African Bush Camps Welcomes First Female Guide Graduates in Botswana

**African-based safari company with luxury camps and lodges in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe currently trains 15 female guides, aiming to make the safari industry more accessible and inclusive for women**

Cape Town, South Africa - African Bush Camps Foundation (ABCF) welcomes its first female Safari Guides, the cream of a cohort of motivated women from communities in Botswana who have been trained in the ins and outs of guiding travelers safely and rewardingly through the bush.

ABCF's Female Guide Program is an intensive, two-year curriculum of theory, practical, and on-the-job training in African Bush Camps (ABC) camps, designed to boost confidence, build companionship, and sharpen critical skills, from wildlife and conservation to photography and tracking. The graduates play a key role in paving the way for more balanced gender representation in the safari industry and offer strong support for women pursuing guiding careers. Their success is helping to break barriers and create opportunities for more women to enter this traditionally male-dominated field.

Among them, Baemule "Bae" Siethuka has become the first female guide to be promoted to trainee guide at ABC. Hailing from the village of Tutume in the country's northeast, Bae dreamt of being a pilot but instead studied law and public administration before being inspired by a female guide and answering ABCF's call for trainees. The Female Guide Program ignited her passion for nature and conservation, "things I've been interested in for as long as I can remember," noting that her guiding combines her love of the wild and practiced communication skills.

"As a woman, there were challenges to being in such a male-dominated field, but that made me even more determined." Now working at Atzaró Okavango Camp, ABC's wildly luxurious oasis tucked amid winding waterways and grasslands in the vibrant and diverse Okavango Delta, Bae enlivens time on safari by sharing fascinating details of what waits in the bush and reassuring guests with her knowledge and preparedness. Confidence and professionalism quickly earn trust, she says. "By the end of the day, the guests and I have great connections that go beyond everyone's expectations."

**Expanding the Female Guide Project**

With the success of its first cohort of trainees, ABCF has expanded the Female Guide Project with three additional cohorts in Botswana and three in Zambia. The foundation plans to launch the Zimbabwe program in 2025, completing its vision of having female guides in the three countries in which it operates.
For more information or to plan a safari with African Bush Camps, please visit African Bush Camps. To learn more about Atzaró Okavango, follow this link. A detailed fact sheet is available here.

Links:
https://africanbushcamps.com/camps/atzaro-okavango/
https://africanbushcamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ABC-Atzaro-Okavango-Camp-Factsheet.pdf
https://www.africanbushcampsfoundation.org/
https://africanbushcamps.com/

For more information about this press release:
https://andreaschnoor.com/blog/african-bush-camps-welcomes-first-female-guide-graduates/

Andrea Schnoor Communications
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About African Bush Camps

African Bush Camps is a 100% owner-run, African-based safari company designed to delight from luxury in the wild to the wildly luxurious with authentic safari experiences amid untamed nature across Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Operations are always focused on the guests, with 17 luxury-tented bush camps and lodges offering seamless safari experiences with internal flights, food, drinks, and activities included. African Bush Camps promotes and influences travel to Africa on a global scale while operating with a strong focus on conservation and an environmentally sustainable footprint that celebrates the culture of communities in the areas in which it operates. African Bush Camps has been awarded the Green Tourism Gold Certification, ranked in the Condé Nast Traveler 2023 Readers' Choice Award as one of the Best Resorts in the World, and named a Global Winner in the 2023 World Travel Awards. Beks Ndlovu, African Bush Camps' CEO, is also the recipient of the Robb Report's Best of the Best Awards 2021.

The African Bush Camps Foundation is a nonprofit organization that funds community empowerment, education, human-wildlife conflict resolution, and conservation. Launched in 2006, the Foundation operates through a multi-faceted partnership with African Bush Camps. At least 2,5 percent of ABC's revenue goes towards the Foundation annually. Since its inception, the Foundation has spearheaded 72 community projects across Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia; 42 of those projects are currently in operation under the Foundation's wing.

African Bush Camps was founded in 2006 by Beks Ndlovu, a professional safari guide born and raised in the village of Lupane on the outskirts of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. From the start of operations, Ndlovu's mission has been to operate a portfolio of luxury tented camps and lodges across Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia that reincarnate the fantasy of 'Old Untouched Africa' while treating guests to luxurious and professionally guide-led experiences and bespoke safaris that can only be found in the bush. Beks Ndlovu is a leading voice in the tourism and conservation spheres, advocating for tourism to be used as a vehicle to transform African communities.

This release was published on openPR.