Growing Custodians Of Our Natural Heritage
Growing Custodians Of Our Natural Heritage
Growing Custodians Of Our Natural Heritage
What We're Working On
The Sabi Sabi Foundation currently supports the following ongoing projects:
Marula Water Project
Huntington
Life will never be the same in the Marula Village of the Huntington community, one of the villages neighbouring Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve. Until recently, the community members had to walk an arduous path down to the nearest open water source to collect water in buckets. Sometimes children as young as six made this back-breaking daily trip, and the community never knew what the quality of the water would be.
Now, the community has access to 11 water taps set at strategic points throughout the village, bringing a steady flow of more than 54,000 litres a day of life-changing fresh water to their community.
The Marula Water Project was initiated by the Sabi Sabi Foundation to uplift a community that many Sabi Sabi staff members call home. With funding from the Gillespie Foundation, the amazing team from the not-for-profit company Innovation Africa South Africa (iASA) was brought on board to coordinate the project. The plan was to find an underground water supply near the village and then build a solar-powered well and water pump, connected by a network of pipes from the central stand to various tap points in the village, as selected by community members.
Drilling at Marula found water in an underground aquifer at a depth of 80 metres, with enough water to ensure a sustainable supply for the Huntington Community for years to come! Construction of the water tower, pump and solar installation began shortly after that, with iASA employing 10 community members (5 men and 5 women). Upon completion of the project each temporary worker received a training certificate, assisting them to gain future employment. This sustainability model aims to provide the community members with not only skills and training but also ownership.
The new taps were officially opened on the 20th of April in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by trustees of the Gillespie and Sabi Sabi Foundations, the village Induna and Ward Councillor, and various stakeholders and community members. It was a day of celebration, gratitude and hope, filled with singing, dancing and speeches of thanks as the people of Huntington started a bright new chapter in their history.
While the community’s initial excitement is predominantly thanks to having running, clean water ‘on tap’ right in their village for the first time, the impact of this water project will actually be far bigger, as it will provide added employment and resources for community members. They will now be able to grow crops, keep livestock, start up small businesses, and more. Furthermore, thanks to the skills passed on to the community through the work done by iASA, members of the community have been trained not only in the operation of the system, but also financial management, administration skills and reporting. This water pump now belongs to the community, and is managed by the community.
To date, the iASA model has positively impacted over 1.5 million people in 10 African countries, and will shortly bring much-needed relief and upliftment to even more of our staff, and other households in the area, as two additional water projects are planned in other villages adjoining Sabi Sabi.
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Lillydale Digital Learning Centre
(Lillydale)
In this technological age, life without access to the internet or smart devices means not being able to stay up-to-date with news and global developments, no contact via social media platforms and no opportunity to further your career by compiling a CV, on a word-processing programme and e-mailing it to the appropriate recipient.
In the current global economy and digital market place, 21st century skills are demanded from young people. However access to digital technology is limited in the largely impoverished rural communities adjacent to Sabi Sabi. Here students lack basic opportunities to become proficient in the main language of access: English and digital literacy.
Educational programmes at the Lillydale Digital Learning Centre focuses on teaching children from the surrounding villages basic literacy and maths in order to prepare themselves for further education. It also offers a Bridging Academy for all school leavers and second chance learners, who wish to improve their knowledge in this technological age and determine career paths to which they are suited and well prepared.
The GWF (Good Work Foundation) – with whom Sabi Sabi proudly partners in this initiative – reported that at the end of 2019 some 516 learners were positively impacted and to date (June 2020) they have reached 427 learners – this includes both the Open Learning and Bridging Academy programmes. GWF’s goal is to work toward impacting 27,000 individuals once all clusters are fully operational and the full scope of campuses completed.
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Swa Vana Care Centre
(Huntington)
Orphans and vulnerable children living in rural communities face tremendous challenges and the Swa Vana Care Centre is a Sabi Sabi Foundation supported initiative operating within the community. It comprises a care centre for HIV orphans and vulnerable youth, where day care facilities are available for children living with guardians. The centre delivers meals, educational activities and a safe after-school environment for children.
Named Swa Vana – meaning “for the children” in the local Tsonga language – the project initially
looked after only six children and now supports up to 390 children. Today the Section 21 Non-Profit company employs over 31 staff members to facilitate the enormous need for caretakers, social workers and assistants who all work together at the Swa Vana drop-in centres in Huntington, Lillydale and Justicia.
These centres provide daily cooked meals, distribution of clothing donations and hygiene items as well as transport for the children to hospitals and clinics when necessary. Organised sport activities, arts and crafts and board games are implemented to assist their cognitive and emotional development. Counselling, social services referrals and regular home visits are conducted to assess needs and
Swa Vana furthermore runs a rural enterprise development programme as well as a home-based care programme. The rural enterprise development programme is aimed at providing the children from the Swa Vana project with a sense of purpose and becoming employable, self-sustainable and valued members of their community.
Home-based care is part of Swa Vana’s involvement and consists of a group of community members who attend to the sick, disabled and elderly surviving in desperate circumstances.
The Dreamfields Project
Since 2008, a partnership between Sabi Sabi and Dreamfields has offered opportunities to rural school children through encouraging team participation in two very popular sports – soccer and netball. At Sabi Sabi, we believe that teamwork, whether through sports or in the workplace, builds character and discourages being drawn into negative environments and influences. This initiative has grown exponentially since our partnership.
A structured soccer and netball league, for both primary and secondary schools in the greater Lillydale community, was set up in 2008. Participating schools received a soccer and netball kit during an official handover ceremony at the start of the league, and these have since been replaced on a regular basis with upgraded kits. Part of this initiative includes providing professional assistance to all team coaches through Coaching Clinics for soccer and netball during off season, providing the best possible training to all participators. Local referees in the area also benefit greatly - similar to Coaching Clinics, Referee Training Clinics for both soccer and netball are arranged to ensure all games are handled in a fair manner and within the rules of the game.
The Sabi Sabi / Dreamfields Sports initiative contributes not only to the physical well-being of our children within the local community, but on an academic front as well.
The Sabi Sabi / Dreamfields Sports initiative is about building dreams, building relationships and fostering a healthy outlook on life. It is fantastic that we have this opportunity to witness children playing sports they love while learning about themselves.
Sabi Sabi Chef Mentorship Programme
Since 2015 Sabi Sabi has supported a culinary educational programme originally proposed by Wilfred Mtshali, Head Chef at Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge. Chef Wilfred realised that there was untapped talent going to waste within the community. Without training, school leaving youngsters showing interest in entering the culinary field had no chance of a future within the industry and together with Sabi Sabi Wilfred has provided support to mentor and teach a new generation of chefs. Support is provided in the form of transport, housing, uniforms and certification to aspiring cooks from communities adjacent to our reserve. Following interviews with potential candidates, trainees are selected and registered with the South African Chefs Association (SACA). Week long kitchen courses, ranging from basic to intensive, are presented in Johannesburg by SACA and trainees receive certification upon completion of these levels.
For the remainder of the year, the students alternate their training, spending three months at a time in the kitchens at each of our 4 lodges - Earth Lodge, Little Bush Camp, Bush Lodge and Selati Camp. Once their internship is completed, a final stint in the Bush Lodge kitchen, under the watchful eye of Wilfred is undertaken, leaving students equipped with culinary skills and sufficient knowledge to further their careers. The opportunity of being employed by Sabi Sabi at the end of their yearlong internship is a possibility for all Wilfred’s students and many of the interns that have successfully completed the internship have found gainful employment.
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Community Visits
Sabi Sabi operates a very popular Community Tour, which is aimed at giving our guests the opportunity of visiting our local community and experiencing first-hand the projects we support. This also provides funding by way of a nominal fee that is charged for the tour, of which all proceeds are allocated to the Sabi Sabi Foundation fund and allocated to the needs of these community projects. These tours are overseen and operated by our Community Liaison Officer – Clerence Mkansi – who is a second generation Sabi Sabi family member, being the son of one of Sabi Sabi’s long-standing stalwart trackers. These tours are overseen and operated by our Community Liaison Officer – Clerence Mkansi – who is a second generation Sabi Sabi family member, being the son of one of Sabi Sabi’s long-standing stalwart trackers.
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