The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) continues to support marginalised communities and schools in the Tsavo Conservation Area. Through our daily school lunch programme, which was established at the end of 2021, we provide supplies of rice, maize, beans and oil to eight local schools. Not only does this programme see positive effects in their attendance and performance but it also creates much goodwill in the communities and positive attitudes towards wildlife. During this reporting period food was distributed to 1,434 children in July and September, with schools closed for holidays in August.

With support from the Chantecaille Conservation Foundation, we are able to provide significant further support to another 68 schools, whereby 15,433 children receive a daily supply of 'uji'; a local porridge made of maize, beans, nuts with added vitamins. Every month the SWT purchases, collects and transports a vast consignment of over 25,000kgs of porridge and delivers it by truck to these schools.

Our special school field trips took place in July and September, during which time 662 students and 44 teachers were provided an opportunity to visit Tsavo West National Park. These trips help to establish a positive connection between children and nature, which is critical for the long-term protection of wildlife.

We continue to custom-make sustainable, metal framed, wooden desks that will last a lifetime, ensuring children don’t have to sit on the floor or share cramped desks that hinder their learning. In July, we donated 50 desks to Kivuthini Primary, and in September 25 desks were donated to both Nooka, and Muusini Primary Schools.

Elephant-beehive fences are an innovative, sustainable and natural deterrent for elephant incursion, which have proved especially successfully on the borders of National Parks and protected areas. In total, we manage 200 beehives and during July the Community Outreach Team focused on beekeeping efforts. They inspected and cleaned the hives, which was much appreciated by the inhabitant bees and it is hoped and expected that new occupations will yield farmers a good income of honey in the coming months.

We continue to support 12 children, from local communities bordering the National Parks, through secondary education. These sponsored students are currently in Form 3, term two (Kenyan system of education). These are children from impoverished families bordering the Tsavo Conservation Area, within the age range of 15-18yrs. Our support covers the children's annual tuition fees, including a yearly boost for transport to and from their respective schools. Further, we finance university level education for three aspiring young adults from local communities in Tsavo. These scholarships are all for university places in Kenya; one student is in their first year and two students are currently in their fourth years.