• Rhino Charge is an off-road car rally famous for raising funds to protect highland forest "water towers" and the endangered black rhino
• This year's edition of the race has successfully raised over a million US dollars
Image: ZACH OKOTH, RHINO ARK
The 34th edition of Africa's famous extreme rally, the Rhino Charge, this year collected Sh173 million, the second-highest amount ever collected by participants at the event.
Established in 1989, the rally was initially established to collect money for an electric fence to help protect the dwindling black rhino population in the Aberdare National Park.
This year's off-road 4x4 competition was held in Nkoteyia, Samburu county, with 52 participants navigating their vehicles through 13 checkpoints spread across about 100 km² of rough terrain in 10 hours.
"Your partnership in fencing off some of our very important assets around our water towers is something we are eternally grateful for," President William Ruto said at the event.
"What you have done in Mt Kenya, what you are doing in Aberdare, what you have started in Kakamega and shortly we will work together in fencing off the Mau as well."
To date, the Rhino Charge has raised Sh1.9 billion and built 650km of electric fences. Through the fencing programmes, more than 80,000 families are being protected from the dangers of human-wildlife conflict, according to the organisation.
All proceeds from the event are donated to Rhino Ark Kenya Charitable Trust, an NGO that aims to preserve the mountain range ecosystems in Kenya. The trust also ensures that funds provide support to adjacent communities.
Rhino Charge clerk of the course Don White told NTV that the fund is managed in a "very specific way".
"The criteria of that is to go to a community project, which benefits the whole community. So typically that could be something like they want to build a clinic or a classroom, something that serves the community," he said.
"It's not to go to an individual or a political campaign or something like that. It has to be beneficial to the community and that's their choice, but we help them to administer that in a way that is beneficial."
This year's highest individual fundraiser was Adil Khawaja, driving car 44, who set a new record of Sh60 million, followed by Peter Kinyua (car 23), who secured Sh10 million (US$74,300) and in third place was Tim Carstens (car 63), who raised Sh8 million.
The event requires that participants visit a number of points while travelling the shortest possible distance across difficult, trackless terrain. Speed, in this race, is penalised.
The 2023 Rhino Charge overall winner was Mark Glen (car 48), followed by Sean Avery (car 38), while the third position was Graham McKittrick (car 5).
Rhino Ark chairman Peter Kinyua has proposed an endowment fund to sustain the conservation work Rhino Ark implements in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service as well as other organisations.
"An endowment fund for Rhino Ark created with some government institutions would help sustain the fences built over the past 34 years," he said.