Children in the Wilderness – Inspiring positive action

Our teams are unfailingly hard at work ensuring the programme runs smoothly in our partner schools, though there’s always time for fun and lots of smiles too. Join us for this update from our regions – Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Rwanda – with a taster from our fledgling operation in Tanzania, as well as that of our partner Governors’ Camp Collection in Kenya.

CITW Zambezi, in partnership with the Grand Circle Foundation (GCF), recently successfully renovated and refurbished the Lukosi Secondary School Science Laboratory, bringing a new wave of opportunity and learning to the students at the school.

Situated near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, the school hosted the CITW team at a special event to officially open the newly renovated science lab, and it was a morning filled with gratitude and excitement.

At Lukosi Secondary School, the science curriculum plays a crucial role in shaping the education of students, covering subjects like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. However, the outdated state of the science laboratories has posed challenges for both teachers and learners. With broken furnishings and limited resources, students have been unable to fully engage in practical lessons essential for their education.

By providing Lukosi Secondary School with a fully equipped and modernised science laboratory, students now have the opportunity to receive a quality education that will prepare them for national examinations and future academic pursuits. This project aims to level the playing field for students, ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed.

By Courtney Pritchard

Aline and Jean Damascene, our hard-working CITW team members in Rwanda, visited our three partner secondary schools to meet with the CITW Scholarship students and their parents. In Rwanda we support 177 CITW Scholarship students for the duration of their six years of secondary schooling; the scholarships include school fees, uniforms and necessary school supplies.

At Kinihira, Rwabiharamba and Bisate secondary schools, topics like discipline, respect, school results, teamwork, good communication and necessary coaching were discussed. All of these ensure the best possible outcome for all the students.

Besides the above discussion points, Aline and Jean Damascene established a parent committee in each school through a vote amongst all the parents. The parent committee will ensure streamlined lines of communication between our CITW team, the school, the students and the parents.

By Ingrid Baas

We are very pleased to be sponsoring another year of Wildlife Clubs’ membership for 30 new Mara Rianda Primary School students in the Masai Mara. This is run in collaboration with our conservation partner Mara Predator Conservation Programme, under the overall directive of the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya.

The mission is to expose children to wildlife and environmental conservation in an engaging and compelling way, in order to create positive long-term perceptions towards wildlife and wild spaces. Activities include wildlife club meetings, clean-up events, conservation talks, debates and discussions, game drives, exposure visits to the Mara Discovery Centre, screenings and discussions of wildlife films and documentaries.

By Jessica Savage 

Rain or shine, Jangwani Primary School Environmental Club members never stop their commitment to cleanliness. With the help of our Tanzanian partner Wayo Africa’s amazing guides, the children turned the general clean-up into a fun adventure.

Ending the week with a sparkling environment and celebrating with a hard-earned soda – now that’s a job well done!

By Doctor Tipay

In early December 2023, CITW Namibia held its annual December Eco-Club camp at the Namib Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), located 100 km south of Sesriem/Sossusvlei in the Hardap Region in southern Namibia.

The idea was to expose our north-western Eco-Clubs to the Namib Sand Sea World Heritage Site, as inscribed by UNESCO in 2013. A group of 42 children, teachers and Eco-Mentors from our partner conservancy schools in the Kunene Region – namely Marienfluss, Sesfontein, Anabeb, Torra and Dora !Nawas – and the latest addition, the Windhoek Urban Eco-Club from Michelle Mclean Primary School, gathered for a week-long, life-changing, environmental mentorship and fun camp.

The activities ranged from parabolic solar cooking, playing the 5Rs game of recycling and waste management, understanding the biomes of Namibia, measuring our enviro-footprint, exploring the Namib Desert on a dune walk, and catch-and-release trapping, among others, in a fun and playful manner.

The lesson plans were centred around the global goals for Sustainable Development. The learners were engaged and participated in all activities, happy and grateful for such a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they all were excited about how they are going to implement the initiatives back home in their respective towns and villages.

By Juliet Binda

Every year Okavango Wilderness Safaris closes a camp in Botswana for a few days to host a CITW year-end camp. These camps comprise a three-day conservation experience aimed at educating, inspiring and creating leaders who will hopefully feel encouraged to become the future custodians of Botswana’s pristine wild areas.

The most recent camp ran from 30 November until 08 December 2023 and the Baobab Camp staff were so happy to welcome the children, teachers and guests into the camp. The children felt at home and couldn’t stop talking about the flight and the beauty of the camp.

The main objectives of the camp were to encourage the children to learn in a fun way, with support from digital learning and information communication technology (ICT), about the importance of ecosystems and team-building. 

Lessons and activities covered a wide variety of subjects, including going out on game drives. The children learnt about the Okavango Delta, mammals, the food chain and food web, bird adaptations, the 4Rs, sports and culture, children’s rights and their own cultures.

All the children and teachers were happy to be hosted at Baobab Camp, and at the end, the Ministry of Basic Education & Skills Development representatives expressed their appreciation to Wilderness and CITW for our amazing programme, mentioning that this kind of unity can take our children far in their futures.

By Gaba Modirapula