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An Evening with Damien Mander, Founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation

& Vimbai Kumire, Squad Leader of Akashinga

Discussing ‘Akashinga’ – Nature Protected by Women

6 pm Cocktails & Hors d’eouvres

6:30 pm Presentation followed by Q&A

DAMIEN MANDER

Please join us as Damien Mander discusses his journey from the self-described “ultimate boys club” of special forces to conservation, and the inspiring women of Akashinga he has trained to protect Africa’s ecosystem’s for future generations.

Former Australian navy clearance diver, special ops sniper, and Iraq war veteran Damien Mander founded IAPF in 2009, utilizing his military background to train rangers to protect Africa’s wildlife. IAPF is a multi-national not-for-profit conservation organization working to protect the dwindling elephant and rhino populations due to the poaching crisis.

In 2017, IAPF launched an all-female anti poaching unit called ‘AKASHINGA’, meaning ‘The Brave Ones’ in Shona, the native language of Zimbabwe. Akashinga is a new and innovative conservation model in an industry dominated by men. The Nature Conservancy states “that empowering women is the single biggest force for positive change in the world today.”

As seen on the BBC:

https://youtu.be/HAmQLQwF_BE

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VIMBAI KUMIRE

In 2017 Vimbai Kumire heard that the IAPF was recruiting women to be rangers. With her brother’s encouragement she applied and was deployed as a ranger in the pioneering Akashinga team.

Since becoming a ranger, she has consistently demonstrated her grit, discipline and leadership, resulting in her promotion to Sergeant and Squad Leader of Akashinga Ranger Team One. As a single mother of two, she can now afford a home, support her mother and send her children to school.

“If you do something wrong to my animals, I will catch you.” -Vimbai Kumire

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All proceeds to benefit the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, a US registered 501c3.

To learn more go to IAPF.org

Thanks to our sponsors: