ZIMBABWEAN Hollywood actress Danai Gurira has been unveiled as the face of a local anti-poaching campaign running under the theme “Poaching Steals From Us All”.
The Black Panther star who is in the country to raise awareness against poaching activities that are depleting Zimbabwe’s wildlife population, graced the campaign’s launch at ZimParks Gardens in Harare.
Danai is well known for her roles in the zombie series The Walking Dead and blockbuster movie Black Panther
Explaining the campaign, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo said: “Danai is one of our own who has done well for herself on the international platform.
“We partnered her for this campaign to assist us to attract goodwill as a country. She’s an international brand whom we’re confident can assist us to attract more people from America, one of our biggest markets,” said Farawo.
“Her role is to also assist with our fight against poaching which has been affecting us as a country over the years. I think the figures (poaching) are going down and with the coming on board of Danai, it’ll go a long way as we’ll likely have more partners in our quest to protect our animals.”
Farawo said Danai, together with their American partners for the campaign, are now in Hwange where they are having an appreciation of the tourist destination as well as filming videos that will be used for the campaign.
A fortnight ago, Gurira was named as the Goodwill Ambassador by UN Women, becoming the first black Zimbabwean Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women.
As a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Gurira will lend her name and dedicate her support to putting a spotlight on gender equality and women’s rights, as well as bringing unheard women’s voices front and centre.
Gurira is a successful actress and playwright who has won many accolades for her roles, with her most recent being the 2018 hit-movies Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
She played the role of General Okoye, the Commander of the Dora Milaje, the ferocious female warriors who watch over the royal family and won the E! People’s Choice Award for “The Action Star of 2018″ ahead of Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth who played Thor in Avengers: Infinity War, Chris Pratt from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdown and Ryan Reynolds the star of Deadpool 2.
