Education

For many years, the Africa Foundation has been dedicated to ensuring that the children who attend rural schools and the teachers who teach in them are well supported. Strong, trusting relationships with school and community leaders help us enable children to study in conditions that are conducive to learning. In close consultation with parents and government education departments, the Foundation supports community efforts to provide for the development of children, from pre-school to university. Our support ensures a holistic and lasting solution to improving education in rural areas.

Places of learning are being created and extended by building classrooms and ablutions, younger children are being cared for in creches and pre-schools, and administration blocks are helping ensure the smooth running of schools. Secondary school students have benefited from career guidance to help set them on the path to further training and, ultimately, successful careers. Those who aspire to university have the opportunity to access this through the Community Leaders Education Bursary Programme.

Each new project that is completed provides more momentum and the benefits are endless:

• As schools grow, they are allocated more government teachers, ensuring that there are less students per teacher
• School children have room to grow (and to think) as more space becomes available and classrooms are less crowded
• Better equipment and materials improve learning conditions
• As pride in the school grows class attendance increases
• Jobs are created as additional teachers are employed and workers are hired for school construction projects
• While hungry minds are nurtured in the classrooms, we have helped create vegetable gardens so school kitchens can also feed hungry bodies
• The Foundation involves school communities and governing bodies in the projects, exposing them to new skills and encouraging them to become community champions
• Everyone benefits from a closer relationship - schools, communities, game reserves, partners, donors and the Africa Foundation

"Our trip into the community was one of the best days of my life, personally. To see the children smile, the teachers so proud of their students and the principal so incredibly gracious over our modest contribution. We got back ten times in smiles and gratitude what they received in materials and money. My family was truly humbled. Thank you for assisting us in that visit. It just proves to me and my family that it doesn't take much to spread a little 'fairy dust', as my husband put it."

&Beyond guest book

"My youngest son was profoundly affected by our visit to the school and fishing village on our way to Lake Victoria from &Beyond Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp. He has been corresponding with &Beyond and the Africa Foundation since we returned home. Today, he has committed to funding the school's needs through the Foundation. I am so proud of him."

&Beyond guest book

A popular African proverb states that it takes a village to raise a child. While we believe that this is true, we also believe that this child needs to give something back to the village that raised him or her. The Community Leaders Education Fund (CLEF) is a scholarship programme that seeks to give students the skills to do precisely this.

While we believe that it is important to help rural youngsters develop themselves to their full potential and understand that this often involves them leaving their communities to study in bigger cities, we also feel that it is vital to encourage them to return and put their newly developed skills to work for the benefit of the entire community. CLEF is a scholarship programme that helps to finance tertiary education for gifted students from rural communities, in return asking only that students return to the communities during their holiday to share their knowledge through guidance sessions at local schools, running workshops for community members, helping at local clinics and any other appropriate means.

CLEF places no other restrictions on students, allowing them to select the institution and course that they would like to study, thus increasing the skills base in the communities. Each student is also allocated a dedicated mentor to encourage and help them throughout their studies.

"I would like to pass on my deepest gratitude and appreciation to you for being there for me and supporting me with funding for my studies. If you were not there, I would not be in this position. You have raised me from zero to a professional."

Nkukluleko Mghabi, CLEF bursary recipient, BSc Chemistry and Biochemistry student

Kwajobe community, near &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve

"Nelson Mandela said that, 'Education is the great engine to personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that the child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.' I, Decide Makhubele, say that it is through education and with the support of the &Beyond Foundation that the son of a farm worker (my father) can become a lawyer (me)."

Decide Makhubele. CLEF bursary recipient, BA LLB

Lillydale community, near &Beyond's Kirkman's Kamp, Dulini, Exeter River and Leadwood Lodges

Africa’s beautiful landscapes, untouched wilderness areas and wealth of wildlife thrill and delight guests from all corners of the globe. With guests from around the world experiencing wilderness adventures at &Beyond’s reserves every day, it is ironic that many rural school children have never entered their neighbouring conservation areas and seen Africa’s fascinating wildlife. It is a great pleasure to introduce these children to the world of &Beyond lodges, and witness the sheer joy and amazement on their faces as they share a meal and take a conservation lesson within the reserve.

Working together with the &Beyond lodges, the Africa Foundation runs conservation awareness workshops during which students from neighbouring schools visit the wilderness reserves managed by &Beyond. The workshops are conducted by trained &Beyond rangers and trackers at &Beyond lodges and include game drives, environmental talks and practical activities connected with conservation issues.

For many students, this glimpse of the natural treasures on their doorstep is the key to unlocking a new awareness of the world around them. A special relationship is created between these young members of their communities and their wild neighbours. Very importantly for conservation efforts, the students also learn about the importance of natural resources and how to use them in a sustainable manner. To date, over 6 000 students have experienced conservation awareness through &Beyond's camps and lodges.

While we find it incredibly rewarding to take the children into the reserve and observe the looks of wonder and amazement on their faces as they see their first lion or rhino, we also try to spread the message of conservation through lessons taught in schools. Lively high school debates encourage older children to keep the topics that they have learned about alive in their minds and to find ways of bringing conservation into their daily lives. Workshops are also held with adults in the communities, providing information on subjects such as the chemicals farmers use on the land and the effect of poisons on the environment.

WildChild bracelets, available at Safari Shops at all &Beyond lodges and camps, are an opportunity for &Beyond guests to play a part in raising conservation awareness in the communities surrounding the wilderness reserves. By buying a bracelet for only R 60 or USD 10, guests pay for a child from the neighbouring communities to experience the wonders of nature at a conservation awareness workshop at one of &Beyond's lodges.