Ernest Chaba is always on the move. His flexibility and ability to think quick and on his feet have meant he’s an ideal candidate for moving between the Desert and Delta camps, problem solving, training new managers – and relief managing when needed.
Ernest has been with the company since July 2007, although it’s hard to keep track of where he’s been. “The longest I’ve been in one place was 1 ½ years in 2017 when I ran Camp Moremi. Wherever I go I will try my best to train my assistant as much as I can so they can do what I was doing.”
“Training people, for me, takes me back to the mission of the company. You develop, motivate and grow people. That’s the only thing that I’m looking at when I’m in training – to build other people. To help them by trying to understand them. If you look into all the camps you will see that there are guys from outside who have been working for different companies… they will get to us, and I need to teach them all about Desert and Delta Safaris and what the company needs from us: what is the real feel of the company? What must you be like as a manager? It’s not like I train them to be a manager – no – I train them to know the system, the policies, everything about DDS so that they can be able to run the camps on their own.
His flexibility and quick thinking helped him manage a chaotic job as a host at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. “I had never been away from my family or out of my country for such a long time – to go and experience the life and behavior – it so different from here. I managed to do what I went for…. dealing with a thousand people on the breakfast shift. I worked as an assigner. Lots of fast work. Afterwards I managed to drive to St Louis and back. I visited friends from Botswana for their graduation there. I also went to Miami and Key West and then came back here – and a month later I was sent to run Savute Safari Lodge.
“Right now I’m a manager’s trainer and assessor. So I’ll be moving around some more,” he says with a smile.