Protecting against the pandemic in Simalaha

We are focused on securing donations to help vulnerable communities in and around conservation areas in southern Africa gain access to personal protective gear to curb COVID-19 infections. To this end, Peace Parks has already donated $100 000 of its own resources towards the procurement of soap, sanitisers, face masks, gloves, thermometers, and other critically important necessities. to households, clinics and health workers in areas where we have an operational footprint.

In the Zambia, Peace Parks has been working around the clock to assist the Ministry of Health to procure and distribute protective gear, carbolic soap, water dispensers, dispensing stands and water buckets to the people of the Simalaha Community Conservancy. The first delivery included 60 washing stands complete with tap bucket and basin, more than 2600 bars of soap, over 1100 masks, 300 bottles of hand sanitiser.

Local tailors have been equipped to produce cloth face masks for their communities. Seamstresses in the Simalaha Community Conservancy, Kavango Zambezi TFCA, now produce over 1000 masks a day. This not only helps address the shortage of masks, but also creates additional livelihood opportunities so needed in these difficult times.

In addition a surveillance post was set up at the entrance to the conservancy where people are screened and awareness about the pandemic is facilitated. Water tanks have also been installed as washing stations where travelers can disinfect their hands before entering or exiting the protected area.

Peace Parks has been supporting Simalaha since 2012. The Conservancy comprises 1 800 square km of communal land within the Chobe Zambezi wildlife dispersal area that reaches from Chobe National Park in Botswana to Kafue National Park in Zambia. It is fundamental to re-establishing wildlife populations and their migration routes in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area – the biggest terrestrial cross-border conservation system in the world – connecting 36 protected areas across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Simalaha aims to ensure viable natural resource management and support wildlife conservation; develop alternative models for income generation, and address basic human rights of the local people.

How you can help

Whether you support one household, or many, every contribution assists us in reaching the more than 75 000 households that we need to provide with essential equipment and information, in an effort to curb COVID-19 infections in vulnerable communities in southern Africa.
Your R150 / $9 could help one family stay safe during these times. Donate now!