Question Time
- Name and job title: Tendai Salome Zembe, known as Sally – Camp Manager of Chikwenya in Zimbabwe.
- Describe yourself in 3 words: One tough cookie.
- Favourite hobbies: Reading, meditation, enjoying my quiet time and birding.
- What talent/super power would you love to have: Systems thinking, to be able to understand and put together pieces of a disorganised process and replace it with a system that works.
- Favourite local place to visit or food to eat: My rural home Dewedzo Rusape, reminds me of my culture and ethics, which keeps me grounded.
- What have you accomplished in the last year that you are proud of: 365 days ago we were experiencing uncertain times, the future of our industry seemed bleak and it was quite unsettling. During these uncertain months, I spent my time with my team in Hwange. I discovered most of them were on the verge of giving up. In recognition of this, we shared stories around the fire. These talks gave me an opportunity to engage my team, discussing and brainstorming possible ways to keep them focused, motivated and hopeful. A few people started small projects like raising chickens, selling pre-loved clothes and trading in their villages, remaining self-sufficient through the pandemic. Some were excited to share their progress on how their small projects were making a difference. I am so proud to say our little chats have helped them think outside of the box.
- Tell us one story/memory that you have while working at Wilderness: My encounter with a lioness next to my tent. One afternoon during green season, I left the office for siesta. When I closed the door behind me, I heard some footsteps and was certain it wasn’t an elephant given my safari second-sense. I peeped through my window only to find a lioness outside my tent that appeared to be checking out my room. Our pro guide left me speechless with his explanation that the animal could have seen me first and hibernated. It was a mixture of emotions, thrilled to see the lioness, but terrified on the other hand at the thought of a ‘what if’ scenario.
Thank you for sharing your story with us Sally!
