Implementing our vision still requires considerable investment and support from generous and committed people like you. While our first class of students will commence their studies in May of 2009, we still have a lot of work ahead to:
• Continue building a residential school campus in the heart of Kitobe Forest that is environmentally and economically sustainable.
• Expand school operations to accommodate up to 200 students and 15 faculty members by 2011.
• Make possible the development of a comprehensive fund-raising network to provide:
o Capital funds to achieve the current GOSESO objectives.
o The stable annual income necessary for effective and efficient operation of GOSESO.
o The establishment of a supporting scholarship fund to enable students from poor families to receive a world-class education at GOSESO.
• Expand our Conservation Outreach Program to include relevant lessons, conducted by our biophysical scientists and students, to enable students and teachers from neighboring primary schools to take field lessons at Kitobe Forest and Gombe Stream National Park.
• Continue refining effective protocols and strategies that blend wildlife conservation with the need for local villagers to earn an agriculturally derived livelihood.
• Establish our 500-acre Kitobe Forest as a model of sound and sustainable land use for all of Tanzania and East Africa. Our current focus is on restoring traditional medicinal plants and their availability to local people.
• Further develop our demonstration farm as an exemplary agricultural
education, economic, and research site.
We realize that these are ambitious goals, especially considering the current
tough economic conditions. We, however, feel strongly that our achievements
so far have been the result of collective efforts of our supporters. No one
person can support the GOSESO vision alone. The vision will only be realized
through our number, structure, and scale. A famous Swahili phrase clearly
states: “Little by little we will fill the cup.” I thank you in
advance for your continuous time and consideration in helping to fill this
cup.