by Mary Wykstra

I have met a lot of amazing people in my life. 2009 was a year of giving me a clue that I need to get fit!

In June, a gal named Kelly Hansen arrived. Kelly set up her time with us through a common friend (Lorraine – previous CCF Namibia employee) that she had met while she was in the middle of her trip around the world. Kelly used a year to travel around the world and to run a marathon in each continent. She volunteered with us to learn more about cheetah conservation and to give a little to the people of our area. Kelly participated in school presentations using puppets to tell the cheetah story at two schools. She taught us that one person can set goals and achieve them.

In mid November two other amazing people came into the cheetah project. Olivier and Adeline are two young French people who followed a dream to cycle across Africa. They post their progress on their TANDAFRIKA site. We were blessed to have them with us for nearly a month. Their energy is so positive that they lit a spark in us as well.

For the past 3 years Lumumba wanted to hold a bike race for the people in our study area. Olivier and Adeline helped to make that dream come true. And in the process they encouraged not only us, but the whole community of Salama to set their goals and work hard to achive them.

Action for Cheetahs in Kenya needs your help. To make a donation, please visit Project Survival – www.cathaven.com/shop/