Last spring in some opera house in Venice I got recruited to play guitar and sing a song at a wedding. Fortunately for me this Irish bloke showed up who could actually play and sing so I kinda hid behind him and limped through it and still got credit. So I bought him some vino and we hit it off and that's how I met Glen Hansard.

I said "Hey I'm going to Kenya...you should come." and he said "Right, where's that now?" But he came anyway cause I showed him a picture of a Land Rover and he has a real thing for those so he got on the planes, which he doesn't have a thing for.

I've been working for many years with the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust in the Chyulu Hills...Hemingway's 'Green Hills of Africa'. It's a great organization (see my homepage) and Glen was mightily impressed and inspired by the people and the work going on.

We spent a few weeks out there... Singing, eating, exploring. I took Glen to visit the schools and health clinics and we attended a village community meeting. At this meeting the elders explained the progress that they were making thanks to the work of MWCT. The local lion population was coming back thanks to their Simba program of hiring local game scouts and compensating ranchers for livestock losses, schools were improving and better attended, clinics were getting new doctors. Things going well...the work expanding. But the team is sorely lacking in one key piece of equipment.....a truck.

Glen was so moved by the whole experience that he volunteered to raise some money for this truck. Getting trucks into Kenya with it's high taxes and then into an area that doesn't have access roads is a bit of a challenge.

To get a Landrover (or two) will cost about $70,000 US.

Glen really does dig trucks though. So he's determined to make it happen.

Let's all pitch in and help him.

Glen played 2 LA benefit shows in March and gave all of the proceeds towards this truck goal. He's doing another show in NY... Please make a donation and pass it on to all of your friends who dig Glen or dig trucks. Even better, become a fund raiser on Glen's team. That's what I'm doing.

And go visit MWCT and our Maasai pals yourself. Trip of your life. Bet on it.
www.maasai.com

Thanks.