Author: sharon_manage

Great progress on the $100K challenge! But we still need your help. Your gift will now be doubled, helping even more children. Every contribution counts!

Greetings! As you think about your giving this year, we want to share a simple, tax‑smart way to make a big difference for Africa Bridge: donating appreciated stock. If you own stock that has increased in value since you bought it and you’ve held it for more than a year, a direct stock gift to Africa Bridge may allow you to: Avoid capital gains tax on the increase in value of those shares Receive a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the gift (subject to IRS rules) Increase your impact for Africa Bridge at no extra out‑of‑pocket cost. When you donate stock directly, Africa Bridge receives the full value of your shares to support economic development in African communities. How to make a gift of stock Contact your broker or financial advisor. Let them know you’d like to make a charitable gift of stock to Africa Bridge. Share our transfer information. You or your advisor can complete the transfer using our simple, one‑page instructions. Tell us about your gift. Let us know the stock name, number of shares, and your broker’s name so we can identify and acknowledge your gift quickly. You can download our step‑by‑step stock gift instructions here If you’d like to explore whether a stock gift is right for you, we encourage you to talk with your tax or financial advisor. We’re also happy to help – simply reply to this email or contact sharon@africabridge.org / (503) 703‑2565. Thank you for considering this powerful way to support Africa Bridge. You may also be part of the movement to create lasting change — where prosperity and conservation walk hand in hand by making a donation.  Your generous gift can change lives and protect wildlife.   If you prefer to give by check – checks can be mailed toAfrica BridgePO Box 115Marylhurst, OR 97036 We hope you will consider volunteering to help us conduct research on corporate and foundation potential leads.  Please reach out to Sharon@africabridge.org to learn more about his volunteer opportunity. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.   With gratitude, The Africa Bridge Team

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_VfcVNY_TtU7qyCa88dZ7EvoFFKNqyL8/view?usp=sharing

Thank you for attending the webinar – Protecting Wildlife by Empowering People. We hope you enjoyed the event. Please submit your questions or comments to: sharon@africabridge.org. The webinar recording shows how Africa Bridge’s proven community-led prosperity model is helping villages in northern Tanzania’s Tarangire-Manyara Wildlife Corridor thrive in harmony with nature – creating a sustainable future where people, wildlife, and wildlands flourish together.

Please click on the link here for webinar recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/3xxvAy41ROjzZ39ztxrgfcFs8gM58lGfw8lL9nvCQijEFgFxT6PDaC1McQ7nRhI.I_s38YpZM1UtHvF2?startTime=1763477191000 Passcode: 9q6$R@vo

Dear Friends,
A quick reminder that our joint webinar with the African Wildlife Foundation and the Manyara Ranch Management Trust is coming up this November 18. Our speakers (Pastor Magingi – AWF, Demetrius Malopola – Manyara, and Andrew Temu – Africa Bridge) will share how this partnership is strengthening communities and conserving wildlife across the Tarangire–Manyara Corridor. 

If you haven’t registered yet, please take a moment to sign up—your participation truly matters.

 Register here

We look forward to having you with us.

November 18 | 7 AM PST, 10 AM EST, 6 PM East Africa | Virtual Event

“For over two decades, Africa Bridge has worked to lift vulnerable families out of poverty through empowerment and partnership. Our new collaboration with the African Wildlife Foundation and the Manyara Ranch Management Trust extends that vision—uniting people and wildlife in shared prosperity across the Tarangire–Manyara Corridor.”
— Barry Childs, Founder, Africa Bridge

Join representatives from the African Wildlife Foundation, Manyara Ranch Management Trust, and Africa Bridge as they present the Tarangire–Manyara Wildlife Corridor Initiative—a groundbreaking partnership designed to protect one of East Africa’s most critical ecosystems while improving the lives of the people who share its land.

Learn how this innovative model empowers local communities, supports wildlife conservation, and creates a path to sustainable prosperity.

 Date: Tuesday, November 18
 Time: 7 AM PST, 10 AM EST, 6 PM East Africa
 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EOyOuSMBSimJH1UCXf2NcQ

Together, we can ensure a future where both people and wildlife flourish.

Note from Barry Childs, Founder and Board Chair

For over two decades, Africa Bridge has worked to lift vulnerable families out of poverty through empowerment and partnership. Our new collaboration with the African Wildlife Foundation and the Manyara Ranch Management Trust extends that vision—uniting people and wildlife in shared prosperity across the Tarangire–Manyara Corridor.

The Tarangire–Manyara Wildlife Corridor Project (Esilalei Ward)

In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and along the plains that link the Serengeti to Ngorongoro lies the Tarangire–Manyara Ecosystem — where iconic wildlife meets rural villages. Here, elephants, lions, leopards, and buffaloes roam freely between Tarangire and Manyara National Parks through a fragile corridor of land.

This vital landscape faces a shared challenge: protecting endangered species while helping people build better lives. More than 50,000 people call this region home, many living in extreme poverty. When families struggle to survive, they often turn to clearing land or hunting wildlife — choices driven by need, not neglect.

To change this story, the African Wildlife Foundation, the Manyara Ranch Management Trust, and Africa Bridge, have joined forces. Together, we are helping families achieve prosperity through agricultural cooperatives, education, and small-enterprise development — ensuring that communities thrive while protecting one of East Africa’s last great wildlife corridors.

By empowering the people who share this land, we also protect the wildlife that depends on it. Join us in building a future where both people and wildlife flourish.

 Learn More & Register for Our Upcoming Webinar

Join leaders from Africa Bridge, the African Wildlife Foundation, and the Manyara Ranch Management Trust as they discuss how this groundbreaking partnership is transforming the Tarangire–Manyara Corridor — a model for sustainable conservation that benefits both people and wildlife.

📅 Date: November 18, 2025
🕒 Time: 7 AM PST, 10:00 AM EST, 6 PM East Africa Time
💻 Register by Clicking Here

Be part of the movement to create lasting change — where prosperity and conservation walk hand in hand.

African Wildlife Foundation

Manyara Ranch

Africa Bridge

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EOyOuSMBSimJH1UCXf2NcQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For more than 25 years, Africa Bridge has worked alongside disadvantaged communities, guiding families on a 5-year Path to Prosperity. Independent evaluations confirm that this model is not only effective, it’s replicable.

Now, we’re bringing it to the Tarangire/Manyara Corridor of Tanzania—a place where people and wildlife share the land and the challenges of survival. Both futures are at risk, and both must be protected.   Learn More:  https://africabridge.org/our-impact/initiatives/

Our approach centers on:
 Protecting the most vulnerable children and community members
 Empowering women
 Building community-owned, self-sustaining solutions
 Safeguarding ecosystems and wildlife

This is more than a project. It’s a partnership for resilience, dignity, and shared prosperity.

Push The Ladder Down Behind You

Around September 2021, I came close to dropping out of university. Academically my grades were beginning to plateau, physically I felt drained, and mentally I was struggling to keep myself on track. Simply put: I wasn’t happy. Graduating with a First two years on from that point was something I, and others around me, thought impossible.
The 18 months leading up to September 2021 were difficult for many of us around the world, given the force with which Coronavirus had struck so many people. Certainly, I felt a sense of claustrophobia and anxiety from being forced to stay at home during lockdowns. I had been unhappy at university, and in general, for some time, and these lockdowns acted as a catalyst in worsening my resolve to stay on top of my studies. Most of all, I found it almost impossible to find that spark within that I usually had when engaging with my academic studies. I felt that so much of my life had been building towards a single path that now seemed so hopeless to follow. 

A turning point came however, when I was granted a final chance to resit my second-year exams, something not offered to most in a situation similar to mine. It was an academic lifeline with no guarantee of success, given how far my grades had fallen. All in all, it took me five years to finally complete my undergraduate degree and so much of that came down to the support of friends, family, and academic fellows who still saw my potential within.

Naturally, my graduation was a day charged with emotions and much of it blurs into one hurried episode in my mind. Gown fittings, refreshments, music, handshakes… all of which moments to be cherished. The one moment that cut through this surreal feeling however, was an idiom – or rather, a play on an idiom – spoken by the Vice Chancellor of Warwick during the ceremony: “Always push the ladder down behind you”.

That phrase stuck in my mind for a long time after the ceremony. On the one hand, it was simply the opposite of saying “don’t pull the ladder up behind you”, meaning that we shouldn’t stop others from having the same advantages we had.

But on the other, it summarised so much of what I had experienced firsthand. Whilst I had worked exceptionally hard to turn things around, I was nonetheless reliant upon the work of others to allow me to be in that position. It made me realise just how much we take for granted the work that others do to allow us to succeed. And it is this line of thinking that drew me towards the work of Africa Bridge so much; it is the passing of the ladder so that others may climb up after us.

 At Africa Bridge, we realise that talent and skill can be found all over the world, but opportunity cannot. There are so many amongst us with hopes and dreams that may never be realised because they were not afforded the necessities to thrive: a stable nutrition, access to education, and employment opportunities to list a few. Our model is designed to give people, particularly children, these opportunities.

It is my hope that over the next few years, Africa Bridge continues to foster partnerships with other organisations that wish to implement our model. I truly believe the Africa Bridge model is a proven path towards sustainable development for impoverished communities, but donations and partnerships with other organisations are vital, if the reach of our model is to be felt all across the areas of the world that need it.

Our work is not about relief or providing respite, it is about achieving prosperity. And we can do that not through traditional aid programmes that reinforce dependency, but with a sustainable model that furthers community cohesion. Whilst our aim of alleviating poverty is shared by many, our focus on protecting the most vulnerable children, empowering women, and transferring project ownership to local communities, ensures a much more sustainable model.

Our work is not designed to cover the cracks of inequality of opportunity, it paves over them.

Why did I join the Africa Bridge Board?” and “What do I hope to
accomplish?”

I joined the Board of Africa Bridge because its mission truly resonates with what I
believe matters most: creating meaningful, lasting change in people’s lives. Africa
Bridge has developed a model that empowers rural communities to lift themselves out
of poverty while securing brighter futures for children. Their impact in Southern
Tanzania—where poverty levels have been reduced dramatically through practical,
locally led solutions—speaks volumes. This is the kind of evidence-based, scalable
change that inspires me, and it’s exactly the kind of work I want to be part of.
Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of advising companies and investors
through periods of transformation—helping them scale, innovate, and navigate complex
challenges. As a founder, CEO, and strategic advisor, I have worked at the intersection
of strategy, finance, and technology, always with a focus on building sustainable models
that can grow and adapt. I see a clear opportunity to bring this experience to Africa
Bridge: helping strengthen its strategic positioning, build meaningful partnerships, and
scale its proven approach to reach more communities.
As a Board Member, I hope to contribute to Africa Bridge’s next chapter — supporting
its transition from direct implementation to enabling others to adopt and replicate its
model. My focus will be on strategy, partnerships, and innovative ways to expand its
reach and impact. Most of all, I’m excited to help amplify a story of hope and practical
change—ensuring more families across Tanzania, and East Africa, can access pathways to prosperity. It’s an honor to join a team so deeply committed to making a real difference