My story.
Into Zimbabwe …
Most would plan a trip like this for a while, as it was a trip of a lifetime. However, we learned rather last minute that our daughter, and other students at Penn State University, would be traveling to Zambia in June 2015 as part of a long-term project of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program. Living and working with locals, farmers, and business people, the project and the team build self-sustaining affordable greenhouses in developing countries. Our daughter would spend three weeks in Zambia, after which we would meet her and explore Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Before we connected with our daughter, my husband and I headed to Hwange National Park and the Hide Safari Camp for a few – never to forget – days. Evening drives in this part of the world revealed the most beautiful, star-filled skies we have ever experienced. It is here that I had the good fortune to photograph and experience Cecil the Lion in his environment, just before his life was tragically shortened. This experience inspired me to write a children’s book, titled, Roary the Lion, in the hopes that the story may be a way to start the next generation thinking about the need for environmental protection.
For my part, all proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to environmental protection and wildlife conservation programs. I hope these beautiful animals will be with us for many generations to come.
I am truly grateful that we were guests at the Hide, and for our experiences in beautiful Africa.
By Dana Warnquist
