Tami Loehrs
Tami Loehrs was a world-wide digital forensics expert until her husband Dave lost his battle with brain cancer. This devastating loss led her on a soul-searching mission to find new purpose and hope carrying the ill-fated title of widow.
During her travels through Africa, she documented the experience using the Notes app on her phone. Sporting a new camera and a passion for nature, she beautifully captured her uncanny connection with the animals. The culmination evolved into her first published book of photography with an inspiring story, Africa… Table for One.
Her extraordinary encounters with wildlife, especially the gorillas, touched her spiritually and, quite literally, physically. This led to her new motivation to preserve and protect wildlife, and give back to communities in need. So she packed up her life in the US, moved to Rwanda and started the Silverbacks franchise.
She now lives in Musanze with her four dogs, including the Mastiff named for the little baby elephant that fell in love with her, Bondeni.
Description
Have you ever experienced a loss so great you felt you couldn’t go on? How many times did you hear, "Don’t worry, time heals all wounds." This advice is complete and utter bullshit!
Time does not pick up pieces of a priceless vase shattered on the floor. It just continues to pass until all the delicate fragments are carefully picked up and glued back together. That takes excruciating patience, focus and tenacity. Over time, with great effort, the vase begins to take shape again. But it will never be the same.
For me, time stopped when my husband of twenty years was diagnosed with the deadliest of all brain tumors, a Glioblastoma. The beautiful life we once knew extinguished in an instant.
He fought valiantly for two and half years, but when he left me forever on March 12, 2021, I prayed for an end to my suffering. An end to time.
Six months of trying to drink myself to death, with dribs and drabs of over the counter drugs, “not so over the counter” drugs, and a diet of microwave hot dogs and Uber Eats proved unsuccessful.
Until, one morning, I was ripped from an alcohol induced slumber by the loving arms of my dead husband. I heard his words whisper in my ear as though he was still lying next to me, “go to Africa.” A place I had dreamed of since I was child. A place I talked about endlessly throughout our marriage.
During my thirty-day expedition, the healing powers of Africa began to stitch up the cavernous tears in my mutilated heart. The darkness in my soul began illuminating once again. And everywhere I went, the animals came to me as though they felt my anguish.
I was putting in the work. Picking up all the shattered pieces. Accepting the refurbished version of me covered in the scars of a sloppy repair job. Learning how to live without the other half of me. A Table for One.
The Dylan series was created by the author as a way to take her grandson around the world with her. Opening his mind to the power of travel and the beauty of other cultures. The people, languages, food, land, animals and traditions.
We may look different but we are also very much the same.
Description
In the first of the series, Dylan uses his imagination to travel to one of the smallest countries on the continent of Africa. Rwanda. The Land of a Thousand Hills.
While there, he meets Mugabe, a little boy who lives in a local village. The two of them become fast friends and go on an adventure together exploring the beauty of Rwanda.
Mugabe teaches Dylan the local language of Kinyarwanda, introduces him to authentic food like Isombe and shows him local games the kids like to play, including soccer. They travel to the Virunga volcanoes to meet the gorillas, visit Lake Kivu, go on safari in Akagera National Park, and explore the city of Kigali.
Even though they come from very different worlds, they realize they are the same.
It's never too early to begin exploring the world!