IBM Volunteers to Work for Maasai Steppe Heartland

ARUSHA, TANZANIA—Eight IBM employees from around the world will arrive in the African Wildlife Foundation’s Maasai Steppe Heartland this week.

The IBM professionals, who hail from the United States, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Costa Rica and Italy will help the Heartland team develop and refine strategies for protecting and managing conservation areas. Together, they bring skills in information technology, software engineering, project management and business development.

The trip is part of a new employee volunteer program at IBM called the Corporate Services Corps, which is designed to bring much-needed expertise to communities in developing regions while enhancing the volunteer's international awareness and expertise.

"We are extremely pleased to be benefiting from the generosity of IBM and the knowledge and expertise of eight of its top professionals,” says Patrick Bergin, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation.

Baobab and acacia trees dot the savannah and elephants and predators roam in the Maasai Steppe Heartland, home to Tanzania’s Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks. Habitat fragmentation is the biggest threat to this landscape, a problem that AWF is addressing through innovative land use initiatives with local communities.

To learn more about the Maasai Steppe Heartland, click here.