An African lodge celebrates its female guides on International Women’s Day To mark International Women’s Day, we shine a spotlight on a pioneering female guide in Botswana Girls and young women across Africa with ambitions to be a guide will be inspired by Florence Kagiso, a guide at the five-star Florence Kagiso (Desert & Delta Safaris) The safari operator Desert & Delta Safaris has seven camps in northern Botswana’s game reserves and national parks, and one across the Chobe River in Namibia’s Eastern Caprivi Strip. The operator employs local guides such as Florence. Florence was inspired to be a guide by her strong mum – a single mum, who was also a farmer and carer for her two blind grandmothers. 'From a young age living in Gumare village in the Okavango Delta, we used to live among wildlife in the farms,' Florence explains. 'My mother and my grandmother were farmers living off the land and we would regularly encounter wildlife such as elephants. I remember even as a young girl how we were taught to always ensure we were downwind from elephants. That way we would avoid detection and confrontation with these animals. They taught me how to respect and live with animals. That made me want to be like them, to teach people how to appreciate nature and live with it peacefully.'