News from The Cheli & Peacock Community Trust and its partners, they treat over 500 patients in three days at Maasai Mara Medical Camp.

Last month the Cheli & Peacock Community Trust held its third medical camp at the Aitong Health Centre, not far from Elephant Pepper Camp in the Maasai Mara. The three-day camp took place from 24^th – 26^th June 2014 and focussed on adult health, maternal child health (including cervical cancer screening and family planning), nutrition and dentistry. The main aim of the camp was to concentrate on these four areas of health, while also building the capacity of the staff clinicians and Community Health Workers.

Working with our partners Safarilink Aviation and The Kicheche Community Trust, a team of six were flown to the Mara North Conservancy for the medical camp and stayed at the nearby Elephant Pepper Camp. Dr Anne Kihara, Dr Rose Kosgei, Dr Irene Marete, Dr Sarah Awino and three dentistry experts kindly volunteered their time to work alongside health centre staff to treat an impressive 544 patients!

The majority of patients required paediatric attention, while others were treated for obs and gynae related matters, general ailments and dentistry. Fantastic progress was made with general outreach although, to build a way forward with the community, the Trust has highlighted that more training on early diagnosis, prevention of infection, dietary issues that place severe pressure on dental care and male attitudes to family planning needs to be the focus of future work with the Aitong Health Centre.  It was also agreed that collaborating with other partners and clinics in the area, alongside the Ministry of Health would also bring great benefit.

The Cheli & Peacock Community Trust, its partners and volunteers are already planning the next medical camp in November/December this year, which will look to build the capacity of Aitong clinic staff through training on key health-related issues (such as Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care) and also branch into other clinics nearby.


For more info or to enquire about a safari at Elephant Pepper Camp please call: 01227 753181

Injury to trophy hunter re-ignites calls to ban licences to shoot Namibian elephants.

The trampling of a Namibian trophy hunter by an elephant has raised the debate around hunting permits issued for the country’s gravely endangered desert elephants.

As reported in the Namibian newspaper New Era, a Namibian professional hunter sustained multiple injuries when a young elephant bull attacked him in the Uukwaluudhi Conservancy. He is now recovering in hospital.

The victim was assisting a German hunter who owns a hunting safari company. He was given a permit by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the professional hunter was helping him to identify the best elephant suitable for hunting.

The bull was subsequently shot by environmental officials and the meat distributed to the local community. It was the second elephant to be killed in the region in recent weeks.

Conservationists have been outraged over the government’s issuing of permits to hunt desert-adapted elephants found in Namibia’s north western reaches. 

Namibian environmentalist Garth Owen-Smith, who won a prize in the 1990s for his conservation work against illegal hunting, recently highlighted the dwindling numbers of these unique creatures.

“This population of between 120 and 150 elephants that live most of their lives in the northern Namib are of enormous value to the country and the world,” he said.

According to sources on the ground, of this number only 18 are mature bulls – a fact which has enormous implications for the breeding potential and ultimately survival of the group.

The two trophy kills follow a press release by the MET, in which it stated that only two ‘own-use’ hunting permits had been issued to conservancies in Namibia’s north western region. However, this is allegedly in addition to seven trophy hunting permits that have also been issued.

The two bulls killed were both of breeding age. Following the death of the first, a member of the Namibian Professional Hunter’s Association commented to the Conservation Action Trust: “While I am completely in favour of sustainable hunting, I don’t feel entirely comfortable with the idea of shooting elephants in the Kunene region – particularly if they are of breeding age, as this bull was.”

Suzi Van de Reep, co-owner of the Kunene region’s Huab Lodge said: “I am horrified by what is happening. At the start of the century, we had 13 bulls who used to visit regularly – we could virtually set our clocks by their arrival to dig waterholes in the dry riverbed. 

“Then, within a space of three years, we lost every single one of them to the gun – simply and solely because of hunting permits issued by the MET. 

“And the tragedy is it’s not stopping. The government has to realise that these elephants are not replaceable.”

And you can spread the word - the MET needs as much heat on them as possible...

www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Namibian_Minister_of_Environment_and_Tourism_U_Herunga_Stop_ALL_Hunting_of_Rare_Desert_Elephants/?cbXWlab

For more information or to book a safari to Namibia please follw the link.