Celebrating our Women; Meet Tamara

This women’s month, we are celebrating the wonderful work that the ladies of Asiliado on a daily basis.

Get to know our lovely Tamara Hoskyns-Abrahall in the blog piece below and be sure to check back for posts on some of the other incredible women we are so blessed to work with!

– Tell us a bit about yourself and what it is that you do?

My name is Tamara Hoskyns-Abrahall, I am 24 years old. I was born in Burundi and have lived in Uganda, boarding school in Kenya and have been living in Tanzania for 17 years. I started camp management when I was 19. I am a qualified FGASA field and Marine guide, with level 2 tracking. I started up my own company when I was 21/22. It was a guiding company to promote women guides in Tanzania. Unfortunately, I had to put it on hold, due to the instability of tourism at the time. I am a camp Manageress for Asilia’s property in Ruaha National Park, Kwihala Camp.

– How did your journey with Asilia begin?

I had applied a couple of years back, but unfortunately, there were no available positions. A year and a bit later, I received a call from Brandon asking if I would be interested in taking up the role of relief management. I was on top of a hill in the Karoo in south Africa when I got that call… fortunate really, as there was no better signal than there.

– What would you say is the most rewarding thing about your work?

Working in Ruaha. I had been trying to find a place in Southern or Western Tanzania, and when I was offered Kwihala I waited 2 minutes to “think” about it, before calling back and saying yes. Ruaha is one of the last remaining pristine and truly wild places. It is truly a privilege to work here.

– What would you say to other women who dream of being a camp manager too?

I think women have the advantage when it comes to camp management. It is like running your own home, welcoming your guests and putting a bit of yourself into the place to share with everyone. If you love and respect the bush there should be no reason for you not to find yourself a place in it.

– If you could invite any three women to a dinner party, who would they be and why?

Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and Wangari Maathai- it would be the perfect combination of glamor and humility.

– Tell us something about yourself that not many people may know.

Despite all the modern ways of communications, I still write letters.