Defender & Kingsley Holgate Foundation Celebrate 25 Years of Humanitarian Expeditions

Defender and the Kingsley Holgate Foundation are marking 25 years of collaboration, a partnership that has supported more than 40 humanitarian and conservation-focused expeditions across Africa and beyond since 2000. Throughout this period, Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Defender vehicles have been used on every Kingsley Holgate Foundation expedition, helping teams reach remote regions to deliver malaria prevention, vision care and conservation education. The foundation’s work has spanned environments ranging from desert and rainforest to coastal regions across the continent. According to the foundation, more than 473,300 long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets have been distributed during these expeditions, benefiting an estimated 1.4-million mothers and children. Additional initiatives include the Rite to Sight programme, which provides reading glasses to elderly people with poor vision, and the Wildlife Art campaign aimed at youth conservation education. To commemorate the anniversary the foundation will undertake a new three-month expedition in January 2026 called the Defender Africa Traverse. The journey will take place in Southern Africa and is intended as a modern reimagining of the foundation’s earlier Capricorn Expedition. The expedition will travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean using two Defender 130 Outbound vehicles. Starting on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, the route will head east through Botswana, crossing the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Kalahari, before continuing into South Africa. There the team will follow the historic Ivory Trail along the 23°27’ latitude line, passing through several wildlife regions. Humanitarian work will again form a central part of the expedition. Malaria prevention efforts will focus on high-risk areas along the Limpopo River, including Mozambique’s Gaza and Inhambane provinces, where mosquito nets and malaria education will be provided to pregnant women and young children. The Rite to Sight campaign will also continue along the route, while conservation education initiatives aimed at young people are planned in selected communities. The Defender Africa Traverse will be the 43rd expedition undertaken by the Kingsley Holgate Foundation and serves as a milestone marking a quarter century of joint expeditions between the foundation and Defender.