The Ripple Effects of Ranger Deaths
Every ranger’s death has ripple effects.
When a ranger dies in the line of duty, the impact reaches far beyond the immediate loss. A ranger team loses a valued colleague. A community loses a pillar. The world loses a conservation hero.
But it’s the ripple effects on families that are felt most profoundly.
Tragically, around 150 rangers lose their lives each year, often through violence or accidents on the frontline of conservation. And behind every fallen ranger is a family left to navigate unimaginable loss. Families who have not only lost a loved one, but often their only source of income, placing education, housing, and long-term stability at risk.
The Fallen Ranger Fund sits at the very heart of Thin Green Line. It’s the reason we were founded in the first place. The Fund exists to support families in the aftermath of loss, including keeping families together in secure housing, establishing small business ventures and helping rangers’ children continue their education.
We know this is a vision you share with us.
📷 After the loss of ranger Julius from Tanzania, support from the Fallen Ranger Fund helped his widow establish a small shop while keeping their three sons in school.
When girls stay in school, entire families and communities become stronger.
The most common priority for many families we support is to ensure children can remain in school following the loss of a parent.
Education changes futures – not just for children themselves, but for entire families and communities. Yet in many parts of the world, continuing education quickly becomes impossible after the loss of a family’s primary income earner.
Only 28% of young people in sub-Saharan Africa complete their upper secondary education. Globally, an estimated 273 million children and young people remain out of school – three quarters of them living in Africa and Asia (UNESCO).
When families face financial hardship, girls are often disproportionately affected. But when girls stay in school, the ripple effects are profound. Educated women are more likely to earn an income, support healthier families, and help break cycles of poverty for future generations.
📷 Ranger Adegitho was killed by suspected poachers in Uganda. Support from the Fallen Ranger Fund allowed his two young daughters to remain in school.
A hero to the very end
A dedicated ranger turned ecologist, Exeverino was conducting aerial surveys in the Zambezi valley when the aircraft carrying him and three colleagues crashed. One passenger died instantly and two others were seriously injured.
Exeverino bravely went in search of water and help but was never seen again.
He left behind a wife and young daughter, as well as parents he had also supported financially.
With assistance from the Fallen Ranger Fund, Exeverino’s daughter was able to begin school – helping provide stability and opportunity in the aftermath of unimaginable loss.
📷 Exeverino Chinoitezvi of Zimbabwe (left) and his young daughter, proudly wearing her school uniform (right).
Support from the Fallen Ranger Fund helps families in their darkest hour, assisting with education expenses, secure housing, and small businesses that provide long-term, sustainable income.
It also sends an important message to rangers everywhere: if the worst should happen, the Thin Green Line community will stand beside your family. That support matters deeply in one of the most difficult and dangerous professions in the world.
And, while there will always be an empty space at the kitchen table for families of fallen rangers, providing a financial lifeline can help ease the burden they carry.
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