As a community development and conservation organisation we find ourselves in a uniquely advantageous position to provide life-changing educational opportunities empowering and raising the awareness of individuals, both locally in Africa as well as those joining our programs from around the world.
It is a multi-headed way to work together and sustainably impact lives and biodiversity for the better. Life on the ground in Africa is spellbinding. The magic and colour of African sunrises and sunsets, you can almost hear The Lion King theme song in the background.
Vibrant colours, dancing, singing, delicious food, ancient cultures, massive tracts of natural land peppered with wildlife from the tiny and very cute elephant shrew to the mighty majesty of the African elephant, and so much more. There is great deal of beauty here as well as opportunities to experience, travel, contribute and learn.
Within our conservation projects we have the great privilege to work in African game reserves protecting vital flora and fauna species (plant and animal). It is all about symbiosis, this means working together.
Complimenting one another’s efforts in order to survive, to grow, develop, to be better – each species or element in the mix plays a vital role. This is a great analogy for how we approach the construct and running of our projects. We need to do it together.
Spending days out in the reserves, monitoring wildlife species inclusive of the African Big 5, collecting important data for on-going studies, conducting physical work such as erosion control or invasive plant species to re-establish land to important natural spaces. We find ourselves on the front-line of conservation work. Those that join us do not only have incredible experiences, but they also actively take part by directly contributing to wildlife and habitat conservation in Africa.
The educational element for those who get involved is secured through this taking part, as well as workshops, one-on-one tutoring, learning conservation techniques and approaches, relevant software and hardware, watching presentations, taking part in conversations, debates and learning the ‘why’ behind our work.
Every person who gets involved learns a great deal. This spans not only the conservation opportunities in Africa that we contribute toward, but also hard and soft skill development. Such important transferrable skills can be applied in their lives, for the rest of their lives.
It is a great deal of positive influence, we feel the excitement of it every day. We consistently look to grow and deepen our impact for all involved. We are very proud to have impressed upon so many individuals, many of whom have pursued careers in conservation related fields as a result.
It is said that travel is a powerful way for a young person to learn, grow and develop. Enhancing multiple life-skills as they independently step out and explore the world, meeting new people and discovering their own identity. This combined with contributing to highly impactful work in educated, informed and safe ways, as well as learning and gathering directly applicable skills, both hard and soft creates an even deeper effect on the individual. The education as well as personal development aspects of what we do is, well, life-changing.
As a leader of the organisation, I can honestly say it is an honour and a privilege to be a part of such important and impactful work. Not only the project outputs, but the impact on people both young and old from around the world who help us on our mission. In conclusion the opportunities to raise awareness and empower young people through conservation work in Africa are many, varied and indeed life-changing.
