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A UniMog for Sebastian In 1996, a group of people in California who have organized themselves into a non-profit organization which they call the Rafiki Foundation (Rafiki means friend in Ki-Swahili) secured the donation of a 1966 UniMog which they shipped to Sebastian. This truck made by Mercedes Benz is a four-wheel drive army transport vehicle and the group filled it with school supplies, used computers and other supplies that could be used in Sebastian’s botanical, educational and conservation work. |
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The Rafiki Foundation is composed of members who
have met Sebastian during safari or visits to Tanzania and been impressed with his efforts
to serve in the fields of conservation and education. They also provide educational
supplies for him to distribute to the youth in his area. Sebastian will use the truck to carry materials, supplies and plants needed in his conservation efforts. He also plans to load up the truck with school children and drive them to the |
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| national parks and game preserves of northern
Tanzania to show them the wealth of wildlife and natural beauty that will be both their
heritage and also their responsibility to preserve for future generations. This educational outreach on his part is invaluable for the future prospects of resources such as mpingo. Because of the material poverty of the country of Tanzania, many of the children Sebastian is mentoring would otherwise never be able to afford an experience in nature like he is providing for them. |
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 Dovyalis cuttings planted under the fence will grow into a brushy barrier in time |
 Young member of one of Sebastian’s Mpingo Clubs transplanting mpingo sapling |
 Mpngo saplings have been transplanted into irrigation trenches along the fenceline at the Moshi Mpingo Plot in Dec. 1998 |
"In the Lion’s Den" In addition to being a botanist, Sebastian is also well known in northern Tanzania as a marvelous and informative safari guide. In 1996 a BBC film crew traveled to Tanzania to produce footage for a PBS Nature series program called "In the Lion’s Den." Anthony Hopkins narrated the documentary inspired by his own life-long fascination with cats. Sebastian was a safari leader in the production of the documentary. He chose location sites and also acted as liaison between the filmmakers and the Maasai who were interviewed in the film about their tribal interactions with the lions of the Serengeti Plain. ABCP Organization News On April 29, 1999, the ABCP received its charter as a non-profit corporation from the state of Texas. An application is now under consideration by the Internal Revenue Service to grant the ABCP IRS 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. After this legal determination is established, all contributions to the ABCP will be tax-deductible. Additionally, after such status is secured, the ABCP will begin to pursue grants from foundations for which the IRS tax-exempt non-profit status is a prerequisite for application. next—> |
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James E. Harris, © 2000.
Last revised 25 Feb 2003.
