2 minute read
Andrew Anderson - A Wild Life
Andrew Anderson always wanted to be a game ranger. “My brothers had pin-ups of girls and cars. For me it was wildlife.”
In rural Zimbabwe, his “Huckleberry Finn” childhood consisted of the family smallholding, Hwange National Park, fishing on the Zambezi, and boarding school.
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After studying, Andrew joined the Natal Parks Board at 19 and spent 11 years living his dream as a game ranger in the Umfolozi, where he met his wife Susi, a veterinary nurse. Full of youthful zeal for conservation, he excelled and transformed the Wilderness Trail operation from a government-subsidised entity to an independently profitable business. Authoring the first Wilderness Management Plan for the Umfolozi Wilderness area was a personal highlight. Introducing the first guided commercial night drives in any “national” park, was another. Andrew then faced a decision; stay in the Trails Division, with no prospect of promotion, or pusue Conservation Management. He chose Conservation, and became Section Ranger of the Southern Corridor Section of Umfolozi Game Reserve. Again, he excelled, but by 1996 politics within formal conservation had become unbearable. For a man with a fire in his heart for conservation, the bureaucracy was too much and life was too short.
Reflecting on his career and the amazing experiences in Umfolozi, he realized sharing the “gospel” of conservation was his calling and ministry.
This was the origin of the African Insight Academy.
Armed with a business plan and an unsecured bank loan, the Academy was launched. The plan was simple – build a business that could privately fund conservation education. Susi backed him by returning to veterinary nursing and learning bookkeeping by night.
Over 25 years they built up a business that provided conservation based experiential learning for students of all ages. To date over 12,000 students have been on field trips that use wildlife and authentic cultural experiences to inspire and empower. At its peak the business employed thirty staff dedicated to creating young leaders.
But relying as it did on travel, Covid-19 was a disaster for the Academy. Andrew and Susi poured everything into keeping the team employed, but as lockdown stretched on, liquidation became inevitable.
What do you do when you’re past 55, and have lost a third of your pension in under a year? Give thanks to God that you’re alive, that He has a purpose for your life, then pick yourself up, and start again.
Andrew is building the same business, better; paying close attention to both local schools and the international clients that stuck with him. They’ve also attracted the attention of local and international organizations who recognise that our children will one day be the custodians of our planet’s natural splendour. How can they do that if they’re not exposed to it from an early age?
Through these strategic partnerships, African Insight Academy is on a mission to inspire and empower the next generation of conservation-conscious, global citizens.
