Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Scooter Mart raises funds to help elephants

Fundraising effort: Nick Thomson, left, and James Chiappa are raising funds for African conservationist organisation, the Tsavo Trust (Photograph supplied)

Scooter Mart has thrown its support behind a fundraising initiative to benefit the Tsavo Trust, a charity that supports conservation efforts in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park.

The Paget business will donate $100 to the charity for every bike sold by November 15.

Owner Nick Thomson said the fundraising initiative was launched by his friend James Chiappa, an underwriter at Chubb who will donate an additional $50 for every bike sold.

Mr Chiappa said: “After travelling to Kenya for a safari holiday in 2016, and again in April, I became infatuated with the wildlife and landscape of East Africa.

“Observing the concentration and diversity of species, particularly in the national parks, was an incredible experience which led me to fundraise to protect these remaining landscapes.”

He said Kenya’s largest national park, 16,000 square-mile Tsavo, is home to 13,000 elephants — but they are being killed at the rate of 100 per day.

“Sadly, these majestic giants are under pressure from ivory poachers and retaliatory killings in human-wildlife conflicts,” Mr Chiappa said.

The Tsavo Trust supports wildlife conservation, community conservation education and the development of local communities, as well as animal rehabilitation centres.

Mr Chiappa said: “The group has played a critical role in reducing the number of poaching incidents in the region. Tsavo Trust has also benefited the local communities with a number of employment programmes and educational programmes along with providing infrastructural advancements to enrich livelihoods.”

He added: “Please join me in supporting this worthy cause to ensure Tsavo remains a healthy and safeguarded park for generations to come.”

For more information about the Tsavo Trust, see https://tsavotrust.org/. To make a donation, visit the fundraising portal at https://tinyurl.com/y34kcwom