Angama Foundation

Angama is founded on the principle of running a profitable business in order to make a meaningful and sustainable difference to the communities that neighbour the lodge, and the wildlife and land that surround it. In a nutshell, the Angama team believes in Benjamin Franklin’s oft-quoted saying: ‘Doing Well, by Doing Good / Doing Good, by Doing Well’.

Each guest at Angama contributes a US$20 per night donation to the Angama Foundation, a separate entity which has been set up to support the communities that neighbour the lodge and the wildlife and land that surround it. The Foundation is active through three fields of work: Education, Healthcare and Conservation. Projects are identified and prioritised together with the lodge’s neighbouring communities, the Conservancies, and NGOs that have a track record of making an impact in the region. The Foundation is also open to micro-donations facilitated through the lodge’s Safari Shop; for sizeable project-specific donations, please contact us. For those based in the USA, one of the Angama Foundation’s partners, The Nobelity Project, has created a link where guests can pay by credit card and obtain 501(c)(3) tax exemption, with the full donation going to the Angama Foundation. 

Conservation

The Foundation works first and foremost with the Mara Conservancy to ensure the longevity of the Mara Triangle, and may play a broader role within the greater Mara-Serengeti ecosystem once the sustainability of the Triangle has been assured. The first two fields of co-operation that have been identified are livestock predation compensation and rhino monitoring, discussions are underway as to how best to affect this support, complemented by ongoing education initiatives in the community.

Education

There are several schools in the vicinity of Angama Mara, all of which are at different stages of development. The Foundation has structured its support in order to improve the general level of education offering in the area, and on a hierarchy of needs: classrooms, food, running water & security first, then learning materials and digital / eLearning initiatives. Developing scalable programs that will benefit several schools (such as making classroom desks or providing books), is another priority for the Foundation, as is supporting specific projects at individual schools – the first two projects completed in March 2017 being staff accommodation at Emurutoto, and new classrooms at Partakilat, both nearby primary schools.

Healthcare

The Foundation is working to improve the health and welfare of the neighbouring communities by facilitating the provision of medicine and skilled medical advice. In order to do so, the Foundation has partnered with the lodge to build a clinic, which serves both the community and lodge staff. The Foundation is also exploring ways it can help facilitate nearby communities’ access to water.