Obviously a wondrously effective organisation. Small, but exquisite in every detail”
Bill Oddie, OBE – Birdwatcher, natural history presenter and High Five Club Patron
changing lives in wildlife areas of Africa, £5 at a time
Like us, you probably lament the depressing state of global affairs, conservation pressures and increasing poverty the world over. You can’t help but be deeply affected by the knowledge that one billion people earn less than 50 pence a day, and two billion people lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation, or electricity. As someone who works with rural communities in wildlife areas of Africa, High Five Club Founder, Dr Cheryl Mvula, sees this at first hand on the ground.
As we were seeing in the New Year with our families, we were acutely aware that the Maasai community Cheryl works with in Kenya was experiencing a very different start to 2008; the post election riots were in full force and people were being displaced from their homes.
We then made a pact, a joint New Year resolution, that in our own small way we would together make a difference to the lives of people living in wildlife areas of Africa. Drawing on the successful model of the 10$ Club that a colleague of ours set up in Washington DC back in 2002, the High Five Club was born that very day!
As individuals we are limited in the resources we can bring to the table to fight poverty in Africa, but we concluded that if we could start by getting 100 like-minded people to each give £5 a month, together we could make a direct difference of £500 to someone, to some local community, somewhere in Africa each month – and help wildlife at the same time.
The rest as they say is history!
Cheryl, Manny & Fen
High Five Club Trustees