Team “We Love Animals” | 2022 Impact Challenge

Team Members: Louise Gong-McGovern, Jamora Arroyo-Jefferson, Ayden Wilson

Impact Partner: Michelle McClean Children’s Trust

The Challenge: The wildlife in Namibia are facing unprecedented challenges to their survival in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions that have placed severe economic constraints on the Namibian people and their government; the result of which has been an increase in illegal poaching of animals as a source of food by starving, unemployed locals as well as a reduction in the overall wildlife population because of a lack of natural resources for the animals - available habitat and water - due to the encroachment onto their designated land reserves by over-consuming factions of people and government entities.

SDGs Addressed: SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities, SDG 15: Life On Land

The Solution: With the survival challenge for Namibian wildlife rooted in the country’s economic instability, Team “We Love Animals” proposes a multicomponent awareness and fundraising solution that provides the government additional capital to address the critical issues of food insecurity, lack of employment and protection of the animals by:
1. Establishing regional farms operated by locally trained and employed laborers for the production of sustainable food.
2.Training and employing locals as regional wildlife entrepreneurs - artisans, tour guides and lodging providers - with the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
3. Training and employing locals as regional advocates and security personnel to protect the wildlife.

The Reason: The members of “We Love Animals” share a passion for animals, in addition to a commitment to wildlife conservation. Thus, we selected the issue of “Saving Namibian Wildlife” as our Impact Challenge. Our proposed multicomponent awareness and fundraising solution to provide the government additional capital to address the critical issues of food insecurity, lack of employment and protection of the animals, directly focuses on overcoming this human-wildlife conflict by developing more “Sustainable Cities and Communities” (SDG 11) as well as improving the overall condition of “Life on Land” (SDG 15) for the Namibian wildlife, economy, its people and their government.