The Spirit of Big Five Foundation Standing for Mbulia

Continuing the Legacy

You may have seen on past blogs, my visit to the Mbulia Conservancy, deep in the heart of Tsavo in southeastern Kenya. The conservancy has a strong historical connection to the journals of Col John Patterson in the late 1800s and the story of the two man-eating lions (one of which is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago as of this writing). The community in Mbulia, all of whom are descendants of those building the railroad tracks, are able to tell the story of their ancestors, as the entire story the British colonel wrote about took place on this land 130 plus years ago.  The camp, Kipalo Hills, built on this land, while not the super deluxe camp we see in slick marketing materials, is one of my personal favorites, and has what I would argue to be the best chef in Tsavo when it comes to blending different cuisines and telling a story through food.

While I could go on about the incredible people and experiences in Mbulia, there’s another reason for this blog. A few weeks ago, a close friend working with the Secluded Africa Wildlife and Community Trust reached out with concerning news. Several primary school projects in the Mbulia Conservancy had suddenly been cut off from the government-funded school feeding program—without any explanation. It turns out, the regular food deliveries schools relied on from municipal authorities had quietly stopped months ago. When schools turned to parents for support, most families were unable to help, already facing serious hardships due to poverty or poor crop yields. As a result, schools were left with no choice but to provide meals only to children whose families could contribute—leaving many young students to go without. When the Trust sought support, the Spirit of Big Five Foundation stepped in. Our foundation, which focuses on grassroots, small-scale grant initiatives around the world, is exactly built for urgent, community-driven projects like this.

While the purpose of this blog is to raise awareness, it is not about asking for donations. Rather, we simply want to highlight the impact that responsible tourism can have—and how the relationships we build through travel can be leveraged to support communities we’ve never even met. For those wondering why this situation happened, I will say that I have my own theories as to why these stopped, centered around forced reactions through austerity due to unfair lending practices in Africa by international organizations. A few months ago, I shared an article by a South African professor that explores this topic in more detail—an analysis I strongly agree with.

You can read it here: Ashish Sanghrajka – Daniel Bradlow Professor .

My father would have turned 77 on May 16, and I tell everyone I am a reflection of him. Happy Birthday Dad.

Enjoy the video and thank you for allowing us to stand and help. Your support allowed this.