​KK: So, what can you say you’ve learned so far, 8 months into the year with COVID-19? 
KM: What I am learning during this pandemic is that we need to be building resilient communities by tackling each season like there is a crisis of this magnitude, and that ignorance is expensive and lack of knowledge is deadly. As much as COVID-19 has affected us negatively, it has also presented opportunities. We have grown to appreciate even more what mother nature has provided us. All the developments we undertake require utilisation of natural resources and I’m hopeful that, going forward, we will all guard our natural resources and use them sustainably.  
 
KK: It’s reassuring to hear someone in your position say this because we definitely to take on beneficial lifestyle changes for the long run. Also considering that your Masters thesis observed 'Ecotourism implications on rural livelihoods and natural resources governance in the Chobe Enclave'. What are your parting words? 
KM: I am a firm believer in constant communication as it builds strong and lasting relationships among ourselves, with our clients and our stakeholders. We at CCB are not working in isolation. I’d like the community at large to know that the team is always ready to assist, to come together across departments and get the job done. We build and maintain networks because its fundamental for our work. My prayer for the whole team is that we keep developing a safe working environment, may our work be positively impactful in our communities, may we value our presence and appreciate each other’s efforts, and may we be a team that motivates each other and not compromise our physical and mental health. We all need to love what we do for us to achieve our set targets. 

​With the extended lockdowns happening across the world, it’s so easy to not make time to notice the little things. A new season has come to Botswana and we are still managing the national COVID-19 response. With winter upon us, we are conscious of how some members of the communities we work with are disproportionally affected, and so we continue to offer assistance in different ways.
 
After five years of severe drought, the Ghanzi region received its first rains in April – much to the joy of framers in the region. Ghanzi Farmers Network members, in collaboration with CCB, had been working on alternative ways of sustaining livestock wellbeing through initiatives like producing their own supplement feeds for their livestock. A combined method approach to promoting strong farming communities which are able to sustain themselves as well as produce items for profit is at the core of the work CCB does.
 
Another event met with much celebration was the arrival of the flood waters into Maun in May. An important component of the lives of communities in the area, as well as for wildlife, the waters are a lifeline. As a region we also work in, and with the understanding that promoting coexistence in one region can easily be set off kilter by disturbances to ecosystems in other places, we are happy about this meaningful natural event. The flood waters, which travelled from Angola and through Namibia, continue to fill the Okavango Delta and are now travelling down the rivers leading out of the delta – the Boro, Thamalakane, Boteti and Nxaraga.
 
Although this time has been challenging for us, it is the small joys we experience that remind us to focus on the positive. CCB remains committed to supporting communities throughout this tumultuous time, and we continue to devise ways of adapting our services and projects to accommodate the changes COVID-19 has brought to us.

​The Farming for Conservation (FFC) team in Ghanzi had an eventful weekend when it was realised that the goats had strayed from their kraal. The absence of the goats was noticed on Sunday, as reports Balekanye Mbinda of the FFC Team. While comfort could be taken in the knowledge that the goats have a Livestock Guarding Dog (LGD) assigned to them, with the anxieties of a national lockdown and people being advised to not wander from their homes, a missing herd is nothing to be taken lightly.
 
The FFC search party set off on the adventure to track the absent herd which had not returned on Saturday evening as usual. While they were out, Junior – the dutiful LGD – proved his skills and value by bringing his wards back home safely. LDGs do more than manage herds, but execute the primary duty as stated by their names – to guard the wellbeing of livestock against predation. Upon their return to the Demonstration Farm they were pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the herd returned, but Junior had managed to ensure that every goat was accounted for. It is through experiences like this that our belief in the value of our LGD programme is bolstered. We celebrate Junior and every LGD diligently serving farmers and livestock in our communities.