The trio—one with HIV, one blind amputee, and one who hasn’t spoken for years after watching her family slaughtered—find themselves embroiled in a situation beyond their imaginations as they get close to meeting their goal.

This book was written with the hope of raising awareness of the millions of people in Africa who suffer the effects of malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and the unspeakable atrocities associated with armed conflicts.You can help by doing whatever you’re able to do: send a donation,learn what’s going on, offer a home, visit the continent, buy an extra copy of The Leopard Tree.

Profits from the sale of The Leopard Tree will be used to support projects that help those who need assistance in Africa.

The Leopard Tree grabbed every emotion I had and brought it to the surface. I couldn’t put it down! This book allows one to question the fairness of this world and ask how one small person can help. Being a teacher and also visiting Africa myself, I am excited to present this book to my peers and classroom; for I know The Leopard Tree will be an excellent piece of literature that students and teachers can discuss. This book will be a springboard into broadening minds and opening hearts. Congratulations on a superb piece of work!
- Jill Wodiuk

Tim and Lisa congratulations on your book! I felt that you captured the heart of the African children who have aids and disabilities that limit their chance of a healthy survival. I say survival having worked with blind and disabled orphans in central Tanzania in a village called Wasa. After working with blind orphans on my second trip and witnessing such dire straits, I decided return to Africa and construct a wing on an existing orphanage. Reading your book brought back many of the emotions that I felt when I was there. Bravo to you for raising awareness of the plight of the African youth while trying to instill a hope for humanity.
- Joseph Wodiuk (general contractor)

This is a fantastic story. It drew me in immediately and painted a vivid picture of the plight of so many children in Africa. I found it tragic and inspiring at the same time. It was emotional, but also provided much food for thought. In short I loved reading it and think it’s a story well worth telling.
- Sheila Caputo (artist)

The Leopard Tree brings to life, through Daudi, Masozi, and Ramla, the paradox of Africa—it is a continent where so many struggle with so little, and yet, so many live daily with tumaini (Swahili, translates to “hope”). Merriman and Brochu capture the inherent hope and innocence of childhood while also issuing a call for action that makes us all want to join these three children in their quest.
- Julie Cutler (consultant, former teacher in Tanzania)

The trip was incredible. Arusha National Park, Ngorogoro Crater National Park, Serengeti National Park and Tarangire National Park were our destinations. Black rhinos at Ngorogoro, oceans of wildebeest and zebras at Serengeti, and the baobab trees at Tarangire were highlights for me. Along the way we stopped at a community school to donate books Lisa Brochu had provided, though she could not go on the trip. We also visited a Maasai village and its tiny school made of woven branches where children learned the alphabet and numbers in three languages.

Eight months later I was enjoying a surprise 60th birthday party with many friends and was pleased to find Joe and Jill had driven three and a half hours north to be with us. After the food and drink, I walked them to their car and Joe explained he had been back to Tanzania a second time already. In late summer he explained, he and eight blind climbers took the hike up Mount Kilimanjaro. Five of the blind climbers, including Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person to climb Mount Everest, made the summit, as did Joe. Joe said, “This changed my life, Tim.” He tells the story well in an article in Sixth Sense News.

The next time we talked, he had been back to Tanzania a third time to build an 8,000 square foot wing on an orphanage in remote country with local labor. For $1.75 a square foot they had created a place for children with no families to sleep in safety. He had raised the funds for the building from friends. He was worn out from the month long trip, but said he was quitting his home building business. He wants to spend time on more productive projects that help children. His journeys had changed his life for sure and the lives of many others he will help through his work.

Joe is planning another building project in Uganda soon with help from the Anglican Church. The trips are not vacations. They are challenging experiences away from home in a village with few amenities. The rewards might be hard to describe. Eighteen million children live in orphanages in sub-Saharan Africa. Many are HIV positive and lost their parents to AIDS. Malaria is ever more deadly for the night feeding mosquitoes that carry the disease prey on children sleeping in the open. A bed in a screened dorm or under a mosquito net can be life saving for a child in these countries.

Twice I’ve had the privilege of visiting Africa with friends on ecotours. I have done nothing as thoughtful or amazing as Joe Wodiuk. I admire his courage and determination in what he has already done and I know he’s planning to do more. Like many others who have taken this trip, Joe commented that the kids amaze him. They live with immense challenge, but do not complain to strangers. They seem hopeful very often in the face of dangers few of us in the United States will face. Dee Flower, another friend from a Kenya ecotour, said, “I went to see the wildlife, but fell in love with the people.” I feel like that as well.

Judith Stone, an author, wrote “Travel is not only broadening, I’ve realized, but burdening too. I carry these lives and places with me. But I’m grateful for the ballast; it’s keeping me from tipping into total complacency.”

Tim Merriman
November 2007

Michael and Aaron explained that they operate the educational programs for the five Museums of Malawi. They assured us that few local people come to museums, which are viewed as elite, expensive and not for the mass of people. Understanding that the conservation of culture depends on the sustainability of communities, several years ago these museum interpreters decided to take their programs to remote villages to take on three enduring concerns in their country: hunger, HIV and malaria. They use traditional ceremonies, dance and song to deliver their messages to help people avoid disease and hunger. Of the thirteen million people in Malawi, more than 1.5 million are HIV positive or have full blown AIDS. Malaria kills more people than AIDS, and hunger can be an issue any year when maize yields are down due to drought, which has been persistent in recent years.

Aaron and Michael’s message of science is tested by villagers against centuries of beliefs in evil spirits that cause diseases like malaria. Their educational programs teach people in villages how to use donated mosquito nets to protect themselves from night feeding mosquitoes that carry malaria. One dollar will buy one net and protect one bed each night with one or more children sleeping in protection from the ravages of malaria.

Aaron and Michael explained that men who are HIV positive believe a local myth that sex with a virgin can cure them. At the same time, parents in Malawi traditionally seek an older male to teach their 13-year old daughters about sex. The combination is deadly. Infected men transmit HIV to unsuspecting young women and the disease spreads. Museum programs teach the truth about HIV and how it is transmitted, but they must work carefully within the cultural traditions of local communities or their credibility may not overcome the myths.

They also teach people to diversify their crops. Maize has been the preferred crop since the 1800s but casabas do well in drought years while maize crops often fail. Casaba melons are nutritious, but relatively unknown as a food crop, so education is key to adoption of this new option that could provide food in difficult years.

At the 2007 NAI Interpreting World Heritage Conference in Vancouver, Michael Gondwe and Aaron Maluwa of Malawi discussed how they combat challenges such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, hunger, and poverty through interpretation.

The numbers of Malawian children in orphanages continues to grow as adults die from disease. In Malawi, the average life span is only 37 years. When we hear of orphanages in Malawi or many other African nations, it’s important to understand the magnitude of this situation. Family members will take in a child with no parents, but the orphanage is the only option for children with no family left, no parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents or cousins. Imagine the millions of children in orphanages and what that means in terms of the human loss that created the need for a child to be placed in these surrogate homes.

School in Malawi is free and mandatory for children. Classrooms are often a large tree’s spreading branches for shade and rain protection. One hundred to one hundred fifty children with one teacher is not uncommon. People in Malawi are friendly and caring, but the challenges are many.

After their presentation, I looked around the room in the luxurious Marriott function room. Among my colleagues, there were many tears and looks of great concern. Many were already digging in billfolds to find extra money to share with our colleagues from Malawi. We knew it would not be enough, but we each wanted to do something.

Michael and Aaron took questions at the end of their session and Sanya Pleshakov of Aldrich Pears explained that she had worked with them during an internship with Museums of Malawi. She indicated that their salaries of $40 a month support their extended families of several dozen each. Money remains the limiting factor in Malawi museum programs for doing more to teach and protect people, as in many other places. Malawi lacks the dramatic game reserves and hordes of tourists that provide jobs for many people in Kenya and Tanzania. Poor agricultural communities struggle to survive in this environment. Malawi is one of the ten poorest nations on the planet.

The interpretation and education we conduct in developed nations is often recreational, fun and designed to engage people in protecting natural and cultural resources. Though it is important, and helps create long-range stewardship behaviors, it is rarely about the immediate difference in life and death for our audiences. How can people work to preserve traditions when disease and hunger are common? We study motivations through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and know that people will not be motivated to learn or appreciate resources if they lack food, restrooms or a sense of security and well being. Imagine how much more true that is when disease is taking away your family members and hope.

Tim and Lisa congratulations on your book! I felt that you captured the heart of the African children who have aids and disabilities that limit their chance of a healthy survival. I say survival having worked with blind and disabled orphans in central Tanzania in a village called Wasa. After working with blind orphans on my second trip and witnessing such dire straits, I decided return to Africa and construct a wing on an existing orphanage. Reading your book brought back many of the emotions that I felt when I was there. Bravo to you for raising awareness of the plight of the African youth while trying to instill a hope for humanity.
- Joseph Wodiuk (general contractor)

This is a fantastic story. It drew me in immediately and painted a vivid picture of the plight of so many children in Africa. I found it tragic and inspiring at the same time. It was emotional, but also provided much food for thought. In short I loved reading it and think it’s a story well worth telling.
- Sheila Caputo (artist)

The Leopard Tree brings to life, through Daudi, Masozi, and Ramla, the paradox of Africa—it is a continent where so many struggle with so little, and yet, so many live daily with tumaini (Swahili, translates to “hope”). Merriman and Brochu capture the inherent hope and innocence of childhood while also issuing a call for action that makes us all want to join these three children in their quest.
- Julie Cutler (consultant, former teacher in Tanzania)

Lisa Brochu and Tim Merriman have spent the last four decades helping people connect with our global natural and cultural heritage. Through their books and speaking engagements, they hope to help others to know more and do more about the daily challenges in meeting basic needs that face tens of millions of people in developing nations.When they are not traveling the globe, Tim and Lisa live in Fort Collins, Colorado, on a small farm where they raise much of their own food. They can be contacted by clicking here.