From the beginning of November there will be a slight change in management at Colobus Conservation. Andrea Donaldson will be taking a one year sabbatical to complete her PhD, returning next year, November 2016. While away Kelly Martin will be the new Conservation Manager at Colobus Conservation, overseeing all the conservation programmes and projects. Kelly has previously volunteered at Colobus Conservation for 6 months in 2012, as one of Betsy’s human carers. Further to this Kelly did an MSc in Primate Conservation, conducting her research at Colobus Conservation between May to July, 2015. This consisted of interviewing people on perceptions of the wildlife in Diani. Kelly has had previous experience working with primates both in the UK and in Africa, overseeing primate orphan care, volunteer programmes and animal husbandry. In addition, Kelly has experience working in finance administration and hospitality. Her main passion is conservation and community work and hopes to be able to work with the diverse community within and around Diani.
The first couple of weeks of Kelly’s arrival has been eventful with the arrival of a new orphan Sykes monkey, named Haki. Haki was found dehydrated, lying in the sun and incredibly weak. While Kelly is beginning to the learn the ropes, she has attended welfare call outs, witnessing a Sykes with a snare around its neck and an adult Sykes monkey covered in paint. She has also been observing our weekly education workshops and meeting the staff working alongside Base Titanium addressing the crop raiding issue around Gongoni Forest. The next few months will be especially challenging as Kelly begins to develop further the community work currently conducted by Colobus Conservation.
Andrea Donaldson will be incredibly missed over the next 12 months and has done an amazing job at Colobus Conservation. Kelly will continue to do her work until Andreas return. Please continue to use the Colobus Conservation hotline number: 0711 479 453 or alternatively email us on enquiries. Kelly welcomes any questions so please feel free to approach her around Diani or contact her on the above information.