Listen First- Then Act

A picture is worth more than a thousand words. It was with this idiom in mind that we decided to launch The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year. There is so much that goes on within the Greater Maasai Mara; so many people who work day and night to ensure that the land is protected and its animals are kept safe.

Many of the best photographs taken in Africa are captured in the Mara, but so few photographers have the ways and means of saying ‘Thank You’ to those people who made it possible, but they will more than likely never get to meet.

We decided to turn this on its head and create a photographic competition which could be used to raise money for the organisations who need it the most to do their day-to-day work. When you enter a photograph into The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year  you get to choose one of six organisations to receive 100% of your entry fee.

One of the organisations doing incredible work in the area is the small team of the Anne K. Taylor Fund.

The Anne K. Taylor Fund (AKTF) works closely with the local Maasai community to support projects that maintain the delicate balance between conservation and community development. They focus on combatting poaching on a daily basis, being ever-present with a boots-on-the-ground approach. Their goal is to offer new perspectives that help empower communities in the Mara ecosystem to protect their wildlife heritage for generations to come.

Here is a short video we put together featuring Anne K. Taylor and Elias. Whilst this video only concentrates on two aspects of a multi-faceted project, it is worth mentioning that the AKTF team spends a large amount of time on other initiatives. These include building and supporting schools, providing female sexual health education, beading classes and most recently, soap-making lessons. All their work is done ensuring that local communities benefit from keeping the Mara intact.

See the website for more on the work conducted by the Anne K. Taylor fund.

To enter your Mara photograph into the photographic competition be sure to check out the website now. Not only do you stand a chance of winning $10,000 in cash, but you will be contributing to the protection of the Maasai Mara. This is just a small way of saying thank you to the silent heroes.  Entry fees donated to the AKTF will be used to fund anti-poaching patrols and the construction of predator-proof bomas (traditional livestock enclosures) to protect livestock from predator attacks.