Letter of Thanks from the SAWC

Dear Ferdi

The Southern African Wildlife College would like to take this opportunity in thanking Toyota SA for the support and sponsorship given to the Conservation Outreach 2008. This outreach was made possible because of very generous Toyota sponsorship.

The SAWC management has always dreamt of visiting past students and witnessing firsthand the effect that the College is having on conservation in Africa. This dream was made a reality thanks to your support. Not only did we meet with 26 students from 13 different conservation areas encompassing 4 different countries, but we realized that the work done at the SAWC has far-reaching results. A total of 24 of these 26 students have been promoted to management positions subsequent to their training at SAWC. People’s lives have been changed, both personally and professionally. A big thank you to you for giving me the chance to see this!

Conservation training needs were also identified during the conservation outreach. It was very evident that training is urgently needed in the management of Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s) and managing human-wildlife conflict. It was interesting to see the difference in management between South African wildlife areas and those areas elsewhere in Africa. No fences around Parks mean that people have to find a way to live with wildlife. This is being done relatively successfully, but an increase in human population size means that more human-wildlife conflict will occur around the protected areas. Managing this ‘buffer zone’ will require a very special set of skills, and the SAWC will now develop the courses to address these needs.

It was a privilege to spend 3 weeks with such an enthusiastic team of people. The support team was second to none. The food was always delicious and very nutritious. The vehicles were superb. Only two flat tires in 3 weeks in the whole of the vehicle fleet was impressive by anyone’s standards!

Once again a big heartfelt thank you,

Kindest of Regards,


Theresa Sowry
Executive Manager – Southern African Wildlife College