Dear friends of the College,
And finally, 2022 draws to a close and what a short but long and intense year it’s been!
Essentially 2022 has been a year of recovery on so many different levels. The outset of the year saw many of our staff returning to a five-day week after having to show resilience and fortitude over the two-year Covid-19 period. Fortunately, not one of our staff members lost their jobs over this time.
Our students were also finally able to return from across the region and it was with such hope and gladness that we welcomed them back. It has not been easy for them or for their organisations who were also in a recovery phase with many of the parks having lost a large amount of income with the closure of tourism routes.
Fortunately, in 2022, we were also once again able to travel and as such deliver various training courses on site across the region, attend and contribute to a number of conferences, workshops and summits as well as conduct our yearly marketing and fundraising trip.
Whilst Zoom, MS Teams and other online meeting and training portals have been used to fullest extent, we did realize the importance of once again renewing and growing relationships face to face, and getting out into the field where many of us are needed. Much of which is reported in this final 2022 issue of the Bateleur.
Next year we once again look forward to welcoming back many of our visiting international University groups, which this year were still a little hamstrung and unable to make the long trip. This did not deter the many individual students and professional interns who came from across the globe to spend some time doing research or volunteering at the College. It was really great to once again see the interactions between people from different countries and continents and to see the busier classrooms, offices and walkways on campus.
And yes, there is no doubt that this year has also been a trying one as we tried to get back to normality. Our donors and supporters have been an incredible support with much engagement taking place and new or updated contracts and MoU’s now being put in place. Without their support we would not have been able to continue with our critical task.
The College is proud to have been able to withstand the hardships we endured both as an institution and also as individuals, with many of our staff also having lost loved ones during this time. We have had to regroup, rethink, reengineer and reimagine our next steps and I believe that as a collective team we had done just that and have come out stronger on the other end.
As we now all go our separate ways over the festive season, with some of our operational teams staying on site, may we stay safe and be kind to ourselves. We look forward to an invigorating 2023, with renewed motivation to inspire every person we train and engage with to make a difference. There is no doubt that the onus is on each and every one of us, as what we do today will affect tomorrow.
Hope you enjoy reading the final 2022 wrap up. Until next time, we wish everyone a wonderful, blessed and joy-filled break with their families, friends and loved ones.
Best wishes,
Jeanné