SO WHO AM I ?

My name is Garry Brooks, and I am a Canadian. But I do have a Zambian registration card 996113/11/2 showing I do have a second home, in Zambia. I have been working with rural communities across Zambia since 2002. My background has been in the forestry and environmental sectors since 1963 and I am a member of The Canadian Institute of Forestry. The people I have met and many I have become very good friends with, ranging from the people struggling to survive in rural areas, to chiefs and Presidents. My experiences have ranged from being chased by angry snakes, attending weddings, too many funerals, surviving car and motorbike accidents, being robbed, paying bribes, talking at many schools and gatherings across Zambia, and the list goes on. My achievements are rebuilding cattle dips, digging, and repairing wells, solar water systems, mobility aides to the handicapped, a girl’s dormitory at an isolated school, classrooms, a bridge, distributing packaged seeds in the millions, setting up tree nurseries and many more to remember.   A great satisfaction was to compile and publish a book on Zambian trees, Mr. Garry’s Collection of Zambian Trees.  And have donated over 1,000 copies to learning institutes from basic schools to the University of Zambia’s library, also almost 10,000 soft copies have been given online for free. Now comes the crown jewel, making the charcoal industry sustainable. Thanks go to the many people who have supported this idea over the years and now to Cabinet Minister Mutati of the Ministry of Technology and Science who has taken up the cause, and to the President and his staff who have endorsed the idea.