The first image is of a village in the area in which we are providing help. I took the photograph from an army helicopter during a recce to provide assessment and get some emergency supplies in. The day had started with a long, bumpy, dusty jeep ride which had frayed the nerves because of the constant threat of landslides. We took the opportunity to not only get medical and other supplies in overland but also to ferry a few locals to their villages, I simply couldn't bear the thought of them walking along jeep tracks and unstable trails in those conditions.
I feel the same trepidation when taking WildTiger people into these areas to provide aid. I'm constantly juggling my thinking and adjusting so that there is maximum efficiency balanced with the risk involved. That is how it will play out over the coming months.
I'm about to leave to go and check on Asa, the Leopard of Hope, rewilded and many ways giving some stability to those of us who care about that project. Before I go I am saying goodbye to good friend and colleague Cecile Michiardi (2nd image) who leaves to return to her bases in France and Morocco. Cecile has been a rock especially these past three weeks. We have been mostly working in separate areas but her quick understanding when I have needed things done urgently has been a huge asset to me, to WildTiger, to the situation. We had been planning R2A for a while but obviously the earthquake meant we had to bring it forward... and quickly. I can't thank Cecile enough for the way she responded to the crisis and now she will be playing equally important roles from outside the country as she organizes several important facets of our work including the fund raising photo exhibitions. She will also be taking care of many issues that I simply cannot do from here because of failing infrastructure, time and the fact I am often in isolated areas. You'll become more and more aware of Cecile's work as our online platform upgrades later in the year.
I have many people to thank here and outside the country, I will get to this when I can and I thank all concerned for their understanding as to why I am difficult to contact right now. I spent time going through this last night and noticed that many contributors are people who have met us, seen what we do. This tells me that our philosophy of keeping our framework right at ground level is what people want to see and support. This will never change, I choose people who really get that and as Hemant says we are like farmers, we get our hands dirty.
Many people have left the country and there is a genuine fear other big quakes will hit, something which unfortunately experts are predicting. Life goes on, it has to and I promise that WildTiger will continue to be as effective as we can. I will be explaining soon our thinking and ethics around the word "habitat" and how conservation in a place like this has to have the right blend of proactivity to protect wildlife and people, they are not separate, we are all in this together especially at a time like this.
I thank you for your support, best regards, Jack.
