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Sergey, Thank you for taking the time to post this well written hunt report on your experience with Hunt It All, Inc. booking agency and Mozambique Unlimited Safaris Inc. in Mozambique, even more impressive is that English is not your first language... I am always sorry to hear when hunters travel to Africa and don't have a great hunt because they were mislead. I am curious to know if anyone has any further information about Hunt It All, Inc. and why their booth was unoccupied at the SCI convention?  

Sergey, thank you for the post. Having someone with your level of experience explain, in depth, the situation certainly makes the story very credible and a potent warning. The situation at minimum was unacceptable, if there are no Buffalo then it certainly borders on fraud. Sad that it happened. I hope someone will be able to assist you with a partial refund at least.  

Thank you for the warning and detailed account of the problem. I'm sorry to hear it went so poorly.  

Thank for the hunt report! It will be interesting to hear if other complaints come out of this report. I agree paying trophy fees up front, can be a loaded proposition. And the fact there was so much poaching in the area, seems troubling.  

• Apr 1, 2011

Advertiseing and then selling something not available appears all too common in this industry. It happens world wide and is a fatal mistake by product sellers. It is also one of the reasons I never use a booking agent and go direct with the PH.  

Thank you for the report. It s a shame everything went so bad.  

Bert the Turtle

Code4 said: Advertiseing and then selling something not available appears all too common in this industry. It happens world wide and is a fatal mistake by product sellers. It is also one of the reasons I never use a booking agent and go direct with the PH. Click to expand...

I certainly wouldn't be using my firearms to exact revenge and I hope most hunters wouldn't either. We have enough bad press from the anti's without turning into renegade rednecks. In this case the defrauder appears to be safely away from the scene.  

I wasn't advocating it! But, I did spend enough years living in a very rough neighborhood in Baltimore to know that the mix of firearms, alcohol, and negative emotions can lead to unpleasant situations.  

michaelhh375

• Apr 2, 2011

Sergey. Stories like these makes me sad. Hope you soon will find new a and honest hunt and soon be back to Mozambique.  

• Apr 20, 2011

Ah, but Bert. The defrauders aren't the ones that were in the field! At this apparently not in this case.  

Mark H. Young

• Apr 22, 2011

Sergey, I'm really sorry to hear these types of reports. It saddens me to think that a hunter who had scrimped and saved his pennies for a safari could have ended up in what appear to be a nightmare of a safari let alone an experience hunter such as yourself. I applaud your attitude in trying to get as much positive out of this experience as possible. I assure you many others would not have been so understanding with the on the ground folks. I must say that safaris like this make my job a whole lot harder. People read these things and when they talk to me about a hunt they are naturally a little suspicious making it more difficult to establish the trust that is necessary for a booking to go forward.  

• Apr 24, 2011

Sergey, I was alerted to your post and promptly joined up to comment. I reported Hunt It All Inc. to SCI and DSC. We were appointed in 2009 to manage their Maua concession for them. I recruited Neil and Du toit to work for Moz. Unlimited Safaris. We found out they were selling hunts to clients that we know the animals were simply not there. This caused a big stir as we told them we will not be associated with an operation like theirs. We told them that if any hunter tunrs up that expects to hunt anything more than Elephant, Sable and Bushpig, we will leave. This happened. Other things went wrong and it became apparent these guys are nothing but LOW class crooks. There are questions about their area and quota that was never answered satisfactory. It is sad that a fine PH like Neil got mixed up in this nonsense, and I can report that these people are not in business anymore. I undertand Zak Grobler is now operating Moz. Unlimited Safaris with the Mozambiquan partners. I do not know anything about Zak and cannot comment on him, but I would take GREAT caution to book with Moz. Unlimited Safaris as I know the Moz. partners too well. This is in fact a sad incident, and I heard from Neil about your experience. We got out in the beginning of August last year and lost a lot of money. I trust this answer sheds more light on people that are very low on the moral chain when it comes to the hunting industry. They just try to rape it for what it is worth. Mark Willman is a Plumber in Louisville, Kentucky and Terry Cundiff (cannot say his name without swearing) owns a fish farming operation in Kentucky, I believe his business name is White Oak Lane Fisheries or something like that. I hope someone gets some justice.  

1Shot2Kills

Thanks for the report and the warning on Hunt It All; I'm sorry you had a trip that ended up with a bad experience.  

Guys, I've been silently watching this thread as its developed, reading with horror poor Sergey's experience and the comments added by CharlvR to place it in context. First of all, Sergey, I'm so sorry for your horrible experience. This is precisely why I'm here... to learn about what's all involved in setting up an africa hunt to ensure I don't get stung. I'm not wealthy and can't afford to spend what will be a veritable investment in a perhaps once in a life-time experience only to wind up with the wrong outfitter. I can already tell there's a few out there I won't go near, while I've identified a few others, especially with the help of folks herein, that I feel completely comfortable with. As for this Terry Cundiff character, CharlvR, I looked up the name, along with fish farm and Kentucky and came up with the following hunting outfitter on a website. Could this possibly be the same guy? White Oak Lake Lodge Box 70 Vancleve, KY 41385 Phone# 606-693-4868 [email protected] Terry Cundiff Coyote, Deer, Turkey, Whitetail Deer Archery, Muzzleloader, Shotgun, Semi-Guided, Guided Hunts I'm asking because it has been my experience -- as a former police officer -- that if this guy is this bad a sheister then he's not likely to stop screwing people over. He's likely running other operations or will simply move on to other areas. Believe me, not all 'farmers' or other country folk are good people. I learned the hard way years ago criminals are not only city dwellers, but are sometimes those who live out in the country running farms or ranches. They do so because they're too anti-social, mean-spirited, or just nasty types that no one wants to be around them. In other cases, they're smooth talking con artists. I lost an investment years ago during the Carter years when I got involved investing with a company drilling for oil in southern Illinois. We were opening up old wells that had been capped back in the early 20th century because new finds in places like Texas made their operations financially untenable. The rising costs of oil made these "moderate" producers more cost effective, so we drilled where we knew there was oil. The two wells I invested in hit and began producing. One was on a property owned by a Mr. Tedford, and another on land owned by a Mr. Poetker. I cannot remember which was which, but one of those farmers later, when all was set up, sued the company and in collusion with the local corrupt judge STOLE our oil well. I think it was the Poetker property where this happened. But in a nutshell, he got 32/64s for zero dollars investment. Other investors antied up the funds to pay for drilling and then setting up the rig. Operating funds would come out of the profits. The producer would maintain the site and the only thing we needed was permission to prepare a lane of access for the oil trucks to go pick up what had been pumped out. All was completed, per the contract, but as soon as everything was in place, the guy sued the company claiming they weren't maintaining the site properly and were damaging his property. The managers of the oil producing company immediately traveled to inspect the site to see what the truckers and oil rig guys had done. They found NOTHING wrong with the site or the route for the trucks. The guy was full of it. They presented this, with photos, in court anyway, but it dragged out and in the end this judge just arbitrarily "awarded" the whole thing to the land owner. Again, being a cop, I looked into this and found what I'd heard about some of those southern Illinois towns. They're just as corrupt as Chicago, and in this case, the land owner had always intended to STEAL the well from us once it was set up. We have no doubt the local judge, who lives in the area and knows these guys -- is probably drinking buddies with him -- was in on the deal. We lost our investment on that particular well. Unfortunately the other well was a loss too, although not due to the land owner. It simply quit producing in volumes sufficient to cover anything but the maintenance and operating costs. My $4,800 investment returned just over $1,000. Small fry perhaps, for many of you, but I was only 22 at the time, and that was a lot of money back in 1980 for a kid of that age. My intent was to invest what I got into a retirement account. Unfortunately, it didn't pay back. Sorry for getting off subject of hunting, but it's the fact that there are a lot of cons, which I later learned are operated by people who then move on to conduct other cons. In some cases, these people are operating an otherwise legitimate business. However, they use the profits created by the legitimate and successful operation to help finance their fronts for what turn out to be cons. I'm just wondering if the address and outfitter I listed above is one in the same guy. Would you be able to verify this CharlvR? If so, I would suggest everyone avoid this listed outfitter advertising for hunting in Kentucky as well. Just want to verify so we don't slam the wrong person/outfitter!  

Sir, this is the same guy. He operates a White Tail hunting lodge on the same basis as his Moz. "Safari" business. NO deer. I have been raised as an ethical hunter and business man, and have an untainted record in the industry. When I realised what these guys were up to we got out immediately. I did not even think about the financial implications to our hunting business, I just knew the quicker we got out the better. I wish I could get a lawyer in the States to assist me getting our pictures of their web-site. My fellow hunters, these people are to be avoided at all cost, BEWARE!  

Dear fellow hunters. As said before, its a shame to be fooled liked this. BUT, its good and strong of Sergey to inform us all, and guys, please remember..... REFERENCES at all times REFERENCES !! Doesn't matter how beautiful web page or emails.... only thing that you can trust are previous hunters.... and as more as better. Michael  

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Milestone Mission

I remember this hunt like it was yesterday. Not so much because of the species, the terrain or trophy quality — but the pressure I had put on myself to close the deal. It was my last day of a 2015 African safari and I had been watching a group of blesbok 150 yards distant. As a bowhunter, I was hidden amongst a few trees and bushes and the terrain was such that I couldn’t get any closer. Typically, the blesbok is one of the first animals a hunter has the opportunity to take on a trip to the Dark Continent. This was my 33rd African safari and I still didn’t have one. My cameraman was PH Zak Grobler and despite our camouflage, the lack of ground cover and keen eyes of these plains antelope were making stalking difficult.

I decided to back out of our current position, drop over a small rise and work around through another small group of trees and into what looked like a pinch point. No sooner than Zak and I got repositioned, movement to my right showed two bucks slowly angling toward our tangle of grass and brush. It’s always exciting to watch animals unsuspecting close the distance, and of course the biggest trick in bowhunting is getting the bow to full draw without being discovered. As I cranked back my Mathews bow, the bucks kept coming. And just like bow hunts often do, my shooting opportunity came quickly. The arrow found its mark, with Zak capturing the entire sequence on video. After a quick check of the recorded footage, we could tell it was a good shot and trailed-up the buck.

So, I can imagine the reader’s thoughts at this stage of the article — “What’s the big deal about taking a blesbok?” Well, for me it was a big deal because that blesbok was the final animal in my quest to earn the coveted Safari Club International World Hunting Award Ring. BAM! Yes, I became the fifth bowhunter to achieve the milestone behind mega archers Archie Nesbitt, Gary Bogner, Byron Sadler and Ricardo Longoria. I remember standing on stage at the 2016 Convention and thinking, “Wow, this is a big deal.” It’s a mountain of bowhunting and a serious lifetime achievement.

If you are unfamiliar with the Safari Club International awards program, let me bring you up-to-speed. SCI divides its hunting award into three categories. Continental Awards, Inner Circle Awards and Milestone awards (Slams). These awards allow a hunter to reach levels of achievement. As more levels within the categories are attained, more awards are achieved. After completing the Four Pinnacles, a hunter can achieve the Zenith and eventually the Crowning Achievement. The next level is the World Hunting Award Ring and then up to the highest honor, SCI’s Conservation and Hunting Award. This highest achievement is also known as the YAK, named for a remarkable bronze which represents this final level of success with a hunter leading a yak, packing out a set of Marco Polo ram’s horns. A bronze worthy of the monumental hunting required to earn it.

The story of why I decided to pursue the “Ring” is pretty interesting. I had joined Safari Club International as a Life member in 2002, yet as a TV presenter and bowhunter on the ESPN Sports Network, I typically stayed clear of the record books for the sake of being labeled a trophy hunter. Let me be clear, I am a trophy hunter and proud of it, but the stigma associated with “trophy hunter” often brings out the worst in some social media outlets and jeopardizing my career over the antler and skull measurements of a few bow trophies didn’t make sense at the time. However, my thinking evolved, I continued to travel the world and bow hunt.

In May 2011, I was blessed to arrow a desert ram on Carmen Island, Mexico and achieve the Super Slam of North American big game, having harvested all 29 species with bow and arrow — on video no less. Word of the feat spread quickly and within a few weeks, renowned bowhunter and SCI Record Book Vice Chair Ricardo Longoria telephoned me and asked if I would consider pursuing the SCI World Hunting Award Ring. At the time, despite my Life Member status, I honestly never knew of such an award, nor did I know what species were required or really anything substantive about SCI’s awards program. It just wasn’t on my radar.

Since none of my animals were ever recorded by SCI, Ricardo asked me to quickly make a count of the different species I’d harvested with a bow. So, I walked around my game room and counted. When I told Ricardo, he asked if SCI could send a team to measure my animals for the SCI book. I agreed. After the measuring was complete, a few more weeks passed and Ricardo phoned again, this time to report that I needed 36 additional animals and he noted which specific animals were needed to complete the ring. It had taken me 13 years and 54 bow hunts to achieve the archery Super Slam, so 36 animals seemed like a tall order. Yet I remember thinking, “Why not go for it?” Ricardo had thrown down the gauntlet, and I accepted the challenge. A challenge that ended with a blesbok in Africa.

The neat thing about the SCI awards platform is that there are many steps up the ladder and many rewards along the way. When one looks at the whole of the milestone, it’s a huge undertaking, yet nibbling at bits and pieces, one can make headway with the categories. It took me fewer than five years to gather-up the 36 species

When one looks at the individual achievements required in the award categories, some really stick out in a “Wow!” kind of way. Like the Animals of Africa Inner Circle. Let’s just say they don’t call this outfit Safari Club International for nothing. A hunter can travel the whole of Africa taking thick-skinned game, the tiniest of pigmy antelope or everything in between.

And I’ve left the most important points for last. One needn’t have an unlimited budget or thirst to travel the globe to get into the SCI awards program. Goals like the North American deer, or the Wild Turkey Milestone, Elk of North America, North American wild sheep, even the North American 12 are all right here in our back yard. Or if you enjoy Africa, consider a challenging pursuit of the ring horns or spiral horns. Pigs and Peccaries of the world are a grand undertaking, as are Oxen of the World.

If you enjoy adventurous travel and hunting, collecting species is addicting. I’ve talked to many hunters who generated new life into their hunting by getting out of the whitetail woods and following a different path. I know of at least 20 guys who watched my Spanish ibex hunts on TV and just had to try one. Now they are hooked and pigeon-holing funds for their next adventure.

Keep in mind that SCI’s Record Book and awards platform also allows members to document their hunting heritage. Hunters active in the Record Book and awards platform are memorializing their hunting legacy for their family, where sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters can review their hunting accomplishments. It can be very eye-opening to look through the record books and see the names of past hunters, such as the likes of Courtney Selous or Theodore Roosevelt listed in the Roland Ward record book; or Fred Bear in the Pope and Young Record Book. Hunters like C.J. McElroy, Roy Weatherby, Dr. Bob Spiegel, Dr. James Conklin and many more elite hunters are listed right among us everyday hunters who have taken it upon ourselves to honor our animals by scoring and listing them in the SCI Record Book. Even our heroes of today such as Alan and Barbara Sackman, Renee Snider, J. Alain Smith, Craig Boddington, Jim Shockey, Archie Nesbitt, Jack Frost, Tom Hoffman and many others will certainly be legends someday. I know that I will be proud to have my name alongside any one of these iconic hunters as well as many others not listed here.

The bottom line is that these record-book archives and award milestones are tributes to the animals, the hunters and to conservation worldwide. These archives and achievements are not bragging rights, but heritage and legacy milestones with a key point that each hunter is doing his or her part for conservation. Never forget that hunting is the No. 1 tool of wildlife conservation.

Get involved with SCI Record Book and the hunting milestone awards. Thursday nights at SCI’s annual Convention is The Night of the Hunter Celebration, an evening of tribute to the SCI members that are active in our conservation and Record Book programs. Come and join us!

For me, I still need to complete the World Hunting Awards by hunting a few more new species as my eyes are glued to that YAK. It is the top bronze that shows my commitment to conservation and hunting around the world.–Tom Miranda

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Zak Grobler

• Kempton, GP

Cardinal Aquatics

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Power index

• SA National Senior Championship April 12, 2023
• Grand Prix 2 Invitational March 3, 2023
• South African Short Course Championships Aug. 11, 2022
• SA National Aquatic Championships April 6, 2022
• EGA Summer Champs Dec. 9, 2021
• EGA Summer 5 Nov. 26, 2021
• EGA Summer 4 Nov. 12, 2021
• EGA Adrian Grafe Gala Sept. 4, 2021
• SSA Regional Junior Champs North March 26, 2021
• KZN Seagulls Winter Short Course Championships Sept. 26, 2019
• Aquatics Gauteng SC Championships Aug. 3, 2019
• SA Junior National Championships March 20, 2019
• EGA Summer 5 Feb. 23, 2019
• EGA Championships Dec. 7, 2018
• EGA Summer 3L Nov. 17, 2018
• EGA Summer Nov. 3, 2018
• EGA Summer 2 Oct. 13, 2018
• KZN Seagulls Winter Short Course Championships Oct. 4, 2018
• EGA Summer 1 Soncini Games Trials Sept. 29, 2018
• CGA SANJ/Level 3 Gala No 1 Sept. 22, 2018
• Adrian Grafe Speedo Sprint Meet Sept. 15, 2018
• EGA Winter 3 Aug. 18, 2018
• EGA Winter Junior SC Champs 14 July 14, 2018
• EGA Winter 1 09.06.2018 June 9, 2018
• South Africa National JNR Age Group Championship March 21, 2018
• SA National JNR Age Group Championship March 21, 2018
• Duel in The Pool Division 2 Feb. 24, 2018
• EGA Summer 5 Feb. 17, 2018
• EGA Long Distance 1 Sept. 29, 2017
• EGA Summer 1 Sept. 16, 2017
• EGA Winter 2 Aug. 5, 2017
• Ekurhuleni Winter Championships July 29, 2017
• EGA Winter 1 July 15, 2017
• Adrian Grafe Memorial Gala 2016 Sept. 10, 2016
• EKURHULENI Winter Champs 2016 July 23, 2016
• Bedfordview, GP

Aquatics Gauteng Ekhuruleni

• Ekhuruleni, GP

Dynamo Aquatics Eku

Soul swimming club.

• Boksburg, GP

Progression

• PERSONAL BESTS
• EVENT PROGRESSION
• 50 S Breast
• 50 L Breast
• 100 S Breast
• 100 L Breast
• 200 S Breast

Season 2022-2023

National (open) 682.50, south africa, rsa club (open) 676.95, swimming sa, rsa club (15 - 18) 676.95.

PRIVATE PHOTO SAFARI

Experience africa on an exclusive safari.

Rhulani Safaris offers a selection of Private Photo Safaris to several locations around southern Africa. These safaris are limited to 2 people for private and exclusive experience led by acclaimed wildlife photographer and author, Armand Grobler.

Private Photo Safaris provide guests with a more intimate, exclusive experience as you determine which animals you want to focus on photographing, as well as having exclusive access to our photographic host whose attention will be 100% focused on you and improving your photographic skills. Private safaris are also more flexible with regards to game drives, allowing guests more time with sightings.

Our Okavango Delta Private Photo Safaris provide guests with their exclusive camp, shared with no one else. A mobile safari tented camp is set up for only you, meaning its just you and nature, no-one else! A magical experience for travellers who love the tranquility of being the ‘only people on the planet,’ – or so it feels!

For more information on group bookings, please contact us at [email protected].

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WILD NAMIBIA

In 2018 Wild Namibia Safaris was established by Brink Grobler, who grew up in the northern parts of Namibia on a farm. His father taught him a lot about nature and ethical hunting, and he believes that’s where his love for hunting, as well as the outdoors started.

At the age of 9 years old, he shot his first kudu bull.  Brink started his hunting career in 2007, as a professional hunter and was able to complete his big game licence through the years.  Since then, he has conducted quite a lot of big game hunts.

Wild Namibia Safaris is mainly based in the western areas of Namibia. We also operate in the Caprivi Strip and in Zimbabwe for dangerous game. This area also has a wide variety of great trophies. Our hunting areas stretches from the Namib desert all the way through the bushveld and mountainous regions towards the north eastern region, the wet Caprivi. We only hunt in free range areas. The hunting areas stretches well over 300 000 acres where we hunt plains game and leopard. Leopard is one of our favourite trophies to hunt and had a lot off success over the years.

Most of the big game species are hunted in the Caprivi, while leopard and mostly plains game is hunted in the rest of Namibia. There are 2 types of accommodation that can be chosen from for your perfect safari which is either luxurious lodging or tented camps.

Zak's Safari

A story about donor-conceived kids of two-mom families.

When the rain spoils Zak’s plan for a safari adventure, he invites the reader on a very special tour of his family instead. Zak shows us how his parents met, fell in love, and wanted more than anything to have a baby—so they decided to make one.  In the first half of the book, Zak teaches us about his biological origins. Using simple but accurate language, we learn about sperm and egg cells, known-donors, donors from sperm banks, and instructions called genes that make up who we are. Zak's enthusiasm, combined with his scientific curiosity and gratitude for his inherited "awesome genes" make him the perfect tour guide for this contemporary conception story. 

The second half of the book celebrates family. Gorgeous illustrations depict Zak and his two moms living the adventure of everyday life: eating meals together, playing at the beach, going for nature hikes and hanging out with friends and family.  

It's my hope that this book will provide a starting place for many future conversations with your kids about their conception story and donor. Zak's Safari is written in a style that is genuine, informative, casual, and easy to understand. It will be most meaningful to kids ages 4-8. 

Christy Tyner

Author. MA Instructional Design

Christy works as an LMS Administrator and e-learning course developer for Telecare Corporation , a behavioral health organization serving clients with serious mental illness and other complex needs.   

Christy lives with her wife and two kids (both donor-conceived) in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Ciaee Ching

Illustrator. MFA Illustration

Ciaee (pronounced ji-AH-yee) is an award-winning illustrator who holds an MFA in Illustration from the Academy of Arts University. She currently resides in San Francisco with her dear husband, Tom. She delights in making things with her hands, and finds great joy in telling stories through her pictures. You may visit her online at https://dribbble.com/ciaee . 

Subject Matter Expert. MPH/ MPPM

Alice Ruby wrote the foreword for Zak's Safari. Alice has been the Executive Director of The Sperm Bank of California (TSBC) since 2002 where she oversees all programs. TSBC is the only non-profit sperm bank in the US and the first sperm donation program worldwide to provide an option for donor-conceived adults to learn the identity of their sperm donor. Ms. Ruby has personally released donor identities to 110+ donor-conceived adults, matched more than 500 families with others who share their sperm donor, and provides resources and support to donors, recipients, and donor-conceived adults. She is a research collaborator with Dr. Scheib, TSBC’s Research Director, and is also the mother of a donor-conceived child.

The Inspiration

When our children were between the ages of three and four, my wife and I knew it was time to start talking to them about their donor. In our social circle, our kids are surrounded by diverse family structures, but this diversity is rarely represented in books, cartoons, and the media in general. Our kids were noticing that most families have a mom and a dad. They were  perfectly happy having two moms , but still, they were noticing. I could almost see the questions brewing in their curious heads.

I asked my friend,  Alice , for some advice on what seemed like a pretty tricky topic to navigate. Her advice was perfect:  talk early and often; keep it simple and honest . She recommended making a personalized book about our conception story. She told us of a book she and her partner had made for her own son, using photographs to tell the story of their family beginnings. It was his favorite bedtime story for a long time! I loved this idea, but I also really wanted the convenience of buying a helpful book online.

I assumed that because there were  so many  two-mom families out there that there must  proportionately exist  a plethora of wonderful donor-conception books for families just like mine. I happily began my search, but was soon disappointed.  I did find a few books that technically fit the bill, but they seemed to lack some qualities that I look for in any children's book. And I just didn't want to compromise those qualities. After all, this book was extremely important to me. 

I wanted a book that was well written: informative yet casual, easy to understand yet interesting. Something that tugs a little on the heartstrings or provokes a chuckle. Or both. And, oh, how I longed for a book that was illustrated by a professional and talented artist! I wanted to see a contemporary, loving, two-mom family that I could relate to. On top of all that, I also wanted a book that instilled a sense of gratitude for the donor. And so, as is true for the birth of many projects, I was inspired to make the book that I couldn't find.

In addition to my personal desire for this book was a larger motivation: As LGBTQIA+ parents, we  need  more high-quality children's books that represent us: our love for our family, our pride in our kids, and our collective commitment to truth and equality.

It's my hope that this book will provide a starting place for many future conversations with your kids about their conception story and donor.

 - Christy

The Foreword

Dear Reader,

Zak’s Safari takes an honest, open, and age-appropriate approach to talking about donor conception and family diversity. Using a book like this one is an excellent way to begin (or continue) conversations with children about their origins, or to educate child friends or relatives about your family. To help with your discussions I offer these 4 tips for talking to kids about donor conception.

1)   Keep it simple. 

Especially for young children, simple, honest and personal is best. Make the story one about love and connection. For example, you might say, “Mama and I wanted a child. It takes an egg from a woman and a sperm from a man to make a baby. Your Mama provided the egg and a man called a donor provided the sperm. You grew in Mama’s body and when you were born, I held you and changed your diapers. Your Mama and I are your parents, we love you, and we take care of you.” Remember, whatever complex emotions you may have about the conception journey, for your child the story of how they came to be is happy, magical, and full of love.

2)   Tell early.  

Telling early has many advantages. First, it gives the parent(s) the opportunity to get comfortable with the topic and try out different ways of telling the family story. Some parents practice by telling the story to their infant, to each other, to a partner, or to a friend. Second, sharing early normalizes the topic, so children who learn early know they can go to their parents when they have questions. Lastly, early disclosure ensures that children learn this important information from their parents—and not from others who may have less positive or less informed views on donor conception.

3)   Tell often. 

Thinking of disclosure as a process, rather than a one-time event, frees parents from having to explain every aspect at once. Most children will have different questions and interests at different ages. As your child evolves their understanding, you can evolve your explanations by answering their questions as they come up. Finding ways to keep the dialogue going (such as creating a family book or having books like Zak’s Safari on the bookshelf) will remind your child that this is an acceptable topic to talk about.

4)   Differentiate between people who make you and people who take care of you. 

Children often want to know that they, like everyone else on the planet, came from two people and are often understandably curious about the donor. The fact that the donor is a person (not just some disembodied cells or genes) is important.  However, it is also important to clarify that the donor is not a parent. For example, you could say, “There are people who help make you (like Mama and the donor) and there are people who take care of you (like Mom and Mama).  Sometimes these people are the same (Mama) and sometimes they are different (Mom and the donor).  The people who take care of you (Mama and Mom) are your parents.”  

I have spoken to parents who feel that this places too much emphasis on the donor. They want to focus only on the people who are in the child’s life, not on someone the child doesn’t know. We have found in our research that the donor is often important to donor-conceived children. This doesn’t diminish their love for their parent(s). Curiosity about the donor is common and normal and is likely to vary from age to age and from child to child. 

Many parents are nervous about talking with children about conception. Talking with our kids about their origins is not that different from teaching them about other complex aspects of their lives. As donor-conceived families, this is part of the journey of parenthood for us, and part of growing up for our kids. 

You can do it!

Alice Ruby, MPH, Executive Director, The Sperm Bank of California, and Mama through donor conception

 - Alice

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New google chrome warning—you must never copy and paste this text.

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New Chrome warning for all Windows users

A technically complicated warning for Google Chrome users has just been issued, but thankfully it’s one with a stupidly simple instruction that you must follow to avoid being attacked.

The warning comes courtesy of Proofpoint , which says it has “observed an increase in a technique leveraging unique social engineering that directs users to copy and paste malicious PowerShell scripts to infect their computers with malware.”

The research team suggests multiple treat actors have been using the technique, delivering various forms of malware in the process. It’s easy to spot, though, and so once aware users should find it very easy to prevent an infection. These are actually instructions you should be following anyway.

While using Chrome, a user will see a popup textbox “that suggests an error occurred when trying to open the document or webpage.” The popup provides instructions on copying and pasting text into either a PowerShell terminal or Windows Run dialog box.

On the surface, one might assume this would be easy to identify as unusual and to ignore. But Proofpoint warns that “although the attack chain requires significant user interaction to be successful, the social engineering is clever enough to present someone with what looks like a real problem and solution simultaneously, which may prompt a user to take action without considering the risk.”

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Example 'copy and paste' attack popup window

The attack itself displays the usual defensive behaviors one would expect these days—it attempts to check if the device is a virtual or sandboxed environment before downloading and installing malware, making it less likely to be detected. If all is green-lit, it installs threats in the background.

Proofpoint attributes the attack to spam distributor TA571 , which specialized in “high volume spam email campaigns to deliver and install a variety malware for their cybercriminal customers,” and ClearFake , which popped up last year as “a newcomer to the ‘fake updates’ threats landscape.”

The focus of much of the installed malware itself appears to be credential theft as well as triggering fraudulent crypto transactions, in which a user has used the device to make their own crypto transfers.

The fake update attack conops is becoming more prevalent, and we have seen multiple instances of Google Chrome being the chosen front-end for this. With 3 billion-plus users across all platforms, this is no surprise. but it makes it doubly important that Chrome users are extra vigilant to updates and add-ons. Chrome provides clear instructions on manual and automated updates.

In general, the threat landscape has picked up in recent months, and dangerous installs and add-ons from third-party sites, as well as malicious popups as seen here, have become a nasty trend.

As Proofpoint warns, this latest attack “aligns with the overall trend Proofpoint has observed of cybercriminal threat actors adopting new, varied, and increasingly creative attack chains.”

Fortunately, such attacks should be straightforward to detect and avoid.

Here are three simple rules:

• Stick to official app stores—don’t use third-party stores and never change your device’s security settings to enable an app to load.
• Never ever click links in emails or messages that directly download apps or updates—always use app stores or apps themselves for installs and updates.
• Do not install apps, add-ons or updates that link to established apps like Chrome unless you know for an absolute fact they’re legitimate—check reviews and online write-ups.

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