Umzi receives further recognition from Eastern Cape Government

We just heard from our colleagues in South Africa that their Umzi project has once again been recognised for the impact it has. The Eastern Cape Premier has allocated funding for more places,
still - As reported in The Port Elizabeth Herald:

"The main sponsorship comes from overseas donors..." (Full story)

That's why you hear us talking about this inspiring project so much (and why we continually ask for your support). But how about the students who benefit? What do they say? Here are a few words from Freddie:



Learn more here: http://www.umziwethu.org - and if you'd like to support then you can still sponsor Richard, our indefatigable office manager and Chris Eppinger, long-time friend to the Foundation and Kilimanjaro veteran: They completed the Walk for Life recently and their fundraising page is still up and running - Read more here about that and also other Umzi reporting from us.

Walk for Life 2007

Richard Corby from the WFUK office and Chris Eppinger, long-time friend to the Foundation and Kilimanjaro veteran from 2006, represented WFUK and WFSA at this year's Crusaid "Walk for Life", which took place in London yesterday (Sunday 10th June 2007).

Richard and Chris both report aching limbs this morning, but were delighted to undertake the 10k walk around London in a bid to raise funds for the Wilderness Foundation's Umzi Wethu programme, working with HIV and Aids affected orphans and other vulnerable young people in South Africa.

"It was a great day," Richard said. "There was an amazing atmosphere at Hyde Park both before and after the event and in fact all the way along the 10k course. The weather was kind to us, although a light breeze would have helped. I had a thoroughly great time - Crusaid had done a fantastic job of organising the event - we were given bottled water at regular stages and the event after care was first class. Both Chris and I were chuffed to be presented with our medals as we crossed the finish line. Can't wait until next year - hope to see you there!"

Between them Richard and Chris have raised £340 to date. 25% of this will be retained by Crusaid, to help fund their own HIV and Aids projects. The balance will come to WFUK. This year we have decided to support Umzi Wethu. We have raised enough to sponsor two learners at the academy on a four day wilderness trail, with the balance being spent on clothing for them.

It's not too late to sponsor Richard and Chris - their fundraising page is still online at:

http://www.walkforlife.co.uk/wildernessfoundationuk

Or you can send a cheque made payable to "Wilderness Foundation UK" to our normal posting address:

The Wilderness Foundation UK
47-49 Main Road
Broomfield
Essex
CM1 7BU

A donation of just £10 will buy clothes for an academy learner. £100 pays for a four day wilderness experience for a learner. £1000 will sponsor a learner for a whole year at the academy £5000 will sponsor a learner through the entire programme and secure them employment.


Your donation, however large or small, will make a difference to a young person's life. Thank you.

First game ranger intake for Umzi Wethu

The Wilderness Foundation UK actively supports the Umzi Wethu social project in South Africa. We are pleased to relay the lastest new received from the project:

The first intake of trainee game rangers has been enrolled in South Africa’s pioneering Umzi Wethu, which is harnessing the power of nature to create career opportunities for socially vulnerable young people.

In April 2006, the Umzi Wethu campus in Port Elizabeth opened with its first group of students, who are now in their ninth month of training for hospitality positions in the eco-tourism industry. They will graduate in July this year.

Umzi Wethu provides free training, accommodation, health care and allowances for young people who would otherwise have little hope of becoming productive members of society. It is an initiative of the Wilderness Foundation and over 35 partners from a number of sectors and disciplines.

“Best of all, through our links with the growing eco-tourism industry, we are able to provide jobs for successful students,” adds Muir.

The 2007 programme will meet a need for more game rangers in the Eastern Cape. The students are from rural Eastern Cape towns, including Pearston, Somerset East, Kirkwood and Steynsburg. All are being accommodated at the Umzi Wethu campus residence in the grounds of the Eastern Province Youth and Child Care Centre in Port Elizabeth.

The Umzi Wethu programme is unique in that it harnesses the healing power of nature to discover and fulfil the potential of socially vulnerable youth. As part of the life skills training and personal development students are taken on regular Wilderness Foundation trails throughout the Eastern Cape.

The trails are lead by the Umzi Wethu trail coordinator, and are aimed at promoting the students’ environmental awareness, self development, team building and life skills through the use of natural settings, says programme manager Debbie Gothan.

All Umzi Wethu students fall into the category of “socially vulnerable” youth, which includes those affected by HIV/Aids.

As part of the selection process, candidates are carefully assessed to ensure that they are “socially vulnerable,” she says. Over half of the students in the new intake have no source of income apart from a family member’s pension, 40 percent have lost one or both parents. Only one student still has both parents.

Despite these challenges, all students have a grade twelve certificate, and show a keen interest in changing their life’s circumstances, she says.

The 12 month game ranging course will culminate in guaranteed jobs for the successful students. Jobs have been secured at several well-known Eastern Cape Game Reserves, according to Muir.

During the first three months of the game ranging programme, the students will complete their Field Guide Association of South Africa (FGASA) level one training. Students will also attend learners’ and drivers’ licence training before completion of their FGASA level two qualification (NQF level four).

What makes Umzi Wethu different from most training programmes is that it focuses on the whole person, and not just vocational skills. It includes skills training, wellness, wilderness trails, and mentorship.

The first input focused on training students for careers in the hospitality industry. The students are currently involved in practical training at Conyngham’s Coffee shop in Parson’s Hill.

Umzi Wethu is currently planning its third training programme, which will focus on housekeeping / accommodation services. A second hospitality programme is also being considered and is being planned for August 2007.

All funding to date has been raised by the Wilderness Foundation from foreign donors, and the foundation is looking for local support to help extend the concept into the rest of the country and other sectors.

“What we have shown is the Umzi Wethu approach works. We are keen for it to grow to enable thousands of socially vulnerable young people so that they can contribute to the growth of our young democracy instead of facing a life of poverty and being a prime recruiting ground for criminal gangs,” says Muir.

Visit www.umziwethu.org for more information.

Umzi in the Algoa Sun

More press coverage of Umzi - This time in the Algoa Sun. Click on the image to read the full story:


We always welcome support for the continued success of this flagship project - Please use the Donate or Raise Funds buttons to the right!

Programme arms students with skills - Umzi in The Herald SA Today

In Today's Herald:

"THE opening of a coffee shop called Conyngham‘s on Monday will mean a hopeful new start for a group of youngsters who have suffered more than their share of troubles.
The coffee shop is the front end of the Eastern Cape‘s unique social upliftment programme, Umzi Wethu.

Situated in the grounds of the EP Children‘s Home in Conyngham Road in Parsons Hill, the venue is staffed by 16 students who have been enrolled in the programme‘s first intake, each of them orphaned by Aids, either directly or indirectly, by a lethal mix of poverty, substance abuse and the effects of the pandemic, causing severe dislocation in their families.

Launched in April, Umzi Wethu (“Our Home” in Xhosa) was initiated by the Wilderness Foundation and designed in conjunction with 34 partners including local and international Aids NGOs, orphanages, the NMMU, game reserves and tourism and hospitality agencies."

Read the full story here... and earlier coverage from us here and here.
- Why not help support Umzi by sponsoring one of our teams climbing Kilimanjaro in October? Links here and here.

The Wilderness Foundation will be at Resurgence - Saturday 16th September

If you are attending the Resurgence event Saturday the 16th of September, come and see us at our stand where you can learn about:

• Our trails in the UK and Africa
• Our campaign work - including wind farms
• Our upcoming events including an evening in partnership with Save China's Tigers
• How to support us and how to join us

We hope to meet you there!

uMzi Wethu Training Centre Press Coverage and Premier Speech

From The Herald today:

"PREMIER Nosimo Balindlela yesterday launched the first uMzi Wethu Training Centre, which is aimed at equipping Aids orphans with the skills to work in the booming eco-tourism industry.

The initiator of the project, the Wilderness Foundation, says there are more than 800 000 Aids orphans in South Africa, and about 80 000 child-headed households resulting from the disease in the Eastern Cape alone."

http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n20_21042006.htm

You can read Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela's full speech here.

Read more about the project here (and below) - If you're based in the UK and would like to support the project, get in touch - 08081786931

Umzi Wethu Training Academy for Displaced Youth in South Africa

The much anticipated Umzi Wethu (Xhosa for “our home”) Training Academy opened in Port Elizabeth, South Africa 20 April 2006.

This ground-breaking project has been developed over the past three years by the Wilderness Foundation South Africa (WFSA). WFSA has led a consultative process bringing together experts from a wide range of specialist areas to address the enormous issue of youth orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and devastated by poverty. Professionals in child clinical psychology, youth welfare, and education, and local community groups and game reserves came together to develop a program that will enable displaced youth to learn life and employment skills enabling them to participate in the growing ecotourism industry of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province.

The Eastern Cape is an area of very high biodiversity and great wildlife carrying capacity, and ecotourism is growing at a pace of 10% a year. Its 29 parks and 20 private game reserves are generating jobs that on average pay twice minimum wage but demand skilled labor. However, the AIDS pandemic is having a big impact on Eastern Cape (EC) ecotourism potential. HIV/AIDS hits people in their most productive years of life. About 3% of the EC Parks Board staff is lost each year to HIV/AIDS. In the hospitality industry as a whole, it is estimated that 24% of staff are HIV-positive – the highest ratio in an industry, next to mining. Yet to date the tourism and hospitality industry has not collectively addressed the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Umzi Wethu will provide the certified vocational training and learnerships (internships) that qualify AIDS orphans and vulnerable youth for guaranteed jobs in private game reserves and parks, secured by WFSA partnerships.

The Eastern Cape Premier, Nosimo Balindlela, has recognized the unique contribution of this program and has become its official patron. She opened the skills centre and residential academy with a moving speech, describing Umzi Wethu as a “visionaryproject which will use our natural resources in a sustainable way to help young peoplecope with the way HIV and AIDS has affected their lives.” This underscored the WFSA belief that experiences in wild places have the power to transform and that theresponsibility for the future of our environment rests with the youth of today.

The launch reception was held at the newly renovated Umzi Wethu building. It was attended by:

· Nomsa Jajula, Provincial Minister of Health for the Eastern Cape, and Christian Martin, Provincial Minister of Public Works for the Eastern Cape. Both expressed an interest in working with the Umzi Wethu project moving forward.

· Ubuntu Education Fund, a township based community organization helping to select and counsel the Umzi Wethu youth.

· Africa Global Skills Academy, a firm designing the Umzi Wethu course that will ensure that all youth acquire three National Qualifications Framework (NQF) certificates during the program, and also receive some of the life skills training so essential for the adjustment necessary to undertake full time employment.

· Local game reserves committed to employing the trained youth.

· The Eastern Province Youth and Child Care Centre that helped WFSA secure the Umzi Wethu facilities and advised WFSA on youth care and social welfare issues.

· The Black Managers Forum, a network of successful business people expressing interest in participating in the mentoring program for Umzi Wethu participants.

· Contributors to the project including architects, advisors, private funders, potential sponsors, local businesses and other organisations who are keen to be involved with the Umzi Wethu project. As a result of the launch, funding was received from Volkswagen South Africa to outfit the residential academy with furniture, and WFSA continues to seek local and international donor support.

· WFSA board members from the United States and United Kingdom, as well as South Africa.

Timing of the event allowed 9 of the 15 youth selected for the first program phase to participate in the launch activities, experiencing their first opportunities as hosts. Dressed in matching Umzi Wethu t-shirts and trousers, they looked like any ordinary teenagers, hiding the fact that all have led very tragic lives, losing their families to the scourge of AIDS and growing up in town-ships with no hope or opportunity to realise their dreams.

Many of the speakers on opening day addressed the Umzi Wethu youth personally during speeches, charging them with added determination to succeed in their new career paths. The students were fired up about the facilities and services that were to be provided for them and expressed a keen desire to make the most of the opportunity that Umzi Wethu will bring. They shared their excitement about being able to financially provide for their extended families once employed in the promised secure job in an EC park or game reserve.

A reception with food and drink was then held in the newly renovated residential academy which will eventually be a home base for about 36 youth. The first intake of students is now settled into the new residential academy and undertaking their initial training courses. Within days of starting the program, for the first time in their lives, the students are beginning to dream about real possibilities.

Changing lives…for a better future through conservation.

Read more about the project here - If you're based in the UK and would like to support the project, get in touch - 08081786931

Thesiger photos on-line

Thesiger took thousands of photographs on his travels, some one hundred of them can be found at the University of Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum.

New biography on Wilfried Thesiger

There is a new biography of one of the Wilderness Foundation's late patrons, Wilfried Thesiger - it has been reviewed in The Times by Ben Macintyre, who on a previous occassion when writing about Thesiger observed that:

You have to be an oddball to want to plunge into malarial swamps.

Indeed.

Also in The Times, Philip Marsden observed:

There is no doubt that Wilfred Thesiger was one of the most remarkable figures of his generation. He was a man who conducted his life in fierce and unfaltering pursuit of a single ideal. He travelled without concession to his own physical needs or safety in some of the most remote and dangerous places in the world. He did it almost continuously, for more than 40 years. From an initial pioneering expedition to the Danakil desert in the 1930s through to the 1970s, he was rarely still. He conducted countless, months-long treks in Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Kenya, the Himalayas, Ethiopia. He lived for two years in Darfur, five years in Arabia and seven years among the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq. – The Article can be found here.

Other reviews in Country Life, The Independent etc.