If you are a follower of our blog you will have read that LiC now has two bases of operation, one in Pretoria and the other working out of Stellenbosch. Because we are a student run company, these student teams teach in or close to the above mentioned areas while they are at university. However, the start of each recess brings with it palpable excitement for the LiC teams. Not only is it time to go from student to teacher, it is also time to go on an adventure!
When the School and university recesses align the LiC teams launch into their so called “holiday programmes.” These are in essence an intensive week of lessons and excursions with a group of children from a High Impact Area (HIA) that has been identified by LiC. When selecting the HIA’s we take into consideration the following 4 aspects:
Does tourism contribute greatly to the income of the area?
Do we have a contact in the area making for cost effective, sustainable implementation of our syllabus?
Is the conservation area in close proximity to a community?
Are a large number of the community employed as a result of conservation?
After several meetings and consultations we selected 3 HIA’s for our next holiday programme and for the first time we will be going “Beyond Borders”. LiC is pleased to announce that in November/December 2019 we will be going to Zimbabwe and Mozambique as well as revisiting Eswatini in a trip we are calling Beyond Borders. On the 24th of November A team of 8 will be embarking on a trip covering more than 6000 km to some of the most beautiful places in Southern Africa. We have partnered with influential conservation operations in each of the 3 HIA’s and are hoping that this will be the start of some fantastic partnership that will last long into the future. In Mozambique we have partnered with Chawalo Safaris, in Zimbabwe with Emerald Hill Children’s Home and Gonarezhou National Park while in Eswatini we have rejoined with our old friends Mbuluzi Game Reserve. Each of these places is simply incredible in their own right and we are very thankful for the owners and managers who have agreed to assist us and work with us.
Chawalo Safari’s is a sports fishing lodge situated on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River in the Zumbo region of Western Mozambique. This will be our first port of call where we are hoping to create an understanding of sustainable land utilisation, the impacts of overfishing and the best ways to live in harmony with dangerous animals such as elephants, lions, hippos and crocodiles.
While travelling to and from Chawalo we will be spending 4 days in Harare, Zimbabwe. Here we will be working with individuals from the Emerald Hill’s children home, hoping to instil in them hope for a brighter tomorrow, using conservation as our vessel for change.
On the 6th of December we depart from Harare for the second leg of our trip at Gonarezhou National park. Here we will be working hand-in-hand with their conservation education team hoping to learn from them some of the techniques they have developed over the years. Gonarezhou is known for its unique wilderness character and spectacular scenery with the iconic Chilojo cliffs, meandering rivers and extensive woodlands.We then make our way down into the South African Lowveld, staying in the quaint little town of White River. A trip like this would however not be complete without visiting the Kruger National Park, and the team will be spending a night at Shingwedzi rest camp to break the journey from Gonarezhou to White River.
From White River the team will embark on the third and final leg of the trip, a revisit to Mbuluzi Game Reserve. We will again be working with the children from 4 different schools within the Shewula community, which overlooks Mbuluzi itself. We will be renewing our partnership with RMI, a company that focuses on designing and implementing rural development projects in Eswatini and other Southern African countries. On the teaching front Phiwokuhle Masimula, the young man we identified from our lessons last year, will be switching roles from student to teacher.
After we noticed Masimula’s incredible aptitude for teaching and conservation last year, we provided him with a laptop and a means to continue teaching our syllabus. In just over 6 months he has given lessons to close to 150 learners in his community and in doing so has epitomised all that LiC is and hopes to be. We cannot wait to see how the children we worked with last year have developed and look forward to making another positive impact on the children of Shewula.
So not only do we get to touch the lives of children and watch a smile grow across the face of a young soul who finally sees hope, we get to do so in some of the most incredible places on earth. And this is just the start, Beyond Borders is going to be an annual expedition and is only going to get bigger and better.
If this is something you think you would like to be involved in, send us an email at media@lessonsinconservation.com and start your journey with us.