Eddie Frank & Tusker Trail are not interlopers in Africa. Eddie was born and raised there, and spends most of his life there. He is an African, conducting an adaptive adventure business that is harmonious in all respects with its environment. And by "environment" we mean the land, the people, and the wildlife. Eddie has a vested interest in the communities where he operates. Simply speaking, he is a good citizen.

What follows is a list of past and ongoing projects, which engage a large amount of Tusker Trail's money and muscle.

Science & Research
NAMORATUNGA
(Kenya - 1983)

With Dr. Laurance Doyle, a NASA astrophysicist, Eddie Frank discovered and conducted research at a fascinating 2,200 year-old astronomical observatory in remote northern Kenya.

Science & Research
GREAT ZIMBABWE
(Zimbabwe - 1989)

With Dr. Laurance Doyle, Eddie made some intriguing astronomical findings at this ancient site, located in central Zimbabwe, and dating back to 400 A.D.

Science & Research
ELEPHANT RESEARCH
(Tanzania - 2007)

In September 2007, in a study of elephants on West Kilimanjaro, Eddie Frank will commit personal and company resources to an ongoing study of mammal communication. Current research is being conducted in the United States by Dr. Laurance Doyle, PhD., a program director at the SETI INSTITUTE in Mountain View, California, with two colleagues at UC Davis, both wildlife biologists.

Community Development
THE UHURU FOUNDATION
(Tanzania - Current)

EDDIE FRANK , together with MATTHEW RUETER, an attorney from New York and Tusker veteran, have formed this non-profit organization, based in the US and Tanzania.

The mission of the non-profit UHURU FOUNDATION is to help individuals, families and communities in Africa develop sustainable small businesses and create jobs. The UHURU FOUNDATION makes financial markets accessible to the poor through micro-finance loans, and provides job-training programs. One of our pilot programs is a water borehole drilling and irrigation construction project. It is run in partnership with small villages, and includes educating the local farmers on how to farm in a sustainable manner with locally produced tools.

Community Development
AMANI CHILDREN'S HOME
(Tanzania - Current)

The AIDS epidemic is leaving a lot of youngsters parentless and without the means to survive. Amani Children's Home is a small non-profit residential home for orphans and street-children located at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa. Amani helps these children by offering them a safe home. The home attempts to reunite them with their families and offers them a variety of educational opportunities.

Amani has no permanent source of funding and depends entirely on contributions. For the entire first year, all staff worked as volunteers, without any pay, and slept and ate at the home with the children. Often the children had to sing in churches and ask for donations of food just so they could eat the following week. Tusker Trail assists with fundraising efforts.

Click here to purchase a great music CD produced by Ben Vaughn. Proceeds go to the Amani Children's Home. Tusker's porters are featured with the kids singing on the CD.

Community Development
LWENGU SCHOOL
(Zambia - Current)

Eddie Frank believes that the future of Africa's communities lies in a solid education of the youngsters. The Lwengu School, founded by Eddie's close friend and safari colleague, Shatis Vlahakis, is one of the exciting places where this happens.

New Library - Eddie Frank's commitment to the education of African youngsters is ongoing. The new project at Lwengu School in Zambia is to build a library. It will be the only library in Monze, a town of 50,000 residents.

Student Grants - The AIDS epidemic is leaving a lot of youngsters parentless and without the means to continue their valuable education. Eddie has committed his personal funds for the ongoing education of 2 of the orphan students, currently still attending Lwengu School.

Visiting Teacher Program - Teacher & school support program. TUSKER TRAIL is in the process of orchestrating a visiting teacher program to benefit the Lwengu School in Monze, a model private education facility, established by Shatis Vlahakis, a good friend and safari colleague of Eddie Frank. The school's syllabus is currently 50% conservation-based. Anyone interested in participating should contact us.

PORTERS ON KILIMANJARO
(Tanzania - Current)

The only organization fighting for porter rights and porter working conditions is the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistant Project (KPAP). This is a non-profit organization based in Moshi, and working on shoestring. But they're doing a damn fine job. Eddie Frank, who has set high standards for porter treatment, is a consultant to the small organization, and donates a fair amount of money and lots of his time to help it survive. The other so-called "porter unions" are merely fronts for commercial outfits.

Read more about Kilimanjaro Porter Assistant Project