It is always wonderful to meet people who have had the courage to live a dream. Clive Johnson is a man who is passionate about the environment and conservation and the project coordinator here at PAWS (People and Wildlife Solutions) is one such individual.
Clive grew up in England and initially studied and worked in the horticulture industry. He originally visited Africa in his mid twenties, when he was bitten by the travel bug spending 3 weeks in Botswana.
Realising that he wanted to explore the world, he continued to work in England in various roles from the wine industry and security field to being a masseur, each time saving enough to explore the world a little more. His travels took him from Africa and South America to New Zealand and Japan but it was Africa that always seemed to draw him back. In 2000, while doing a charity walk in Namibia he fell in love with this country and visited Damaraland a few years later (2004) to volunteer on an elephant project.
Realising he would love to work here full time, he came back to South Africa and trained as a guide. He then went back to England and sold everything he owned and moved to Damaraland to work at this project for about a year and half. While working there, he met his future wife Roma a volunteer from England who was also keen to move out to Africa.
A contact informed them about Okonjima Reserve and they originally came out here to Namibia to work at the lodge. They moved up quickly through the ranks and were soon managing the villa on the reserve. After working in the tourism industry for 2 years they discovered they shared a common vision with the owners of Okonjima who wanted to establish a volunteer project on their property.
They self funded this project a little over 2 years ago and PAWS (People and Wildlife Solutions) was born. Today, the project is up and running and a wonderful opportunity for those interested in a real experience of Namibia to give something back to the environment while enjoying the wilds of Africa.
Clive and Roma are living their dream, while providing an opportunity for people all over the world to get a real hands on experience of life in the bush.
They have given up a comfortable life in England and taken a risk to live a life that is different. Clive tells me he couldn’t be happier despite the uncertainties associated with living in a country where one is not a permanent citizen. He could never see himself in a desk job with all the paper shuffling that goes along with that choice. I wish them well and hope this project will go on from strength to strength!
“PAWS for thought. What have you done for your world today?”
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