The 2011 Challenge4aCause Damaraland Challenge has come to a successful close. All the cyclists completed the grueling 300km ride through the harsh desert conditions and in so doing have raised funds to help save the endangered desert adapted black rhino! We’ll be updating our blog with full video, pics and a write up in the coming days, but we thought in the meantime we would give you a little teaser post to show you some of the spectacular event!
Covering up to deal with the desert sandThe participants celebratingDid you know scorpions glow under UV light?This is camping under the stars!Wow.
We sent our video guru along on the Challenge4aCause event to snap pics and shoot some awesome video. Watch the teaser video below to see a bit of the amazing time-lapse footage of the Namibian night sky. There’s plenty more to come, including a few tumbles caught on film and some footage shot from our new gopro camera!
If you would like to participate in the next event, contact Challenge4aCause at: info@challenge4acause.com
If you would like to do your bit to help save the rhino and donate towards Challenge4aCause you can visit the donations page.
Look out for much more Challenge4aCause pics and video coming soon!
Bags and bikes are packed. Weather’s looking great. Riders have carbo-loaded and trained the heck out of their calves and hamstrings. And today, they’re off!
It’s time for our great Challenge4aCause cycle event to hit the sandy roads and dunes of Damaraland, Namibia, which apparently this time of year is strangely greener than usual, with minimum temps scheduled between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius, and maximum of between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius.
WHAT IS CHALLENGE4ACAUSE?
Challenge4aCause is an initiative that we started here at Rhino Africa three years ago in 2009 as a corporate social responsibility project for our staff. As a travel company operating tours in Africa, we realise our business has an impact on the continent’s environment. We wanted to get involved in a project that made a tangible difference to the industry we were working in – that is the conservation of wildlife in Africa.
Challenge4aCause was specifically set up to protect the desert-adapted Black Rhino in Namibia, an animal endemic to Namibia’s Damaraland, where the cycle takes place. Riders cycle through Black Rhino territory. To see rhino in their natural habitat is incredibly moving and inspiring, and instead of just raising money, we’re raising awareness through doing the event.
Charities
Unlike past Cycle Challenges, the 2011 Challenge will raise funds for two other charities as well as the Save the Rhino Trust; namely: the Wildlife ACT Fund and GWF (Good Work Foundation). Each participant pays a participation fee and has to raise R20,000 to go towards the charities. The event has been incredibly successful in three years. We want to start looking at a more holistic approach to fighting Rhino poaching as it’s happening in other reserves in Africa too. The big cats are also under threat and we’d like to start applying funds we raise to different charities and different institutions to address the poaching problem in general.
We’re very proud that no poaching has taken place in Damaraland conservancy and we want to maintain that, but also continue to look at other areas where rhino poaching and poaching in general is happening.
How you can help:
Make a donation to Challenge4aCause. No matter how much or how little you are prepared to give, every coin helps!
MEET THE RIDERS
This year twelve riders for Rhino Africa will be joined by four from the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia. Familiarise yourself with the gang here:
Andrew Thompson – Rhino Africa
Born in Cape Town, Andy has lived in London for the past 11 years working as an entertainment and media entrepreneur. He has an untameable fascination with the universe and is a self-confessed Frasier fan. Riding for Rhino Africa he is “really looking forward to the bundubash adventure – and for such a worthy cause too.”
Bradley Stephenson – Tintswalo Lodges
Brad is a 22-year old action-adventure junkie hailing from Grahamstown. An avid cyclist he is also South Africa’s reigning freestyle skiing champion and a keen aviator – so he clearly has a problem with gravity. Brad is excited to support such a worthy cause on behalf of Tintswalo Lodges. Brenda Harding
Living on a farm in Nelspruit, Brenda and her late husband, Alf, ran an organisation helping thousands of disadvantaged South Africans. Brenda will take up the Challenge4ACause Cycle in memory of Alf and to honour their lifelong passion for Africa, its people, its animals and its beautiful landscapes.
David Ryan – Rhino Africa
David is the visionary leader of the Rhino Africa Safaris group, one of the leading online tour operators in Africa, which he founded in 2004. Based in Cape Town, David is passionate about Africa, sustainable tourism and wildlife conservation and he would love to personally show everyone in the world this magnificent land.
Gregg Brill – Rhino Africa
How could an outdoor and travel enthusiast with a Masters Degree in conservation and resource economics not participate in Challenge4ACause? And how could he not represent Rhino Africa in a fund-raising event in Namibia to eradicate rhino poaching in Africa and develop rural communities?
Jaco Ehlers – Singita Game Reserves
The flamboyant face of Singita, Jaco is participating in his second Challenge4ACause event in a row. Conservation and development are critical factors for Singita’s success as custodians of a vast piece of African wilderness – and that is why they are sending Jaco on this important mission.
Jaun Meyer – Rhino Africa
As a civil engineer, 30-year old Jaun will be quite keen to study the gravel roads of Damaraland – if he can make time for that in between contemplating Life, The Universe and Everything. He says, “Representing Rhino Africa in the compassionate Challenge4ACause venture will mark a proud moment in my life.”
Ryan “Video Guru” Rappaport – Rhino Africa
Rhino Africa’s in-house videographer, Ryan will document the incredible physical challenge of this event and the footage will go a long way in raising awareness for the Challenge4ACause event and the charitable organisations it supports. He claims he’d rather be cycling so if anyone is handy with a camera…
Sam Ramsden and Melanie Oosthuizen – Ulusaba
This betrothed pair has been at Ulusaba for three years: Sam as a guide; Melanie as a yoga instructor and therapist. Driven by a sense of justice and more than a dash of adventure, Sam and Melanie are well-chosen ambassadors for Ulusaba Game Reserve.
Simon Mandy – The Royal Portfolio
Simon’s two great passions are cycling and conservation so we can expect him to lead the Challenge4ACause event from the front. Simon is in charge of Marketing and Operations for the Royal Portfolio and its flagship game lodge, Royal Malewane, is a place where conservation and community development reign supreme.
2011 Damaraland Challenge: A basic itinerary
Day One – Friday, 1 July 11 Airport to Palmwag Lodge
On your arrival at the airport you will be met by your guides. From Windhoek we travel north to Otjiwarongo, Outjo, and Kamanjab over the Grootberg Pass to the heart of the Damaraland. At Palmwag, the start of our cycling journey, relax and receive a pep talk about the next day’s programme.
Day Two – Saturday, 2 July 11 Palmwag circular
We usually leave with first light (Namibian 6:00) – most enjoyable time to cycle. The first day’s cycle is quite easy. We ride along a gravel road 20km northward and enter into the Palmwag Consession Area. Through the gravel planes along the Kwakab River we pass springs and (usually) see plenty game – depending on rainfall. Total distance: about 55km. Then back to the Lodge and later a visit to the “Save the Rhino” Research Centre, depending on availability.
Day Three – Sunday, 3 July 11 Palmwag to Wereldsend (World’s End)
Today we cover quite a stretch to a research camp in the middle of nowhere – aptly called World’s End. We enter the heart of Damaraland. Wildlife here include: Springbuck, Oryx, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu and Rhino. Riding today is tough, long but exciting. We’ll lunch under a tree. Fields of endless cobbles make you feel like riding the Paris – Roubaix. We will judge the progress and tiredness of each rider and decide who keeps on riding, as it becomes extreme towards the end, and who takes a scenic game drive to camp. We’ll have built ablutions, running water, comfortable shelter and a structured campsite.
Day Four – Monday, 4 July 11 Wereldsend to Overhang Rocks
We briefly go back to civilisation and follow one of the bigger gravel roads for 50 km before going back into the wild. Another 20km and a fantastic downhill into the Huab river planes will end our day’s cycle at one of the most spectacular camps on this trip. At the foot of a huge sandstone formation we relax after a long day in the saddle.
Day Five – Tuesday, 5 July 11 Overhang Rocks to Cliff Camp
Today is an easy day. We follow the banks of a completely dry Huab river which then changes to a 10km stretch of lush green oasis with natural springs. These springs are the reason why a great population of desert elephants has survived here. After a stop at an awesome viewpoint we head to the most remote camp on this trip. It will take us at least 6 to 8 hours by car to reach the nearest point of civilization and another 4 hrs to the next town. Cliff Camp is a unique place and a short walk up to the top of the nearby mountain will tell you why. Now you are fully aware that you are in the middle of the Namib Desert – ‘desert’ meaning deserted or abandoned – the oldest desert in the world. The feeling is overwhelming – you and you alone – and that by bicycle.
Day Six – Wednesday, 6 July 11 Cliff Camp to Save The Rhino Ugab Camp
The Namib desert strip runs for over 1500km from south to north about 200km wide and ranges from sand dunes in the south to stone desert, to savannah including the Skeleton Coast, one of the most unforgiving places on earth where many explorers have lost their lives as their ships got stranded here. Today we will cross over a watershed to one of these great rivers, the Ugab River. Here the SRT has established an important research centre. The ride is hard and long but the feeling of conquering this desert will keep you going, plus ending at a fabulous camp with running warm water and camp facilities.
Day Seven – Thursday, 7 July 11 SRT Ugab Camp to Guantagab Camp
We cross through amazing rock formations around the famous Brandberg Mountain – a huge dolomite outcrop 10km in diameter and forming the highest point in Namibia of over 2000m. Another couple of km of ever changing landscape and we’ll pitch the last camp in one of the great dry riverbeds.
Day Eight – Friday, 8 July 11 Guantagab Camp to Doro Nawas
The last day of cycling is relatively short and we should be in camp before lunch. A good afternoon rest in a proper bed and then a special function to complete one of the the most special and exciting adventures you’ll ever have done and will remember for long.
Day Nine – Saturday, 9 July 11 Doro Nawas to Windhoek
Time to say good bye, Auf Wiedersehn, tot siens, au revoir, kalale nawa…
About the Rhino
Rhino poaching is on the up. There are five Rhinos pecies in the world: two in Africa; three in Asia. Two of the three Asian populations, the Sumatran and the Javan, are on the brink of extinction.
In the 1960s African black rhino numbered 100,000 but it waned to 2,400 in the early 1990s.
Today there are about 4,800 black rhino in Africa, which is still low but heading in the right direction.
The success has been the rebound of the white rhino. There were as few as 50 alive a century ago. Now, there are around 20,000.
The last few years has seen a dire rise in poaching. From 2000-2007, only about a dozen rhinos were poached each year in Southern Africa (where nearly 90% of all African rhino live).
Last year 333 were slaughtered; 173 were killed in the first 6 months of 2011. This figure is not yet high enough to suppress natural population growth, but is edging closer to the tipping point where the numbers killed will exceed numbers born.
Poaching
It’s large and sophisticated syndicates that service the demand in Asia that do the poaching. There’s a belief in Asia that Rhino horn has serious medicinal benefits. There’s a lot of work to be done in terms of a coordinated effort to reduce Rhino poaching through education at the source of the demand and through fighting crime on the front line as well, and that’s going to require involvement from the private sector and coordinated effort from governments as well.
For more information
Read about the previous Challenge4aCause challenges: 2009; 2010, and more about this year’s cycle: 2011.
Watch videos from previous Challenges: 2009; 2010.
Want to visit Namibia yourself? Speak to us about tours in this beautiful part of southern Africa.
Up for a challenge yourself? Challenge4aCause invites you to participate in our latest Challenge – Cycle Mashatu. This six day mountain biking event takes place in the wildlife rich safari destination of the Mashatu Game Reserve. For more information, click here and contact us at: info(at)challenge4acause.com.
A word of thanks
A huge thank you goes out to all our valued clients who donated towards this year’s Challenge4aCause and especially to our esteemed suppliers who have sponsored the event!
We’ve come a long way since the early days on David’s dining room table. But we’ve always remembered our roots. We love giving back and every time you book with us you help us to keep our good work going. But none of this would be possible without our fearless and intrepid leader – David Ryan.
We at Rhino Africa know David as a boss with vision, a head for business and a love for wildlife which has filtered into many a heart. With David at the helm, Rhino Africa has positioned sustainable tourism as our core value. It’s our mission to make everything we do not only planet friendly but also benefit the people and communities around Cape Town and Africa as a whole.
We followed on our bikes as David cycled through desert and mountains for Challenge4aCause. We give what we can to the Khumbalani day care centre in Khayelitsha, a place close to David’s heart, not to mention the Good Work Foundation. Most recently, we took part in the Save the Rhino Parade march which not only saw us win best float at Cape Town Pride, but also saw many people don our Rhino Africa/IGLTA ‘Proudly Saving the Rhino’ shirts, vests and banners – a two for one victory thanks to David.
We know he is an incredible man, and it’s great to see the recognition flying his way.
At the Annual Global Convention of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 12 May, our very own Rhino Africa top (wild) dog will receive the IGLTA Pioneer Award for all that he has done. In the IGLTA’s very own words: The IGLTA Honors will be presented to recognize leaders in LGBT tourism across a wide range of categories.
Pioneer: David Ryan, CEO Rhino Africa Safaris and founder of its gay subsidiary, Out2Africa – Passionate about using tourism to uplift local communities and conserve wildlife, Ryan started Challenge4aCause to raise money through cycling challenges in Africa. Events benefit the Save The Rhino Trust, the Wildlife ACT Fund, and the Good Work Foundation.
We are very proud of our in-house pioneer but are not surprised as his integrity and the courage of his convictions are what has helped him turn Rhino Africa, and his many other ventures, into the successes that they are.
And with so many projects under his belt and many more to come, such as the 2011 Challenge4aCause Damaraland cycles aiming to raise over $125,000, we know David will not be resting on his laurels but will endeavour to champion the causes close to his heart with the support of all who admire him and see the goodness in his actions.
New office, a bar without a name, award winning boss… the next chapter is off to a great start.
All this green business really started with what is one of the most widely distributed pictures in history. This famous snapshot (not much different from the one above) was taken on December 7, 1972, by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft and became etched in the general consciousness of the human race.
Green became linked with Earth Lovers, Tree Huggers and that most special of human sub species; the Hippies. The joke is on us though. It is hard for any rational human to deny the effects of the changing planet without sounding ridiculous. IT HAS TO END. I know capital letters mean that I am shouting and you know what? I am, this cause is worth it.
I may not live in a tree or wear tie-dye but I am proud to call myself a 21st century hippie. And it is for this that I am punting the critical importance of Earth Hour!
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum and Cape Town’s Table Mountain all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.
Cape Town LIGHTS ON…
Cape Town Lights Off…
On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.
This year’s Earth Hour is drawing near and on Saturday 26 March at 8.30PM (local time) I will be joining the MILLIONS already committed to this cause by turning off my lights. It is so very simple. Rhino Africans will be in the dark… will you?
This Earth Hour we want you to go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on think about what else you can do to make a difference. Visit https://www.beyondthehour.org/# to find out what else you can do to save our planet. But for now, here are 10 tips on sustainable tourism:
– Don’t believe everything you read
At times the negativity around news from Africa reaches comic levels. If there’s a destination you’re thinking about visiting, read up on it, get informed and make up your own mind.
– Do your homework
Find out and support the tourism initiatives, which employ local people, invest in their communities, train them up and give them a stake in the business. Hit and run setups that bring in outside help are not interested in the long-term viability of a region if they do not invest in skills training and permanent infrastructure.
– Fight your footprint When you arrive, offset your carbon footprint at the new kiosk in the arrivals hall in Cape Town and Johannesburg, which is being funded in part by the Danish government.
– Who owns what?
Wherever possible, try to support tourism initiatives where the local community has a real stake in what happens. When they don’t, the long-run result is often that not only do the communities miss out on skills acquisition and share holding, but the vast earning potential of each country’s huge and beautiful wilderness expanses are not correctly harnessed to their full extent. Everyone loses.
– Ask questions
If you find yourself on a guided tour or visiting an area where a lack of investment in local communities is obvious, ask questions of the group guiding you. Ask about the people they employ, what they give back to the community and how they are investing in the human capital of the area. Even if they have not made sustainable tourism a priority, applying pressure to the situation can instigate change.
– Watch out for Greenwashing It’s fashionable to care about the environment these days so both sustainable and eco tourism are labels many companies are eager to slap on to their products or services whether they comply or not. If a tourism company claims to follow “green” guidelines don’t take it at face value. Find out how they operate. Ask about their renewable energy sources, what they do with grey water and other eco-friendly tactics they should be employing.
– Support the local economy Wherever possible buy local products from local stores and by interacting with local business initiatives
– Pay a fair price Just because guidebooks tell you to haggle over everything doesn’t mean that they are right or that they take local conditions into account. Mass-made curios may be cheaper in the cities, but may not have the unique features of a rural craftsman’s work and your saving two quid means a lot more to the local than it does to you.
– Shop the right way It’s Africa, so you are probably going to want to take home some unique curios made by highly-skilled craftsmen. Just ensure that what you take home is not illegal like ivory or that something didn’t have to die in order for it to be made (curios made of porcupine quills, carvings made from rare trees). Rather than encourage poaching or deforestation ask your guide for advice on ethical purchases.
– Be respectful, show an interest
There’s more to African than animals and scenery. Apart from contributing to the people of the places you visit and minimizing the harmful effects of travel, be aware that sustainable tourism also means respecting the cultures you visit. So while ‘culture” may be conveyed differently to what you’re used to (museums and art galleries are scarce), it’s still valued and powerful (e.g. oral story-telling, dance and local delicacies beer brewing). Make an effort, show an interest and your trip will be that much more enjoyable.
Three years ago, we at Rhino Africa, always keen to find more ways of helping conserve and protect our valuable natural resources started a little project called Challenge4aCause. That first year 18 challengers cycled 300 kilometres across the Damaraland Desert and raised R300,000 for the The Save The Rhino Trust that protects the desert adapted black rhino in the Damaraland Desert.
The following year we again undertook the grueling cycle and raised a further R500,000. Now in its third year Challenge4aCause has grown beyond the bounds of Rhino Africa and come into its own. A fully fledged charity with a point to prove, and a whole lot of good to be done. We’re aiming to raise over R1million this year so that we can fund not only simple anti-poaching techniques, but also contribute to advanced monitoring technologies for all threatened and endangered species.
This year Challenge4aCause will be undertaking not just one Challenge, not even two, but three Challenges! And we’re inviting you to come on these magical journeys with us! You’ll be taking part in a life changing event that will push your personal limits, while helping conservation projects and communities in Africa. This year there will be a cycle through the Damaraland Desert as well as an unprecedented cycle along the remote and pristine Skeleton Coast. Both will be in Namibia and both are remote, desolate and beautiful. The third challenge takes place in the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. Have a look at our video which will give you a glimpse of what to expect:
It seems Challenge4acause has started a little trend – do-gooders cycling for charity is certainly catching on!
The latest pedal-pushing is in aid of anti poaching and pro breeding (of the Rhino that is) and we are proud to have Ingo, head of our German division Rhino Afrika, cycling his heart out for this noble cause. Peter Allanson, MD of Lion Roars, who cycled with the team through Namibia last year, will be joining him.
While a few of us will be taking part in this year’s Challenge4aCause, Ingo and Peter will also be taking on two separate cycles namely The Knysna 300 and Sani2C.
Being a relatively sedate lad, I would usually not see the point of one cycle, let alone three, but this is for a very special cause: The Chipembere Rhino Foundation.
The Chipembere Rhino Foundation, a registered non-profit organization, was established in November 2010 after the Amakhala Game Reserve lost two rhinos in one week to poaching. Both were breeding bulls and thus it was a devastating blow. On a small reserve, every animal counts and they were individually known and loved by all. Rhino conservation now has two key elements – increasing numbers and the fight against poaching. Donations received through this foundation will go directly towards conservation and anti-poaching.
Not realising how much money was actually needed, I did some research and found out that the equipment to keep our beloved rhinos safe can run into the tens of thousands of Rand. Salaries, uniforms, fuel, and equipment are needed to combat the sly ways of the poachers. Ingo and Peter are putting in the sweat and pain for this fantastic cause!
Chipembere’s success relies on the support of the public and businesses. Without funding, Chipembere cannot function. And poor Peter and Ingo need some positive reinforcement! So if you’d like to donate to this worthy cause, here are the banking details for Chipembere:
The Lion Roars Foundation
First National Bank
Account: 62269231165
Branch: Walmer
Branch Code: 211217
The magnificent and endangered rhinos need all the help they can get and so do Ingo and Peter, our knights in white lycra!
Compliments of the season to you all! And what a year it’s been at Rhino Africa. None of this would have been possible without your amazing support, friendship and patronage and we’d like to pass on our sincere thanks to each of you.
We turned six and David Ryan, our intrepid leader, turned forty. He also underwent pioneering stem cell treatment in Germany. We celebrated in style at the red carpet of event of the year at the Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town. We cycled 330kms across the Damaraland Desert in Nambia as part of Challenge4aCause and we raised around R800,000 for the Save the Rhino Trust and other charities!
We blew our Vuvuzelas and celebrated a successful FIFA World Cup. We marched in front of Parliament on Rhino Day to raise awareness of rhino poaching, we made the prime time evening news and we launched the first phases of our new Rhino Africa website as well as the Horny Grazer restaurant reviews.
We opened MannaBay at the foot of Table Mountain which has already become a roaring triumph with guests. We welcomed a whole team at MannaBay as well as Ross, Silke, Cathrine and Wanita at Rhino Africa.
We spoke at Indaba, the Truth Debate and the World Travel Market about the importance of sustainable tourism and of supporting local communities. We launched our own Going Green Initiative with Heritage/Green Line and we worked with Cape Town Tourism to welcome the IGLTA to South Africa. We bought a piece of land in Khayelitsha to build two new classrooms for the Khumbulani Day Care Centre and we brought over 15,000 visitors to Africa!
Certainly a year to remember, and we’re looking forward to an even busier 2011!
If you complete your booking with Rhino Africa in December 2010, we will give you a $250 discount which you can put towards the cost of your international air fare!*
We’re trying to round up some support for this great charity, Positive Heroes, which is focused on reducing the stigma that is attached to HIV – they do this by publicising the stories of HIV positive Role Models. These ‘Heroes’ work in their communities as support group conveners, HIV/Aids literacy teachers and peer counsellors.
They also have an HIV+ UltraMarathon team who run marathons as proof that it is possible to live a full, happy, healthy life with HIV. And they take this message to Schools and communities along the marathon routes.
Each year they hold a Fashion Show, featuring top Cape Town designers.
There will be cocktails and canapes, an auction of designer gear hot off the catwalk, as well as endless entertainment. Here’s a video about last year’s Fashion Show.
This year the event will be held at the stunningly refurbished Cape Town Station, in partnership with the City Of Cape Town on Thursday 28 October 2010.
See their Facebook Page for more info, or you can secure a ticket for R150 donation payable through Computicket – www.computicket.com or 083915 8000.
Guests will see top designers Hendrik Vermeulen, Stiaan Louw, Kobus Dippenaar, Carducci, C-Squared, Malick, Scorpio, May…a Prass, Hip Hop, Miss Port, X&O, Gavin Rajah and Paul Van Zyl, all of whom will showcase looks from their newest collections. Serious bling will be provided by Modern Design Jewellery and there will be live entertainment by Jamie Faull, Irit Noble, Lu Chase and Spinsista Mitzi.
All the proceeds go to Positive Heroes.
We’d encourage as many of you as possible to get involved in this fantastic charity.
“Positive Heroes stream out messages of hope. I applaud the vision of Positive Heroes and their work in communicating a sustained, large-scale, anti-stigma and normalisation message throughout South Africa and our continent. I urge you to support this campaign of hope for us all, in an era of effective treatment, it is time we all see HIV not as a death sentence but simply as another chronic manageable disease.” Justice Edwin Cameron – Positive Heroes Patron
Positive Heroes is committed to showing South Africans that HIV is manageable and that testing HIV positive is not a reason to stop living or to give up hope, but rather a powerful incentive to start living life to the full. Their goal is to reduce fear and misinformation surrounding HIV and create an atmosphere of hope and inspiration.
We’ve been working closely with Khumbulani in the Khayelitsha township for a number of years now. Khumbulani is a centre for kids between the age of 0 to about 13 years, managed by a remarkable lady called Gloria Bebeza. Run out of a two roomed house, Gloria cares for about 160 HIV infected or affected children daily. In addition to this, Gloria runs a soup kitchen for the local community feeding up to 350 people a day!
Through our association with Nhlayisa, we have formulated a special porridge and we assist in running an annual fundraiser to continue this support.
Most recently however, we have helped Gloria by buying this property next door to Khumbulani for R80,000! We went to go and see it today and we think you’ll agree that it’s not the best bit of real estate investment ever…
But we have a plan! We’d like to expand Khumbulani by knocking down the wall between the properties and building two new classrooms for the kids. At the moment we’re just trying to work out how to go about it. We’re talking to builders and trying to find out how much it will cost to really turn Khumbalani into something special. These kids need it so much and we’re going to make it happen.
We’re working on a couple of ideas for fund raisers, so if you have any bright ideas or would like to get involved, then please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you. You can e-mail Terence (terence(at)rhinoafrica.com) for more information.
In the words of Nelson Mandela “To heal a nation you must first feed and educate her children” and it is in this spirit that we embrace our involvement with Khumbulani.
It’s been a busy few weeks at Rhino Africa HQ – David has been taking a well earned break hopping the Greek Islands and we’ve sent two groups up to the Kruger to research and review some of SA’s finest game lodges.
But while the commercial side of Rhino Africa has been doing its thing, we’ve been spreading the word about sustainable tourism and joining the fight against rhino poaching which has dramatically increased in 2010.
Ross Bowers took part in a debate with several high profile speakers about the future of tourism in South Africa in a post World Cup environment. His speech made it into the Tourism 2020 magazine supplement in the Business Day in two separate articles, both of which we have featured here for you to read. The articles make for some interesting reading about the ethical and business imperatives facing the tourism industry in South Africa:
The 22 September was declared World Rhino Day by the WWF – Rhino Africa tried to round up as much support as possible for this cause that is very close to our hearts. We took to the streets of Cape Town and led a demonstration outside Parliament which was well attended by a great bunch of concerned citizens. We made some excellent headlines which we hope will go some way to raising awareness about the plight of the rhino and help increase the momentum of the fight against the poachers. Here is the news insert which appeared on prime time e-news on Wednesday 22 September:
Not only were we on e-news, but we got some great coverage in the Cape Times and Die Burger newspapers as well making the news on KFM and Cape Talk:
We all know that every day should be Rhino Day, but Wednesday 22 September was a great excuse for us to dress up in red, dust off our vuvuzelas and congregate outside Parliament in Cape Town to make some noise for our horny friends. At present, we are losing rhino at a rate of nearly one a day to poachers.
Thankfully the weather played ball – the event was well attended by Rhino Africa, Wildlife Act, the WWF, Getaway Magazine and some passionate friends. The media were out in full force, including e-news, News24, The Cape Times, Cape Talk and KFM. Jeanne Crous, Ross Bowers and Anton De Wit were interviewed from Rhino Africa. We’d like to thank everyone involved for your support and we hope that Rhino Day represents only the tip of the iceberg in the battle against rhino poaching.
The rate at which rhino are being poached in South Africa is heading for a point where the number killed will exceed the number born. There are about 19,000 white rhino and 1,470 black rhino in reserves and national parks around South Africa. Rhino Day was created in an effort to highlight the dramatic increase in rhino poaching in South Africa since 2008. In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Environment Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said that 139 rhino – five black and 134 white rhino – had been poached on private land, provincial reserves and in the Kruger National Park between January 1 and July 16 this year. This is unacceptable.
According to the WWF website, the surge in poaching is “fuelled by demand for horn from the Asian market”. This is because of a booming economy and increasing rumour mongering of the health benefits of rhino horn as an aphrodisiac and as an anti-carcinogen.
The rate at which rhino are currently being poached means that about 275 will be killed this year. If the poaching surge continues, the rate at which rhino are being killed will exceed the birth rate. More rhino have been killed in the first seven months of 2010 than were poached in the entire period from 2000 to 2007.
At Rhino Africa we have raised over R800,000 this year alone through our Challenge4aCause initiative. Challenge4aCause supports the Save the Rhino Trust which does great work in protecting the Namibian desert adapted Rhino population. But raising money is not enough. Government does spend money on anti-poaching and has in fact set up a national wildlife crime reaction unit – we are not looking to criticise government, but rather to support their initiatives, raise awareness and adopt a unified and holistic approach working with government and the private sector to speed up the implementation of these initiatives and improve the effectiveness of the spending. We need to create a think tank that is as advanced as the poachers themselves and which can operate across borders, with the latest technologies and skills.
If you would like to donate to the cause, the you can either donate to the WWF:
https://www.wwf.org.za/act_now/rhino_campaign/
Or to our own Rhino Africa, Challenge4aCause campaign:
The much anticipated and ever so slightly delayed Challenge4aCause raffle took place on Friday afternoon at Rhino Africa HQ. The grand prize was a luxury safari holiday worth over R70,000!!!
1st Prize – a 5 night Wilderness Safaris package consisting of 3 nights at Desert Rhino Campand 2 nights at Ongava Tented Camp including all flights, ex CT or Jhb.
3rd Prize – 6 bottles of wine from one of South Africa’s top vineyards and a set of African table books.
All of your generous donations helped us raise over R800,000 which will be distributed among several fantastic charities including the Save the Rhino Trust.
Congratulations then to the following:
1st Prize – Brian Allanson
2nd Prize – Olivia Lawrence
3rd Prize – Adrian Mosey
Winners will be contacted by telephone and e-mail.
And just to be clear, this is a separate competition from the one we are running on Facebook. That draw will take place when we reach 10,000 fans, so if you haven’t already joined our FB page then please do so and be sure to invite your friends to ‘Like’ Rhino Africa as well https://www.facebook.com/RhinoAfrica
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Andrew Thompson – Rhino Africa
David Ryan – Rhino Africa
Jaco Ehlers – Singita Game Reserves
Ryan “Video Guru” Rappaport – Rhino Africa
We’re trying to round up some support for this great charity, Positive Heroes, which is focused on reducing the stigma that is attached to HIV – they do this by publicising the stories of HIV positive Role Models. These ‘Heroes’ work in their communities as support group conveners, HIV/Aids literacy teachers and peer counsellors.
They also have an HIV+ UltraMarathon team who run marathons as proof that it is possible to live a full, happy, healthy life with HIV. And they take this message to Schools and communities along the marathon routes.
