Secluded Africa Wildlife & Community Trust

BONIFACE MGANGA

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:57:24 +0000

Boniface was born and brought up in Mbulia and attended both primary and secondary school there. He joined Secluded Africa as a ranger fresh out of high school in 2012. He was an active member of the anti-poaching unit and proved his dedication and loyalty to the cause.

Boniface quickly rose through the ranks and was promoted to deputy head ranger. In 2020 he took on the very important role of “community liaison officer” where he controls and oversees all community projects.
He is an amazing man, with a calm, easy going nature. His love and passion for the local community and the wildlife makes him so good at his job.

He has actually become the guardian parent of all the 60+ children we are educating, some of which are orphans. To spend a day with Boniface in the villages and schools is incredibly rewarding and interesting.

YUSUF BONAYA

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:56:03 +0000

Yusuf was born in Asa into the fearless Orma tribe, his father was the Chief in Asa and a great help with Kenya Wildlife Service. Together with his father, he rescued a baby Kudu and nurtured it back to health, later relocating it into the wild. “And there I saw the importance of protecting wild animals!” – Yusuf Bonaya.

After completing his primary and secondary education, he joined the Kenya Wildlife Service in 2012. In 2017 he then joined the Secluded Africa team, when he was brought to us by one of our trustees, Danny Woodley. Yusuf is a fearless warrior and a leader of men. His compassion for the wildlife and the local communities has been a major contributor to the successes of Mbulia Conservancy. He is also a doting father of 2 beautiful girls and a boy.

NIKITA SHAH

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:55:25 +0000

Nikita was born and brought up in Nairobi where she completed her Primary and Secondary education. From there she travelled to London to study accounting at London School of Business and Finance. As soon as she graduated, Nikita came back home to Kenya, the country she loves. The next six years saw Nikita working in various accounting roles in Nairobi and marrying the love of her life, Parag.

Nikita was a regular guest at Secluded Africa’s lodges and she became enthused by the vision of the company and the work being done protecting the wildlife and looking after the communities. She left her accounting jobs in Nairobi and decided to follow her passion and joined the Secluded Africa family in 2018. Her knowledge of accounting and controls has made her an invaluable member of the management team.

Nikita has a natural, easy-going and caring nature that makes her the perfect host. Her passion for the wildlife and the communities we look after, is very apparent as she runs the operations of the Trust.

John Reeve Moller

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:06:46 +0000

John’s childhood dream was to be a guide, and he’s been living that dream for over 30 years now. His zeal for wildlife, wild places, and the tribes of Africa keep his passion for his work alive.

Born and raised in Kenya, he has worked in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Botswana to name a few, and has run camps in Iraq and Afghanistan, building invaluable experience in remote and extreme environments.

“What I love about wild game and its habitats is that every day is a different story. The wilderness and the wildlife are nature’s own author: you read that story from daw to dusk, and yet it never repeats itself. You learn something different on a daily basis. The early morning news is the tracks and signs left from the night before… That tells you what is near you, what has passed, and what is about to happen. It is an exciting and fulfilling occupation, one which I am passionate about, one which I live for. Having the privilege of sharing that with others simply adds to the experience.”

He loves taking long walks in far-flung places and being a larger-than-life character with a past of beautiful and incredible experiences to draw on, he will always add something special to your time with him. It is an exciting odyssey being guided by John, and one that you’ll never forget.

Beekeeping Project

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:05:32 +0000

Not every poacher is a criminal. Some of them simply want to feed their families, pay bills and send their children to school. Hence, they look at small petty poaching like bush meat e.g. dik dik, impalas. When our anti-poaching team catch them, they are sat down and given a square meal and given an opportunity to make a living in other ways. This is where the beekeeping project started. The trust buys them a starter pack with all the necessary items and training required. With all the honey that is produced the lodges buy it from them and is also sold to others, which helps them to make a living. Beekeeping has another surprising benefit: it is saving elephants’ lives. That is because elephants are terrified of the bees. It’s a win-win-win situation. The elephants leave the farmers alone, the bees pollinate the crops, the beekeper makes money, the lodges get delicious, organic honey for their pancakes.

DANIEL WOODLEY

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:05:07 +0000

Danny Woodley was born in 1969 in Nyeri, Kenya. His father, Bill Woodley, was one of the pioneers of Kenya’s National Parks and one of the first Game Wardens of Tsavo and Mount Kenya. At the age of 15 Danny was already helping in the parks, including work with the Rhino Rescue Programme, and building of the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary. Armed with a pilots license, Danny flew transports, anti-poaching operations and development projects in coordination with the British Army in Tsavo West.

Educated in the UK, he has operated within the security, environmental, crisis management and climate change fields across Africa and in South America. With over 20 years’ experience of middle and senior management in the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Daniel has developed a multi-level skill base and gained the qualifications which have enabled him to successfully deliver large scale security and remote site projects, often in hostile or challenging environments.

Daniel has an ambitious personality, good problem solving and planning skills. He is a proven team leader with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in particular when dealing with tribal and indigenous peoples. Daniel is well known for his work in large-scale protected areas and monitoring and management of mega Fauna.

During his many years with Kenya Wildlife Service, he was Senior Warden/regional pilot for Tsavo East Northern Area and Tana River, Senior Warden Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks. He also led regional air operations (security) in Southern Kenya and TZ/Somalia borders; led cross-border collaboration and Tsavo Conservation Area and Mkomazi management planning; created, trained and commanded the Problem Animal Management Unit and the Anti-Poaching Camel Unit for countrywide deployment.

ANNIE CORCORAN

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:04:50 +0000

Annie, born and bred in Kenya, has spent her entire working career in the East African travel and tourism industry. Annie has extensive experience in international sales, incentive travel, luxury travel and global conference and event business. She established Liberty Africa Safaris over 28 years ago with her husband, Richard.

Annie is very passionate about “her” elephants in Tsavo and a huge supporter of the Trust. She very much enjoys the work we do with education for the less fortunate kids in the community.

Annie’s knowledge, experience and practical logic is a great asset to the trust and the board of trustees.

Community Tailoring Project

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:03:51 +0000

So far we have taken 6 ladies from the local communities around the lodges, who again are not great with their academics but for more practical (2 from Tana River Delta, 2 from Tsavo and 2 from Masai Mara). We start by taking the ladies to tailoring school anywhere from 1.5 years to 2 years (depending on how quickly they pick up). After graduation they spend some time with Nikita learning the basics of business eg cash flow, profit, stock, tax etc. At this stage we buy them special sewing machines from India (manual pedal operated due to no electricity). Thereafter, they set up their own micro-business making clothes and other items within the community. These businesses are also supported by the lodges with making cushion covers, uniforms etc.

SHASA CORCORAN

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:03:18 +0000

Shasa is a 3^rd generation Kenyan, born into a family full of tourism and wildlife pedigree. He spent his childhood in the bush with trackers, rangers and guides gaining a deep understanding and appreciation of Kenya’s flora and fauna.

A proud member of the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA), Shasa is also an accomplished guide in and around Kenya. Shasa’s day job as a Field Operations Manager at Liberty Africa has made him a specialist in creating sustainable community projects as well as logistics and fleet management which brings vital expertise to the trust.

Boda-Boda Project

Patrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 07:02:34 +0000

In Kenya, especially in the rural areas, the informal transport sector has been taken over by cheap motorcycles that help transport villagers to market, hospital, schools etc. These have become known as “boda bodas”. The Trust has so far taken 5 young men from the community around Tsavo and so far one from the Mara, these young men are selected from the poorest families in the community and sent them for driving lessons and eventually bought them a boda boda each for them to start their own micro-business. The principle of this, is that we have some really bright young men who aren’t great at academics but are great at other things. All these young men pay back to the Trust Kshs 200.00 ($1.54) per day until they have refunded the trust the full amount for the purchase of the boda-boda. All of these monies are kept in a kitty and each time it reaches an amount of a new motorcycle, another member of the community is selected to benefit from this project. This project has proved to be a great success, and not only helps with their livelihoods but also assists with the community in providing transport services where there are none.