As we are certainly all coping with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic (although in many different ways), we would like to paint a picture of the current situation in Tanzania and let you know how you can help.

In a difficult time for the world, when many of us are stuck in isolation, it’s an incredible time to reflect and challenge ourselves, and we ask you to remember the people in Tanzania. In this time of great uncertainty, the travel and hospitality industries have essentially shut down. With a total ban on travel, many lodges are closing their doors for the first time and airlines are stopping their flights. Whilst this is a necessary procedure to stop the spread of COVID-19 this is also devastating for our normally joyful industry. As a result of the sudden collapse of tourism, many staff in Tanzania already had to be laid off, put on part time or reduced salaries. Whilst we know this is happening globally, Africa is already a continent that suffers from poverty and this will have an overwhelming impact on our industry and could have a devastating impact on wildlife conservation as well.

While most people in Europe and the US can fall back on some sort of social welfare, the situation is very different for people in Tanzania. People (and that includes almost everyone here) who are affected by the collapse of the country‘s most important source of income, are left to themselves and their families to survive. At the moment, the situation is not so much about the health consequences of the virus. It will very soon be about essential issues such as how to feed your children, how to pay school fees, how a family can survive without food. And if a mother can no longer pay for the transport of her sick child to a hospital, the child will die with or without the virus.

Hunger could cost many more lives due to its serious economic impact than the virus!

From the many staff members who now have even smaller wages or none at all, to the guides now out of a job, to the conservation and community projects that are now not being funded by bed nights and park fees. Whilst we realize Africa already receives lots of aid, this is not a request for the usual hand-out, this is a request to ask to help support those that have worked hard and now sadly find themselves in a difficult situation. A request to keep staff members with an income, community projects going and in turn keep conservation a priority. As people turn to desperation for food, water, firewood etc. it is our protected havens that become target zones.

If you have been on safari before, we are asking you to think of the guide who showed you your first elephant, the barman in the lodge that smiled and chatted to you as they poured that ice cold G&T, the bush chef who made an incredible 3 course meal in the middle of nowhere or the camp managers who couldn’t have done more to provide anything you needed during your stay. It is these hard working individuals that now find themselves at a loss, with families of their own to feed and shelter.

Schools have been closed for several days now. This means no education for anyone and - above all - no school meals. There are no online courses here. We believe that families will be in need of care packages soon - food for the next few weeks, at least lunch for their children. Now more than ever schools need sponsors to keep children in school and to be able to support them!

The tragic economic consequences are what now threaten the lives of people living in Tanzania. We can hardly estimate the true outcome, but we fear very difficult times.

Here is what you can do:

• We acknowledge that not everyone is in the position to give back at the moment, but if you are, we would like to ask you to support Africa Amini Alama, a wonderful non-profit organization that takes care of Tanzanian people in many different ways. AAA is in need of funds to keep providing meals to school children and to keep running their social and educational projects. With your money, you will ensure that students and their families won’t have to worry about where to get their next meal from. Here is the link to their donation page: https://africaaminialama.com/en/donations

• If your Tanzania safari falls into a time of travel bans and uncertainties, do not cancel your trip; instead postpone to a later date, if you have to. We won’t charge you any change fees. See here our updated cancellation policy. Please note that our version of tourism is about connecting worlds and changing lives. A cancelled trip has a massive social and environmental impact all the way down the supply chain. It limits community and concession revenue, and hurts the efforts underway to protect ecosystems. While elevated levels of travel clearly help Sababu Safaris, it also provides huge support to our communities, our wild spaces and the Tanzanian government. Delay is clearly better than cancellation for all of our key stakeholders, so delaying rather than cancelling a booking helps the local communities, the wildlife, our staff and our industry partners.Postponing plans rather than cancelling altogether will help breathe life into an industry hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Think about your favorite guide on past vacations, your favorite local restaurant in that tiny village you visited…all of these people and their families in Tanzania have already been affected and hurt by the economic fallout from Covid-19. For many travelers, seeing the world is intrinsic to their well-being, so travel will never be fully off the agenda. But your decisions in the short-term will have far-reaching consequences. We are living in an unprecedented situation that nobody is to blame for and if postponing means that you can help another person or small business keep going, then it can be very helpful not to pull the plug, so long as you’re able to do so.

We love the bush, the animals, the flora and the people of Tanzania! If you have ever met us, you know the enthusiasm that spills from us as we highlight our favorite national parks and lodges and camps! It is going to be a tough year but we are in this together. Allow us to have a future and welcome you into it. We urge you to keep booking in the future to help us now, keep supporting the projects which support life in Tanzania and if you can give a little extra to those who need a little help we would be extremely grateful.

We thank you for not forgetting about the people in Tanzania during their own difficult times. Because what has been clearly demonstrated to us in these past few weeks: we are not alone, we are all going through a collective process - like never before.

Stay healthy and safe! Tanzania is waiting for you!

Your Sababu Safaris Team