This March break, 10 students and three faculty members are traveling to Tanzania to learn about sustainable development and educational opportunities in rural Tanzania. Please enjoy the blog post below from Annie ’26 where she shares about the group’s safari experience, reflecting on its history and privilege while enjoying the Serengeti’s beauty and gaining a deeper understanding of its significance.
As our journey ventured past the walls of the Mainsprings campus this morning, three eager and friendly faces met us by olive green safari cars for the next leg of our adventure. Groggy with sleep still fresh in our eyes we began a historical and stereotypical “African adventure” as our three drivers invited us into the awaiting safari cars. The day prior, in preparation of our safari, we sat at our lakefront shared table at Papas café and participated in a reading and discussion lead by Mr. Pitcher on the history and significance of safaris. The reading on Western colonization of Africa was raw and insightful, outlining how westerners’ focus on Africa’s vast biological diversity and beauty. It often becomes a touristy exploitation of elephants and lions (or ‘Simba’) from the classic Disney movie the Lion King. The early-20th-century era of large-scale hunting drew many distinguished American and European hunters to African wildlife in search of the “Big Five”: elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, lions, and leopards. Alongside hunting, modern African safaris pull in European and American tourists eagerly waiting behind cameras to capture shots of exotic creatures. After further unpacking the Western influence over the origins of safari, Hannah ’25 posed the blatantly obvious question lingering on all our minds. “So why exactly are we going on a safari then?” At this moment, Chris Gates the Founder & CEO of Mainsprings, jumped in to offer clarity on Hannah’s question. He spoke about our privilege and his privilege as well. Sharing his love for safaris and the thrill they offer, he told us to take our privilege and the wonderful opportunity we have been given and understand it and use it for the better. To use our privilege responsibly and be able to give back and do the work of benefiting something bigger than ourselves.
Now holding this newly learned information we headed into our first day in the Serengeti with a greater understanding and gratitude of what we were about to experience. We had an exuberating day as we sped past dazzles of zebras, spied baby giraffes and parked our safari cars next to a pride of playful lions, lionesses and cubs staying cool in a thicket of shrubs. The Maasai call this magical place “Serengeti,” Swahili for “endless plains.” Arriving at our Safari lodge sun-kissed and covered in dust from our full day trek, I felt transformed by the endless beauty of this remarkable place and eager to continue to learn more about the complicated history of the Serengeti.
