how to post it...

Well done both of you and good to see Larry in the forefront. Email it to me and I will post it

Thank you very much for your support from the very beginning.
I hope to see more of that support coming from our fellow hunters here.
Not too much interest yet, what is not good at all. Hunting is not only shooting and politics, is much more. For example joining together for conservation and for trying to change things. It is always better doing than talking about.

Hug

Hi to all.
We already have the first project inside the THEGAP program.
This project is related to the Chetete school in the Gache Gache area.
This is a junior school that are in need of desks and chairs for children.
They need 40 desk and chair units at a 30$ cost each.
The manager of this program will be mister Corris Ferreira, member of ZPGA and ownwer of Gache Gache communal land concession.
Any ammount you would like to donate you can send it directly to his own account to make sure not a single dollar is lost in the way.
His account, like all Zim operators, is a USA bank account.
Corris will keep all interested parties updated about this particular projetc. I will be posting the news related to Chetete desks and chairs project here if anybody is interested.

Hope to get some help from all of you, fellow hunters.

Any doubt, you can ask here or directly to Larry, Corris or me.
More projets to come and we are even open for any project any of you would like to do. We will find the perfect place for that humanitarian project you have been thinking about and you will be sure all your money will be used as intended, without a single penny lost in the way.

Best regards

It would be good to have advice from some Lawyers here. Not sure that sending money to US bank accounts care of Zim operators is the way to go?

As long as I know when you contract a hunt in Zim you are sending money to a US bank account.
This should be same. We are talking about reputed Zim operators members of ZPGA that will give a full report on how the money is spend in the budgeted and aprooved project.
But of course any advice is welcome, we just want the best for the benefit of hunting and childs.

By the way, our first aprooved project (need of 40 desks and 40 chairs to Chetete school) is already funded and ready to go. I will be updating news about program and projects inside the program.

This Chetete project will be fully covered by mister Larry Shores, member of this forum, thanks to Larry and Andrew for their contributions and help, and thanks to all AR member for the interest and suport of the cause, which is nothing less that the cause of preventing hunting to come to an end soon.

Thanks to mister Corris Ferreira to be paying the grant of the best performers of Gache School upfront, showing the trust and support to the cause and being then the first operator in having a project aprooved and funded in this program THEGAP.

And thanks to the other 3 operators who joined the program this year and also show his interest in preventing the end of hunting while contributing to conservation and education with another big effort.
Thanks to Buzz and Miles, Gary Duckworth and Guav and Court Johnson.

Hoping to extend THEGAP program to more operators in ZIM next year with the help of all of you

Best regards

Excellent initiative and you have some good operators on board.

Perhaps this has not been as clear as it needs to be. Obviously , one of the main purposes of this endeavor is to help kids that are in need . Not many can argue against that .

There is a secondary goal. That secondary goal is to help portray hunting in a more positive light . Let’s face it. Hunting often gets a bad reputation that is not justified . Hunting almost never gets credit for all the positive things that we do. We do a hell of a lot of positive things for that land , locals and wildlife. Let me give you one small example. I personally funded the construction of a school in Pakistan. I wanted it to clear that this was funded by an American hunter . Not that I want it but there has been zero publication of this fact .

Personally, I have no problems sending money directly to these reputable operators. No US tax deduction will be available for funds send this way. We are working on finding a 501c3 organization that contributions can be routed through.

I am personally I contributing .

As long as I know, I can say that, at least, CMS already have a foundation with the 501c3 for their Dandee Concession.
Unfortunately, Myles told me they can not receive money to be redirected to other operators, but they can for their Dandee concession, so, next year, when projects in Dandee area will be displayed, interested donors can directly fund them and get the tax deduction in US.
They will be donating to projects related to conservation and education in a wild area with a reputable operator that is doing an extra effort to help on kids education, same as all operator which will enter this program will do.

I am honored and grateful to have Larry on board. We will make this big and meaningful with help of real hunters who know the real thing, and wants to make a change

quote:

Originally posted by spanishhunter:
As long as I know, I can say that, at least, CMS already have a foundation with the 501c3 for their Dandee Concession.
Unfortunately, Myles told me they can not receive money to be redirected to other operators, but they can for their Dandee concession, so, next year, when projects in Dandee area will be displayed, interested donors can directly fund them and get the tax deduction in US.
They will be donating to projects related to conservation and education in a wild area with a reputable operator that is doing an extra effort to help on kids education, same as all operator which will enter this program will do.

I am honored and grateful to have Larry on board. We will make this big and meaningful with help of real hunters who know the real thing, and wants to make a change

Accounting is all-important and should be visible for all to see

quote:

Accounting is all-important and should be visible for all to see

Difficult quest in finding transparency in the dark continent.

While the intention is honorable, the project will be only be acknowledged by a select few and very likely those on the other side of the fence will give a damn; most certainly they will not agree that the hunting dollars serve a positive purpose.

We have in the past built wells (boreholes) which don't come cheap; dispensaries up to 10 beds (to extend); primary schools to cater for around 50 kids; additional classrooms to existing schools, desks/chairs, etc.; paid salaries for teachers; financial contributions to local councils, and on it goes.

The only people who appreciated these efforts were the villages.
Everyone else couldn't give a shit as they had their own agenda.

I see.
That is precisely the point.
Many millons are given by hunters to help conservation and rural areas, same many operators.
But the thing is this efforts are done by eachone separately and that is easier to be kept in silence.
Silence about all this efforts is what is going to finish hunting. We already did that and no echo at all on media.
But what if we try to do a different thing?
What if we join efforts in one big project communicating together all the efforts made in those communities?
What if we put a bit of effort in communicate that big program with thousands of hectares and people involved?
Will they still be able to keep that in silence? Will they avoid to see the kids pictures with names and a better life? The improovement in biodiversity?
Sincerely, I dont think ths will be able to be silenced, but, anyway, what else can we do But trying a different way?
Keeping doing same will only mean the end of hunting and wildlife in África.
We need to join and communicate.

Best regards