The Kagyu Africa centres in Southern Africa are in the lineage of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. They are under the spiritual guidance of Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche, founder of Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in Scotland and have been active since the early 1970s. Rob Nairn is Akong Rinpoche’s representative in Africa.