iphone: Because you helped before

Dear Avaaz family,

My name is Nelson Ole Reiyia, I'm a Maasai elder in Kenya.

A few years ago, Avaaz members helped us create Nashulai, the world's first Maasai-led conservation project.

By pooling our lands, we've opened a vital passage for wildlife migration -- the missing puzzle piece that connects the great Mara and Serengeti ecosystems. Now families live alongside abundant wildlife, and Maasai rangers prevent poaching.

We also revived an ancient elephant birthing ground, and saw 25 baby elephants born last year! Soon, we hope to create the longest wildlife corridor in East Africa.

But I'm writing because it's all under threat.

Costs are soaring. Yet we're blocked from most conservation funds because they're focused on traditional wildlife parks, which displace my people into slums and shanty towns. Without funding, we face the same future.

Avaaz members were pivotal before, now I'm humbly asking again. Your donation will help keep our beautiful conservancy alive, supporting wildlife and thousands of families, like mine. It would help pay our rangers, ensure our kids stay in school, and provide community healthcare. You'll also be powering Avaaz campaigns for Indigenous rights around the world.

We are the guardians of Earth's vanishing rivers, grasslands, and wildlife. But we can't do it alone. Please donate what you can now:

I'LL DONATE R$15

I'LL DONATE R$25

I'LL DONATE R$35

I'LL DONATE R$55

I'LL DONATE R$90

OTHER AMOUNT

In the great rush to protect Earth's biodiversity, Indigenous people are being evicted from the homelands we've cherished for generations. We're seen as obstacles to conservation, rather than critical allies with centuries of knowledge.

That's why Avaaz campaigns are so crucial. This movement is championing a call to protect half the planet in partnership with Indigenous communities, ensuring we aren't evicted in the name of so-called conservation. We need these campaigns more than ever.

Despite winning a prestigious UN award for our "paradigm-shifting" work, Nashulai struggles to access grants, because we don't fit the colonialist model of human-free conservation. But Nashulai proves another model can work -- it's a beacon of hope for countless communities who face losing their lands and livelihoods.

But today we need help to keep our project alive. If we raise enough, we can:

Pay rangers' salaries to help poaching levels remain at zero;
Fund the maintenance and day-to-day running costs of our conservancy -- now over 15,000 acres and expanding rapidly;
Fund community development programmes so local people can flourish as the guardians of vanishing species, including ranger training, healthcare, and school fees;
Keep growing our project, in the hopes of creating the longest wildlife corridor in East Africa, critical for the survival of elephants;
And intensify Avaaz campaigns to defend the rights of Indigenous communities, and protect critical ecosystems across the planet.

One of my greatest joys has been bringing this project to life. I believe in it with every bone in my body. Please donate what you can now:

I'LL DONATE R$15

I'LL DONATE R$25

I'LL DONATE R$35

I'LL DONATE R$55

I'LL DONATE R$90

OTHER AMOUNT

"Nashulai" is a special word in our language. It means a place of harmony where community and wildlife live in balance. My sincerest hope is that the whole world can find a sense of Nashulai -- that we treasure and protect this wild, beautiful planet, together. I know I share that hope with Avaaz members everywhere.

On behalf of my community, our warmest greetings, and endless thanks,

Nelson Ole Reiyia and the people of Nashulai, with the whole team at Avaaz

If you're interested in visiting the Nashulai Maasai Conservancy, please see our website. We'd love to welcome you!

More information:

Tanzania's Eviction of Maasai Pastoralists Continues (Human Rights Watch)
Learn more about the Nashulai Conservancy
East Africa must reject its colonial model of conserving wildlife (The Guardian)
Fortress Conservation: A Legacy of Violence (Grist)

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