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On Friday 31 July 2009, as part of the Currencies Direct Charity Drive, Chairman John Gillon and member Kathy Charman of the Hwange Conservation Society gave a presentation at the Currencies Direct Head Office in London. It was an enlightening talk in which the society explained what they do and the challenges currently being faced within Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

The Hwange Conservation Society was set up in 1992 to help protect the wildlife of Hwange National Park. Due to the seasonal dry spells in Zimbabwe, the National Park is prone to drought and the wildlife in the area therefore suffer as a consequence. This unfortunately has only been heightened by the current economic climate within the country. Poaching remains rife in several areas of the park and the anti-poaching units consistently find snares as well as injured animals on their patrols of the area.

The Hwange Conservation Society projects include providing water pumps, spare parts and diesel for the various waterholes around the Park, providing uniforms for the anti poaching units and National Parks Staff, as well as providing stationary for the schools within the area. They have, on a number of occasions, assisted the wildlife research projects within the area by providing them with a dart gun and darting medication which are used when trying to rescue animals that have been the unfortunate victims of snares and other poaching devices.

Containing over 105 mammal species and covering a distance of 14,600 square kilometres Hwange National Park is one of africa’s gems which remains wild and has been left largely untouched by tourism in recent years due to the political climate which has been on-going within the country. Hwange Conservation Society aims to protect the wildlife and keep the area running so that people may again, one day, enjoy the natural beauty which it contains.

As a small Charity, Hwange Conservation Society relies solely on its membership fees for providing assistance to the wildlife and people working with the wildlife in Hwange National Park. They are however looking to expand on their current charity work and therefore require further funding to increase the assistance they are able to offer. If you are interested in assisting the charity or finding out more information on how you can help please visit their website http://www.hwangecons.org.uk

Having grown up in Zimbabwe and having visited the National Park on a regular basis, I can vouch for the beautiful surroundings and abundance of wildlife which the area once contained. It would be a loss to every Zimbabwean, as well as the world as a whole, if there were not organisations such Hwange Conservation Society, who were doing their utmost to assist the wildlife and people within the area.

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