Tag: Khumbulani

Our Top Impact Partners

Doing Good,General
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By Michelle Welvering on

As a luxury African safari company passionate about sustainability and conservation, we at Rhino Africa are always on the lookout for like-minded organisations to partner with. We’re all about making positive change in Africa, and in 2023, we’re excited to be working with some truly inspirational “earth angels”. Learn more about our Impact Partners.

A child from Khumbulani

The Khumbulani Day Care Centre is an initiative near and dear to our hearts

Good Work Foundation

First up, we’ve got the Good Work Foundation. These guys are all about education, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship in rural areas of South Africa. We believe that providing support and education to communities is crucial for empowering future generations to become conservationists, innovators, and leaders.

Despite the challenges the pandemic brought over these past couple of years, the Good Work Foundation has thrived in leaps and bounds – opening a sixth Mpumalanga-based Digital Learning Campus and enrolling 50,234 students in their Open Learning Academy to date. It’s been a total game-changer for these kids and their families!

Children being educated through digital learning

Empowering future generations of conservationists and leaders

Wildlife Act

Back in 2012, we joined forces with Wildlife Act to support their team of passionate conservationists in their mission to protect endangered and threatened species and bring them back from the brink of extinction. We strive to expand their conservation efforts and provide critical support to the rangers on the front lines of protecting wildlife.

Together with our Impact Partner, we’re committed to safeguarding the future of our planet’s wildlife and ensuring that future generations can enjoy the beauty and diversity of these incredible creatures. Over the past two years, they’ve achieved a myriad of milestones, including saving and tracking hundreds of animals as well as educating 124 new Conservation Ambassadors.

Tagging a young lion

Professional and strategic wildlife monitoring and research, Image Credit: Chantelle Melzer

Khumbulani Day Care Centre

Khumbulani Day Care Centre is an inspiring initiative that Rhino Africa is proud to be a part of. As a haven for 300 HIV Aids-infected and -affected children, Khumbulani was born out of a passion for providing a safe and supportive environment for these young lives. Its inconspicuous beginnings in 2000 in the two-bedroom home of Gloria Bebeza are a testament to the power of determination and the desire to make a difference in the world.

Through their partnership with Rhino Africa and a broad network of funders, their facility has grown immensely with four permanent staff members, 15 volunteers and approximately 300 beneficiaries. Khumbulani is truly inspirational – providing access to education, healthcare, and other essential services to rural communities in need.

Children in one of Khumbalani's classrooms, one of our Impact Partners in South Africa

Protecting vulnerable children and empowering rural communities

Rhinos Saving Rhinos

Last but definitely not least, in our pursuit of protecting Africa’s wildlife, two other initiatives near and dear to our hearts are Challenge4ACause and Save the Rhino Trust. 

Challenge4ACause is our annual cycling event, where we cycle some of the most remote and unruly routes in the wildest corners of Africa – all the while raising funds to support the conservation of Africa’s endangered species and the upliftment of impoverished communities. 

We also support Save the Rhino Trust in protecting the highly endangered desert-adapted black rhino population. This partnership allows us to work together to ensure the survival of these rhinos in Namibia‘s Damaraland region and positively impact the future of these magnificent mammals.

Rhino Africa's Impact Partners: Challenge4ACause participants

Our annual cycling event raising funds to support Africa’s endangered wildlife

Let’s Support Our Impact Partners

Just by travelling and booking with us, you help uplift local communities, enrich lives, fund conservation projects, and make a tangible difference in Africa’s wildlife, landscapes, and people. Without you, we couldn’t do what we do.

Help us and our Impact Partners make a difference and start planning your African adventure today.

Khumbulani Day Care Centre’s New Home

Cape Town,Doing Good,South Africa
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By Emma Thomson on

Khumbulani Day Care Centre needs your help. Founded 15 years ago by Gloria Bebeza in her two-bedroom home, this centre of excellence and inspiration has grown since then and now cares for over 300 children every day. Sadly, at its present size, the building can only cater for these children up to the age of 6, which is where you come in. Rhino Africa and Khumbulani endeavor to purchase adjacent land to extend the efforts of this centre and build a haven for children between the ages of 7 and 18.

If we can raise $30,000 to purchase the land, it will unlock millions in NGO funding and a brand new centre will be built fitted with everything the community could hope for in support of their youth. Rhino Africa has pledged to donate $15,000 of this in an effort to get this project off the ground as well as starting a GoFundMe Page for others to contribute to this amazing cause. We’re calling on our family, friends, and guests to add what they can and leave a legacy in Africa. If you need any more convincing, have a look at the images and video below.

A child at Khumbulani showing his colouring
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris
Children colouring in at Khumbulani
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris
Singing to us at Khumbulani
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris
Two girls dressed up in onesies at Khumbulani
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris
Reading a book in Khumbulani uniform
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris
Photo Credit: Rhino Africa Safaris

No matter the value, your contribution will help create a safe haven for children in need and become part of leaving a lasting legacy in Africa.

The Heavens Opened and so did Khumbulani

Cape Town,Doing Good,South Africa
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By Melanie Du Toit on

“We have not inherited this land from our ancestors; rather we have borrowed it from our children.” – African Proverb

Rain is a sign of good luck, especially in Africa. It fertilises the soil, waters plants, satiates wildlife, sustains communities, and it promises prosperity. On the morning that the Khumbulani Health and Education Resource Centre was poised to open, the heavens opened, too.

Thankfully for our guests, performers, and important attendees, after giving her much-appreciated blessing, Mother Nature cleared the sky just in time for Khumbulani’s official opening ceremony to begin.A learner holds the scissors that will open the new centreThe day will long be remembered by parents, teachers, sponsors, and all those who attended — which is fitting considering ‘remember’ is precisely what Khumbulani means in Xhosa. This was the theme of Western Cape Premier Helen Zille’s inspiring address.Helen Zille and Mama Gloria Bebeza at Khumbulani Centre's official opening ceremony

Guests at Khumbulani Centre's official opening ceremonyFor Premier Zille, remembrance is a two-way street; one that not only looks back to the past but one that extends into the future. She urged those in the audience to not only remember where we came from and the important lessons that we have learnt along the way, but to also remember our children and the legacy we are leaving behind for them long after we have departed.Helen Zille and Mama Gloria cut the ribbon at Khumbulani Centre's official opening ceremonyMurmurs of affirmation and resounding agreement came from the audience as Mrs Zille spoke, not only promoting the importance of education, progression, and community unity but also the significance of the African principle of Ubuntu.The spirit of Ubuntu was present at Khumbulani Centre's official opening ceremonyAttendees painted the tent a kaleidoscope of colours with traditional outfits being the order of the day. This warm atmosphere was only compounded by the sounds of a Marimba band whose joyful harmony reverberated throughout the tent during intervals while a chorus of song was sounded out by a community choir.A teacher in splendid traditional dress at Khumbulani's official openingDespite Khumbulani’s inconspicuous beginnings in a family home over a decade ago, the three-story centre and daycare now occupies prime position on a corner block in Khayelitsha and has become a defining figurehead across the horizon of South Africa’s fastest-growing township. It cares for 300 HIV Aids-infected and affected children daily, as well as provides a support system and soup kitchen for the community in the area.Khumbulani Centre

Rhino Africa is immensely proud to be actively involved in a community upliftment and social outreach programme such as this. Globe-trotters who travel with us are contributing to the legacy we are leaving in Africa, but there is more to be done and you can help. To find out how contact Rhino Africa’s CSR specialist, donate, and take a look at our other Doing Good initiatives.

Rhino Africa CSR | Teresa van der Bank | teresa@rhinoafrica.com

Joy abounds at Khumbulani Centre Special Thanks:

Premier Helen Zille, for taking the time out of her exceptionally busy schedule to join us
Rhino Africa Staff and CSR who contributed their time and efforts on this day to make sure everything ran smoothly
Rhino Africa Media Production Team for capturing the day on camera
The staff at Khumbulani who made everyone feel welcome
The ladies of the Khayelitsha community who prepared a delicious buffet for the event

Monkeying around with the Khumbulani kids

Cape Town,Doing Good
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By Melanie Du Toit on

Volunteers from Rhino Africa looked grimly at the sky last Friday afternoon, wondering if the heavens would open and spoil all the fun they had in store for the kids from Khumbulani. The Rhino crash was en route to Khayelitsha to pick up 120 learners between the ages of 3 and 5 and take them on an adventure to Monkey Town for the day.

Khumbulani kids eager to get going

This educational outing aimed to not only provide fun and laughter for the kids but also to foster a love for nature and a better understanding of the importance of preserving our globe’s wildlife.

Luckily, the rain didn’t dull any of the smiles on the road that day. The children eagerly chanted “Faster, Mr Bus Driver, we are not scared!” on the bus, and marvelled at the feat that they each had their own seat and seatbelt. The air, thick with excitement, could not be dampened by the grey clouds hanging overhead.

A group of children from Khumbulani learn about monkeys

This exuberant group of learners had their voices echo across the park, much to the delight of Tammy the Ape who responded with enthusiastic applause. Shrieks of nervous laughter rang out while kids clamoured forward to catch a glimpse of a snake – which some of the brave even dared to touch.

And then, to the delight of all, lunchtime brought the sunshine – perfect timing for the remainder of the afternoon which was to be spent revelling in Monkey Town’s massive playground.

Big smiles from Khumbulani's kids

Monkey Town aims to have its guests leave with a greater understanding of primates and the unrelenting threats they are facing in the wild today – an important lesson for all who visit this wildlife park. But for the kids from Khumbulani, even more so, as it was their first time seeing monkeys and apes of any kind.  They stared in wonder at mothers carrying their babies and the family units not so different from our own.

The children from Khumbulani all come from HIV Aids-infected and -affected backgrounds and the daycare started back in 2000 in the 2-bedroom home of one Gloria Bebeza. Mama Gloria saw a grave need in her surrounding community for children from these backgrounds to have care, attention, and supervision during the day.

Captivated

Rhino Africa is immensely proud to have had a hand in transforming this one-woman initiative into a full-fledged daycare which runs out of its own 3-story premises in Khayelitsha, caring for approximately 300 learners every day. In collaboration with Nhlayisa, we also sponsor a specially-formulated porridge for the children during their days at Khumbulani in an effort to ensure their little bodies get all the nutrients they desperately need.

This isn’t enough for us, though, and neither is it for the kids. With the introduction of our CSR programme and our CSR specialist, Teresa van der Bank, we want to expose the children of Khumbulani to even more educational outings and experiences that are seemingly incomprehensible because of their poverty-stricken backgrounds. But, we can’t do it all on our own and this is where you come in!

Delighted with her plush toy

By travelling with us at Rhino Africa, you are contributing to our various outreach initiatives – one of them being Khumbulani Day Care Centre – but you could do more. A donation of just $500 would sponsor an outing and have another Khumbulani dream come true! To see what else we’ve done with the Khumbulani kids, check out our trip to the Two Oceans Aquarium and our day spent colouring outside the lines and making the day-care a little brighter!

A memorable day for us and for the Khumbulani kids

Are you interested in partnering with us and sponsoring our kids at Khumbulani? It’s as easy as dropping a line to our CSR Specialist, Teresa:

teresa@rhinoafrica.com

Special thanks must go to the following:

Cullinan Transport for getting our kids and Rhinos safely to Monkey Town and back

Monkey Town for showing the learners such an amazing day

MannaBay for supplying everyone with a tasty and nutritious lunch

Our IGLTA guests for their generous contribution

Our Rhino Africans who gave up their time to ensure the Khumbulani kids had a great day!

 

Doing Good at Rhino Africa

General
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By Tamlin Wightman on

As the year comes to a close we’re in the mood for new year’s resolutions and looking back on the year past. On things we’ve done. On whether we did more good than bad. Here’s a stock of our Doing Good efforts this year – the bad stuff stays in Vegas, as they say…

Watch the Doing Good video below – look out for the new one coming next year.

Khumbulani Day Care Centre

We have been supporting the Khumbulani Day Care Centre for several years with monthly donations and it has been a pleasure to watch the centre grow and develop over the years. Each year we throw them a special Christmas Party, which this time we combined with their 10th Birthday Party, celebrated in the Khayelitsha town hall. Read more about the fun we had here.

David Ryan at the Khumbulani Christmas Party

Madlala Digital Learning Centre and Project

New on the horizon is our involvement with Madlala Digital Learning Centre – a pilot learning centre in partnership with a local high school in Limpopo’s Justicia community, next to the Kruger National Park. It brings online, interactive digital learning opportunities to disadvantaged communities. Students receive English, computer, leadership and music lessons each week, as well as talks by specialists and a chance to complete the International Computer Drivers Licence. They’ve already been approached with job proposals for their first graduates.

Thanks to your much valued patronage we were able to donate a percentage of our profits to Madlala this year – a total of R50 000, which led to further investment from SAB (South African Breweries) and other big hitters. The donation has subsidised the centre until it becomes self-sufficient and has paid for the education of several students who could otherwise not afford the fees. At Rhino Africa we believe in using tourism and revenue from it to uplift and benefit communities.

Challenge4aCause

In July this year (seems like ages ago already), 12 humble riders conquered the mighty Namibian Desert to raise money for wildlife conservation and community upliftment in Africa. The riders endured a thrilling 330 kilometres through the harsh but spectacular landscapes of Namibia’s Damaraland, home of the endangered desert-adapted black rhino. The event was only possible because of the much valued support from suppliers and clients.

This year’s Challenge4aCause event raised a remarkable R658,062. This is how the funds were allocated:

• Save the Rhino Trust Namibia: R150,000. To fund critical anti-poaching units. We are proud that the last known poaching incident in Damaraland was in 1994. Challenge4aCause funding has enabled the Save the Rhino Trust to enhance security and improve rhino monitoring in Namibia.
• Good Work Foundation: R100,000. For the Madlala Digital Learning Centre based in the Justicia community.  Their mission is to bring online, interactive digital learning opportunities to local communities. This pilot project has lead to SAB and T-Systems funding the building of a large Digital Learning Centre in Hazyview. Building work is set to commence before year end. This incredible sponsorship is a direct result of Challenge4aCause’s funding of the pilot project.
• Wildlife ACT Fund: R160,000. This funding will be used to purchase equipment for their Endangered Species Monitoring Programme and their Rhino Relocation Programme. Follow them on Facebook.
• Khumbulani: R150,000. R85,000 to fund the purchase price and transfer costs of the property adjacent to Khumbalani. R10,000 towards teacher training – Gloria Bebeza and her team went to Philipollis in July for teacher training arranged by the Good Work Foundation. R23,000 general operating costs associated to the running of Khumbalani. R30,000 towards Khumbalani’s 10th Birthday celebration and their annual Xmas party.

• Participation Costs: R100,000. These are the participation costs of our suppliers which were sponsored through barter agreements and thus included in the total sum raised.

It was a great success for the group with riders from Singita Game Reserves, Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, the Royal Portfolio, and Tintswalo Lodges. Congratulations again to all the riders and thank you once again for your incredible support! We hope that you’ll be able to join us next year for what promises to be an even more incredible ride.

World Rhino Day

We hosted a World Rhino Day protest outside Parliament in Cape Town earlier this year. It was a great success in terms of the amount of press it garnered, the fact that we got the Democratic Alliance to make a presence and speech against rhino poaching, and the amount of supporters that pitched up in red to protest with us. Read more about the event here.

Going Green

Rhino Africa is in a partnership with the Heritage Environmental Management Company – formed to create an ethos of environmental responsibility and sustainable development. We spent much of this year furthering this partnership and our green practices to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to be an eco-friendly company that benefits the earth and community. Read more about Heritage and Rhino Africa here.

Going Green at Rhino Africa

What we’ve been doing to ‘go green’

This year we launched a Green Committee, whose members each have various tasks in helping to further ‘greenify’ our company. We’ve been looking at ways to offset our carbon footprint – and that of our travellers – by planting trees to counter the greenhouse gas emissions. Among many things, we’ve implemented LED lighting and recycling bins; and designed and purchased new eco-friendly recycled bamboo USB flash drives to replace the rubber ones we once had.

This year we drew up a Rhino Africa Green Procurement Policy and Sustainable Vision Statement (which you can view on our website) and are also busy establishing a list of green standards for the suppliers, hotels and lodges we work with to find out more about what they’re doing for the planet. We’ll be implementing a Responsible Rhino Rating on our website to rate how responsible and sustainable the accommodations we recommend are.

In this way, the people who travel with us can be more conscious of the impact of their Rhino Africa tailor-made trips.

There is plenty more in the pipelines so keep an eye out for another update in 2012. For more on how to be a responsible traveller, visit Heritage’s site. That’s it from us. We hope you’re also doing your bit to conserve our Earth.

Christmas in Khayelitsha – A Khumbulani Special!

General
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By Tamlin Wightman on

On Saturday the Rhino Africa team headed to Khayelitsha to celebrate Christmas and the 10th Birthday of the Khumbulani Day Care Centre. Khayelitsha is a place some of us had never been to, a place where some of us live, and a place some know very well, having worked closely with Khumbulani for over five years now.

About Khumbulani

Khumbulani is a centre for kids between the age of 0 to about 13 years, managed by an amazing 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!

Rhino Africa has been supporting Khumbulani for several years with monthly donations, and by providing food for the children. Through our association with Nhlayisa, we provide a specially formulated porridge for Khumbulani that provides much needed nutrients for the kids. 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.

Rhino Africans get in the mood on the jumping castle

We arrived at Eyethu Hall in Khayelitsha in a long convoy of cars with friends and family members but the children that greeted us out in the parking lot still outnumbered us – coming from the Khumbulani daycare, afterschool and support programme. There was plenty arranged for the day to keep the little ones entertained – jumping castles, face painting, soccer, cricket, scooter races, skipping games, and more! There was even a visit from Barney the Dinosaur (our travel consultant Billy, undercover) and Santa Claus (another undercover agent, Luyanda), who handed out gifts to the gracious Khumbulani children.

Scooter races

While the children and other Rhino Africans played outside, inside the Eyethu Hall, where the event was held, speeches were given by several speakers to honour Khumbulani’s 10th Birthday. David Ryan, our MD, spoke about community upliftment through sustainable tourism. David gave praise to Gloria, the remarkable woman who runs the centre who, along with her team, gives selflessly each day to improve the lives of others. “The project is an inspiration to all of us as South Africans and an example of what can be achieved in the face of adversity through hard work and with a big heart,” David told the audience.

For Rhino Africa, tourism is obviously important. It puts food on our tables. But for Rhino Africa, that “tourism revenue is meaningless unless it is helping to uplift communities and enrich the lives of their residents,” David added. “Sustainable tourism is not just about being green – it’s about ensuring a long term future for South African tourism based on partnership and community benefit so that everyone in the country can benefit. We need to think about the long term and not use tourism for short term gain.” And that’s why we put so much effort into Khumbulani and projects and charities like it. (Read more about our doing good efforts on our website.) Plus, the smiles on these youngsters’ faces and their hugs are reason enough to be there – the future leaders of South Africa!

It was great to see such high level interest and support for Khumbulani, with the keynote speaker, Beverley Cortje-Alcock, being a representative of the Social and Early Childhood Development Portfolio in Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee.  Other speakers included the Councillor for Ward 94 from the City of Cape Town and representative from the Department of Social Development. With recognition like this, there is no limit to what can be achieved by Khumbulani – we already have some interest from a German investor, so watch this space for some amazing developments in 2012!

Take a look at all these smiling faces!

A special thanks to our sponsors and donors for the event:

Budget Car Rental; Raith Gourmet; Rukou International Trade/ Cape Juice; Honda Tygerberg; Contego Cycling Team/ Chris Willemse Cycling; Celtic Harriers Athletic Club; Francor Bakery; Nampak Paper Products; and Sight ‘N Sound Audiovisual.

And thank you also to Ingo Brüggemann from our German Division for organising the day and to all of our suppliers and clients for helping us make this project and our charitable efforts possible.

It’s Arbor Week

Doing Good,General
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By Tamlin Wightman on

We’ve been so caught up with rhinos and planning our World Rhino Day event that we haven’t had time to pay attention to the other stars of this week – trees! Arbor Week runs from 1-7 September in South Africa. We’re great fans of trees – sleeping in luxury treehouses, photographing great baobabs, watching leopards lounging on their branches, canoeing past big leafy ones bustling with pretty tweeting winged creatures, and more. So in celebration, read on…

As part of our Going Green initiative at Rhino Africa, we’re organising some green initiatives. For starters, we’ve procured some trees, compliments of the kind folks at the Grootbos Foundation, to donate to one of our favourite charities – Khumbulani Day Care Centre. We’ll help plant them with the staff and children at Khumbulani, so watch this space for the photos!

Khumbulani is a centre for HIV infected or affected kids between the age of 0 to about 13 years, managed by an amazing lady called Gloria Bebeza. We at Rhino Africa have been supporting Khumbulani for several years with monthly donations, and by feeding Gloria’s children. Now we’d like to green their space too!

What is Arbor Week?

National Arbor Week serves to promote awareness for the need to plant and maintain indigenous trees throughout South Africa, especially for the many disadvantaged communities who often live in barren areas. Every Arbor Week celebration highlights two specific trees, one common and one rare species. Arbor Week aims to:

  • promote a better understanding of trees, particularly indigenous trees;
  • highlight the important role trees play in sustainable development and the livelihoods of people and their environment;
  • encourage communities to participate in various greening activities within their own surrounding;
  • raise awareness of South Africa’s urban greening initiatives.

Grootbos have their own tree planting project called Future Trees, which has planted over 1,000 local indigenous trees as part of a forest rehabilitation programme on the Grootbos Nature Reserve. This project not only has obvious ecological benefits but also contributes financially to the Green Futures project. Seeds and young saplings collected by the Green Futures students in their milkwood forests are grown in the Green Futures nursery for 5 years.

2011 Trees

Common Tree – Jacket-plum (Pappea capensis)

Rare Tree – Bride’s Bushes (Genus Pavetta) and Common Wild Elder (Nuxia congesta)

You can see more about the charitable work we undertake on this short video:

How we’re getting involved

Rhino Africa has partnered with the Heritage Environmental Management Company to create an ethos of environmental responsibility and sustainable development with its preferred partners. In other words, to better green our practices, offices and the environments we affect. Read more about our Going Green initiative here.

A crucial aspect of travelling long haul to Africa is to offset your carbon footprint and that is why we are looking into several tree planting initiatives for our clients.

One such initiative is at Grootbos where for an extra R350 for a tree you can either plant the Milkwood tree yourself or have them planted by Promise (an ex-Green Futures student now employed full time to manage this project).

The tree will be named after you and you’ll also receive a certificate including the GPS locality of where the tree is planted. This information is uploaded onto Grootbos’ tree planter supporters’ page and the locality uploaded onto Google Earth. The tree donor can thereby identify the tree’s locality and monitor their progress over time.

According to Grootbos: One Milkwood tree stores 1.4 tonnes of carbon by the time it is 20 years old.

If you have any questions or tips to offer on how we can boost our eco-friendliness, feel free to post a comment below! To find out about the greener safari lodges and mobile tented camp holidays we offer, contact one of our travel experts!

Sunny Christmas in Khayelitsha.

Doing Good
1 comment
By Craig Harding on

Christmas at Khumbulani
Today, as planned, the Rhino Africa KFC (Khumbulani Festive Committee) brought Christmas to Khayelitsha and in Africa we do things a little differently. The KFC caravanned to Khumbulani Daycare Center, cars overflowing with toys that were wrapped in shiny paper and lunch boxes stocked with treats. On arrival we were greeted by a choir of excited children, dressed in their Sunday best, eager to find out what was going on.

Along with friends from Opulent Living Magazine and the IGLTA, our Santa (Rudi the red nosed reindeer) handed out the individual presents to the adorable children

Their good manners and gratitude are a testament to the good work Gloria Bebeza does at Khumbulani! Our thanks and appreciation to all those who were involved in helping Rhino Africa bring some Christmas spirit to the children and caregivers of Khumbalani. Next up on the agenda for Khumbulani is the new building, so watch this space!

Christmas at Khumbulani

A massive thank you to our wonderful clients and suppliers. Through your support, patronage and by simply travelling with Rhino Africa, we are able to make a REAL difference to the lives of these fantastic children.

A special mention to Barbara and Florian from Opulent Living magazine – thank you for joining us and for your generous donation towards Khumbulani. Without all of your support, we would not be able to undertake the work that we do.

Christmas at Khumbulani
Christmas at Khumbulani

Khumbulani Christmas in Khayelitsha

Cape Town,Doing Good,South Africa
1 comment
By Matthew Sterne on

Khumbulani is a centre for kids in Khayelitsha between the ages of 0 to about 13 years, managed by an amazing 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!

Rhino Africa has been supporting Khumbulani for several years with monthly donations, and by feeding Gloria’s children.

Khumbulani Christmas in Khayelitsha

KFC (Khumbulani Festive Committee) met this afternoon. We have decided to throw a Christmas party for those adorable kids once again. The party will take place next Friday 10 December at 10am. It really is a wonderful way to spend a morning.

We’re buying presents for the children which we’ll hand out next Friday.

We’re looking for donations which you can drop off at the Rhino Africa offices (81 St John’s Street, Cape Town, 8001) anytime before next Friday which we will gladly take along for you.

Khumbulani Christmas in Khayelitsha

Alternatively, you can join us on Friday when we go to Khumbulani and give your donations to the children yourselves! We will meet at the Rhino Africa offices at 9.30am next Friday 10 December with Santa in tow! Just meet us at our offices – we’ll have a number of vehicles going.

Donations can include old toys, old clothes, shoes, linen, towels, cups, dried foods (oats, tea, jam, sugar etc), canned foods and cleaning products. You can also donate money into our Challenge4aCause account which we will give to the staff of Khumbulani as Christmas bonuses.

Khumbulani Christmas in Khayelitsha

The Rhino Africa Safaris Year in Review

Accommodation,General,Namibia,Safari
2 comments
By Craig Harding on

A Year in Review

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!

Rhino Africa Safaris 2010

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.

Rhino Africa Safaris 2010

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.

Rhino Africa Safaris 2010

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!

To thank you all for your fantastic support this year we’re offering you something special this December.

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!*

So don’t delay – offers like this don’t come along very often. Speak to one of our expert consultants immediately to book your dream African holiday…

Happy Holidays Y’All

The Rhino Africa Team

*t&cs apply

Follow us @rhinoafrica