Hi All,

Thanks to all the people who have made this Usa River Primary School Project a reality.

We shipped 1573 pounds of school supplies on February 1st and are due to arrive in Tanzania by the end of March. In the future we will collect funds an purchase the supplies in Tanzania so that we more significantly support the local economy, and not spend so much on the shipping costs. I am confident that through our Rotary Club and Adopt A School partners in Tanzania that the funds will be spent appropriately for the children.

I also signed off on a $8700 renovation of the Usa Primary School, and the money has been wired to Adopt A School. This project is meant to make the environment of the school more conducive to education. The funds will provide for putting glass in all windows throughout the school so that on rainy and windy days, the children can focus on their lessons rather than the cold damp breezes blowing through the classroom. Ceilings will be constructed, walls plastered and painted in 3 classrooms and a teachers room so that there some reflectance (light) in the rooms on the dark gloomy days in the rainy season. A patio/veranda with drainage and low landscaping walls will be constructed so that the children will not have to walk through a quagmire when moving between classes, and will have a place to sit while eating lunch. A concrete pad will be poured around the only water spigot in the school yard, and a new toilet will at least be started if not finished.

I leave tomorrow for my next safari with 9 guests joining me for an African Adventure. 3 of the people on this trip have been on other trips with me in the past. Some people (like me) just can’t get enough. I will have 2 days at the end of the trip to manage the school project and make sure that the project plan is being implemented as planned.

I look forward to updating you again upon my return.

Sincerely,
William Cowger

The Detroit Free Press printed an article on the Usa River School project on January 15, 2008. It appeared on the front page of the local section and it got a lot of response. The link to the article is here:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801150349

During the July 2006 Acacia Safari trip to Africa, we had the opportunity to be touched by the plight of a school in the town of Usa River, Tanzania. The USA in Usa River is not an accident as it was originally founded by a group of Americans in the 1950’s with the idea of making it a planned community. The good news is that the town does have water (communal spigots) and it does have electricity (there are even a couple satelite dishes), but it has no sewage disposal system nor paved roads for its +/- 20,000 residents. I prefer to have our last night and day in Tanzania at the Mt. Meru Game Lodge because it is a great place to wind down and yet experience Africa before heading home. One of the employees of the lodge is an elder in Usa River and loves to show off his town to visitors. It was Frank who took us through the town and to the primary school. Our first impression of the school was stark to say the least. From the street it is merely an unpainted concrete block tin roofed building.

On the school yard side of the building, the outside walls were painted white, but most of the windows and doors had no glass in them. The only maps of Africa and Tanzania were painted on the walls on the school yard side of the building.

More than 600 students attend this school in which there is no electricity. Each classroom has between 60 and 75 students sitting 3 per desk. This classroom of 65 stood as we entered. The behavior of the children was extraordinary. As our visitors passed out direly needed pencils and pens to the 65 students in this classroom, those in front remained well behaved and facing the front. At the back of the room you can see the trigonometry text which consists of teacher drawn construction paper pages from which the students study their lesson.

The administrator called an all school assembly out in the school yard, and the students in an orderly fashion lined up for our teachers in the group to talk to them.. When asked what they needed most, they responded that although they are always in need of basic school supplies, the primary need is additional classrooms, the cost of which is approximately $9,000 each. It was obvious to all of us that the staff were totally dedicated to educating these children, and that the children were proud and wanted to be in school. We saw other children on the street looking longingly into the school yard with looks of envy on their faces. Education is the only hope for the improvement of life in Africa where they suffer so much from a lack of the basics. Half of the population of Tanzania is under the age of 21 and the average life expectancy is only 53 years versus 73 in the US. Education is crucial to break the cycle of poverty.

The people on this trip, without any coaching or even the suggestion from me, decided to help this school. To date they have collected more than 500 lbs of school supplies and have raised more than $8000 (just $1500 short of what it will cost to build the first new classroom - hoping to eventually build 2 classrooms) and ship the school supplies. They have collected the funds and supplies through their friends and through the schools at which they teach. All of the funds are being collected in a special account of the Troy Rotary Foundation. Being a Rotarian, I have arranged for administration of the project to be handled by the Rotary Club in Arusha, Tanzania. One can not enter Arusha without seeing signs of the wonderful work of the Arusha Rotary Club. They in conjunction with an organization called Adopt A School (website is www.AdoptASchool.info), will administer the building of the classroom and the distribution of the school supplies. We have also collected some funds for scholarships for children to go to school since not all can afford it. The Rotary Club of Arusha will also select and distribute those funds. Adopt A School is a non-profit that has been working with the improvement and building of schools throughout Tanzania, and has worked with the Arusha Rotary Club. We will count on their expertise in school construction. I will meet with both the Adopt A School personnel and with the Arusha Rotary Club on the May 2007 trip.

Should you decide to help us with the project, send checks made out to the Troy Rotary Foundation and in the memo field indicate it is for the Usa River Project. Send the checks to William Cowger, 6499 Atkins, Troy, MI 48085. Thank you !

International travel and wildlife photographer, William Cowger of Acacia Photography, Inc. in Troy is pleased to announce the opening of two concurrent photography exhibits at the Troy Public Library January 3 through January 31, 2007.  The shows are “An African Adventure”(Hall Gallery) and “The World” (West Gallery).
A grand opening reception will be held at the library conference room on Sunday January 7, 2007 from 2-5PM.  During the reception, Mr. Cowger will have a continuous running slide show and will present a beginning workshop on wildlife photography at 4PM.
The “African Adventure” will feature photographs from several of the photo safaris and workshops Mr. Cowger conducts each year in the Serengeti in Tanzania.  The intent is to capture the feel of the adventure. According to Mr. Cowger, Each day we have the opportunity to witness our own private “National Geographic Special” live and unscripted, Some of the featured shots include tree climbing lions, Cheetahs on the run, and a lioness protecting her cub in a true saga of survival of the fittest.
The exhibit “The World” will feature travel and scenic photographs from Greece, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy,  Mexico, and Africa, as well as around the United States and even Troy. 

The Troy Public Library is in the Troy Civic Center Complex at 510 West Big Beaver.
Mr. Cowger is a member of the Professional Photographers of America, the Professional Photographers of Michigan, the Troy Chamber of Commerce and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.  For more information call 248-828-0666

On my many trips to Africa on photo safaris, I had heard of the lions of Lake Manyara National Park that have a propensity to climb and sit in trees. Since I had not heard of lions climbing trees in the Serengeti or in other wildlife game parks in Africa,  I confidently told my clients that joined me on Safaris, that the only possibility of seeing lions in trees would be at Lake Manyara. I also explained that it was a dream of mine to actually witness this phenomena, but very rare occurance.  In my previous trips to Lake Manyara, I once had seen a pride of lions in a tree, but they were in a dark canopy of a very dense tree.  It was possible to tell that they were in the tree, but impossible to photograph.

On the May 2006 Safari, I not only lived my dream… but also was made out to be a liar. 

The dream comes true -

Lake Manyara is a small game park at the foot of the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania.  Although a small park, it is home to a wide variety of wildlife in large numbers.  On every visit I have seen large numbers of elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffallo, gazelles, wart hogs, blue and vervet monkeys, troops of hundreds of baboons, and amazing bird life in just a few hours in the park.  More rare but always a possibility are lions and leopards as well. After about 3 hours in the park during which we had seen a lot, the other car in our group radioed that the a lioness was in a tree next to the road.  Our driver took us straight there… right through a herd of 30+ elephants without taking the time to stop and watch them.  When we arrived at the tree, there was a female in the tree and 2 males in the grass below. Not only were we witnessing a lion in a tree, but it was late afternoon, the sunlight was warm, and the lion was not hidden behind branches or leaves…. a photographers dream.

As we watched, one of the males got up and looked longingly at his mate in the tree for several minutes.  Then, as if a movie director shouted ‘Action!’, the male made it’s way to the tree, and started to climb.  We were so close that I had to drop my camera with the telephoto attached and pick up the body with the wider lens on it (28-135mm) The shots of him climbing are some of the most exciting wildlife photographs I have ever taken.  (hint here… if I did not have the other camera handy with a wider lens and had to change lenses I would have missed the climbing shots).

 No sooner had the dominant male climbed the tree when the other younger male decided to climb to a different branch of the same tree.

 Once up there and looking like he is in charge, he laid his head to sleep with a silly grin on his face.  Then there were 3 in the tree (not a great photo).  The wonder of the Lake Manyara tree climbing lions had played itself out for us in a way that one could only dream.  I put the camera down, and just watched… for the first time observing these amazing creatures from below.  It was no longer about getting the best shot… but rather absorbing the experience.  I still get tingles down my spine when I think of it.

The Lie -

Over the next 6 days in the Serengeti, we saw almost as many lions in trees as we saw on the ground… which made a liar of me.  We always see lions in the Serengeti… normally 4-5 prides each day.  In the years I have been going to the Serengeti, I had never experienced or even heard of others having seen lions in trees.  I felt like a fool.  I am told that during particular times of year when the flies are bad, the lions climb trees for relief from the flies.  Although the flies never bothered us humans, many of the lions had hundreds of flies on their faces and could hardly keep their eyes open.

       Normally a photographing lions in the Serengeti is all about getting some separation between the lion and the similarly colored plains. Photographing lions in trees is just like photographing birds.  Over expose to keep them from looking silouetted.  The amount depends on the percentage of the frame that is the lion versus the percentage that is sky… and over compensate if it is a white bland sky.  In the end, the photographs while providing me with a living… more importantly provide me with a record of memories that first of all no one would believe if I couldn’t show them, and second of all fill me with awe and love for the wildlife that has managed to survive against all odds in this developing world.  The memories last a lifetime… but the feelings they engender are even more special… they fuel my soul.

Welcome to the Acacia Photography Blog. Thank you for stopping by.  This space is intended to be a place where customers and visitors to the website can comment on images, discuss photography, and learn from each other. Please leave your comments and questions.

Regards,

Bill Cowger