I Heart Africa Project

Meet Africa, a vast and beautiful continent. Africa is the heart of the world, the cradle of life, a continent teeming with breath-taking landscapes, cultures, histories, wildlife, adversities, and people. Where tradition and culture converge and are deeply threaded throughout modern-day Africa. In the pages of I Heart Africa Project meet the incredible individuals whose souls have been touched by Africa: from residents, wildlife heroes, conservationists, documentary hosts, photographers, rangers, veterinarians, wildlife ecologists, guides, tourists, and many more, who all share their experiences, journeys, and love of the Dark Continent. Filled with authentic stories and stunning photographs, I Heart Africa Project offers advice from those who have journeyed across these ancient lands, enlightens you as to the efforts and struggles of conservation, and sheds light on the warmth, beauty, and incredible experiences one can possibly have in Africa.

"Little did Kiwi woman Denise Carnihan know that what started as her son's school project on 'family origins' would result in visiting her newly discovered family in South Africa in 2009, and lead her and her family on a completely different life journey, culminating in building a fully functioning school in a poor region of Kenya in 2011. Inspired by her initial adventure, Denise decided to do a volunteer stint at an orphanage in Kenya and after witnessing the poverty and squalor first hand, she understood the enormous importance placed on education in this developing country. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could build a little school in a big slum for say 50 kids was the random comment she made to her husband, Chris when they both returned to Kenya the following year. Incredibly, this became the reality for Denise and Chris Carnihan from a small coastal town in New Zealand. They then literally "stumbled" head first into building and establishing their very own primary school - in a large slum, opening with not 50 children as planned ... but 117. Within 18 months the roll had grown to 380+ children and 12 staff. Denise, talks passionately about her love for Africa and her beautiful African journey. And she describes candidly the joys; the immense satisfaction and the overwhelming drive needed to persevere, together with the enormous challenges, battles, and frustrations in establishing a project in a slum of Kenya, where communication and culture operate in extremes"--http://www.isharemyheartwithafrica.com.

"Little did Kiwi woman Denise Carnihan know that what started as her son's school project on 'family origins' would result in visiting her newly discovered family in South Africa in 2009, and lead her and her family on a completely different life journey, culminating in building a fully functioning school in a poor region of Kenya in 2011. Inspired by her initial adventure, Denise decided to do a volunteer stint at an orphanage in Kenya and after witnessing the poverty and squalor first hand, she understood the enormous importance placed on education in this developing country. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could build a little school in a big slum for say 50 kids was the random comment she made to her husband, Chris when they both returned to Kenya the following year. Incredibly, this became the reality for Denise and Chris Carnihan from a small coastal town in New Zealand. They then literally "stumbled" head first into building and establishing their very own primary school - in a large slum, opening with not 50 children as planned ... but 117. Within 18 months the roll had grown to 380+ children and 12 staff. Denise, talks passionately about her love for Africa and her beautiful African journey. And she describes candidly the joys; the immense satisfaction and the overwhelming drive needed to persevere, together with the enormous challenges, battles, and frustrations in establishing a project in a slum of Kenya, where communication and culture operate in extremes"--http://www.isharemyheartwithafrica.com.

A widely requested follow up to Janine Maxwell's first two books It's Not Okay With Me and Is It Okay With You?, HOPE LIVES HERE is a comprehensive look behind the scenes of Project Canaan: A Place of HOPE, a development project and children's home that she and her husband Ian are building in Africa. While this book is not specifically a "how to" manual on how to start a ministry in Africa, nor a guide on successfully developing a self-sustainable farm with water provision during devastating drought, it is the heartfelt and often heart-wrenching story of their journey and path toward growing promising futures for hundreds of orphaned or abandoned children. Maxwell breaks down details of their Hunger, Orphans, Poverty, Education initiatives designed to bring HOPE to the kingdom of Eswatini and much more. Joys and successes are equally shared alongside lows and betrayals.

“This is a gorgeous, lyrical, hilarious, important book. . . . Read this and you may find yourself instinctively beginning to heal old wounds: in yourself, in others, and just maybe in the cathedral of the wild that is our true home.”—Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Own North Star Boyd Varty had an unconventional upbringing. He grew up on Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, a place where man and nature strive for balance, where perils exist alongside wonders. Founded more than eighty years ago as a hunting ground, Londolozi was transformed into a nature reserve beginning in 1973 by Varty’s father and uncle, visionaries of the restoration movement. But it wasn’t just a sanctuary for the animals; it was also a place for ravaged land to flourish again and for the human spirit to be restored. When Nelson Mandela was released after twenty-seven years of imprisonment, he came to the reserve to recover. Cathedral of the Wild is Varty’s memoir of his life in this exquisite and vast refuge. At Londolozi, Varty gained the confidence that emerges from living in Africa. “We came out strong and largely unafraid of life,” he writes, “with the full knowledge of its dangers.” It was there that young Boyd and his equally adventurous sister learned to track animals, raised leopard and lion cubs, followed their larger-than-life uncle on his many adventures filming wildlife, and became one with the land. Varty survived a harrowing black mamba encounter, a debilitating bout with malaria, even a vicious crocodile attack, but his biggest challenge was a personal crisis of purpose. An intense spiritual quest takes him across the globe and back again—to reconnect with nature and “rediscover the track.” Cathedral of the Wild is a story of transformation that inspires a great appreciation for the beauty and order of the natural world. With conviction, hope, and humor, Varty makes a passionate claim for the power of the wild to restore the human spirit. Praise for Cathedral of the Wild “Extremely touching . . . a book about growth and hope.”—The New York Times “It made me cry with its hard-won truths about human and animal nature. . . . Both funny and deeply moving, this book belongs on the shelf of everyone who seeks healing in wilderness.”—BookPage

In a remote corner of West Africa, Monique Dembele saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. Monique and the Mango Rains is the compelling story of the authors decade-long friendship with Monique, an extraordinary midwife in rural Mali. It is a tale of Moniques unquenchable passion to better the lives of women and children in the face of poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless backbreaking work, as well as her tragic and ironic death. In the course of this deeply personal narrative, as readers immerse in village life and learn firsthand the rhythms of Moniques world, they come to know her as a friend, as a mother, and as an inspired woman who struggled to find her place in a male-dominated world.

Loosely based on real-life events, this suspenseful story, by a debut novelist, is also funny and touching and will have readers riveted from start to finish. Lucy's mother is the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, so Lucy's life must be one big adventure, right? Wrong. Lucy's worrywart mother keeps her locked up inside the ambassador's residence. All Lucy can do is read about the exotic and exciting world that lies beyond the compound walls and imagine what it would be like to be a part of it. That is, until one day Lucy decides she has had enough and she and a friend sneak off for some fun. But to their horror, Lucy gets kidnapped! With only herself to rely upon, Lucy must use her knowledge of African animals, inventiveness, will, and courage to escape, and in the process embarks on an adventure beyond her wildest imagination. Includes bonus material! - Book Club Discussion Guide

"When severe draught hit her village in Zimbabwe, Elizabeth, then eight, had no idea that this moment of utter devastation would come to define her life purpose. Unable to move from hunger, she encountered a United Nations aid worker who gave her a bowl of warm porridge and saved her life. This transformative moment inspired Elizabeth to become a humanitarian, and she vowed to dedicate her life to giving back to her community, her continent, and the world. Grounded by the African concept of ubuntu--"I am because we are"--I Am a Girl from Africa charts Elizabeth's quest in pursuit of her dream from the small village of Goromonzi to Harare, London, New York, and beyond, where she eventually became a Senior Advisor at the United Nations and launched HeForShe, one of the world's largest global solidarity movements for gender equality. For over two decades, Elizabeth has been instrumental in creating change in communities all around the world; uplifting the lives of others, just as her life was once uplifted. The memoir brings to vivid life one extraordinary woman's story of persevering through incredible odds and finding her true calling--while delivering an important message of hope and empowerment in a time when we need it most"--

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, BOOKPAGE, AND SHELF AWARENESS • “Paula McLain is considered the new star of historical fiction, and for good reason. Fans of The Paris Wife will be captivated by Circling the Sun, which . . . is both beautifully written and utterly engrossing.”—Ann Patchett, Country Living This powerful novel transports readers to the breathtaking world of Out of Africa—1920s Kenya—and reveals the extraordinary adventures of Beryl Markham, a woman before her time. Brought to Kenya from England by pioneering parents dreaming of a new life on an African farm, Beryl is raised unconventionally, developing a fierce will and a love of all things wild. But after everything she knows and trusts dissolves, headstrong young Beryl is flung into a string of disastrous relationships, then becomes caught up in a passionate love triangle with the irresistible safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and the writer Baroness Karen Blixen. Brave and audacious and contradictory, Beryl will risk everything to have Denys’s love, but it’s ultimately her own heart she must conquer to embrace her true calling and her destiny: to fly. Praise for Circling the Sun “In McLain’s confident hands, Beryl Markham crackles to life, and we readers truly understand what made a woman so far ahead of her time believe she had the power to soar.”—Jodi Picoult, author of Leaving Time “Enchanting . . . a worthy heir to [Isak] Dinesen . . . Like Africa as it’s so gorgeously depicted here, this novel will never let you go.”—The Boston Globe “Famed aviator Beryl Markham is a novelist’s dream. . . . [A] wonderful portrait of a complex woman who lived—defiantly—on her own terms.”—People (Book of the Week) “Circling the Sun soars.”—Newsday “Captivating . . . [an] irresistible novel.”—The Seattle Times “Like its high-flying subject, Circling the Sun is audacious and glamorous and hard not to be drawn in by. Beryl Markham may have married more than once, but she was nobody’s wife.”—Entertainment Weekly “[An] eloquent evocation of Beryl’s daring life.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Presents a cross-cutting analysis of the main development challenges for the West African region and offers suggestions on how to meet them.