SIYAFUNDA NGEMVELO

Many children in South Africa have never visited a game reserve or National Park before. This is despite lots of them living in close proximity to these incredible places, all over the country. Although tourists come from all over the world to see wildlife such as lions, elephants and rhinos, many South Africans will never get that chance.

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Up until now, it has been no different for the pupils at Glen Park Primary School, who live alongside Bonamanzi Game Reserve - a wildlife reserve that is home to 4 of the big 5 and an array of other stunning wildlife.

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But how can we expect people to protect what they do not know?

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Connected Planet Foundation, Dogs4Wildlife and the IFPCP have launched a brand new conservation club for the pupils at Glen Park Primary school. Siyafunda Ngemvelo, which means we learn in nature in isiZulu has already seen 60 pupils from Glen Park visit Bonamanzi for the first time. The children were able to see wildlife such as elephants and rhinos for the first time in their lives. In addition to connecting with these animals first hand, the children and their teachers also learnt all about the Bonamanzi Ecosystems and the importance of protecting them. 

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The next phase of the project is to provide weekly conservation lessons at Glen Park school to build on what the pupils have already learned. Our goal is to roll out the conservation club into many more schools around Bonamanzi so that the children grow up loving, valuing and wanting to protect their local wildlife reserve. 

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You can find out more about why Siyafunda Ngemvelo is so important in this blog post.

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