Amakhala Game Reserve in Port Elizabeth is one of the environmental institutions which plays a major role in its community.
Amakhala Game Reserve in Port Elizabeth is one of the environmental institutions which plays a major role in its community.
The game reserve has partnered with various social development NGOs to offer members of the community opportunities to empower themselves.
During a presentation at the Rhodes Botany lecture theatre last week, wildlife veterinarian Dr William Fowlds spoke about the mission of the game reserve and its involvement regarding community development projects.
The various lodges on the reserve each one has its own training programme according to their needs while some are run for the whole reserve’s benefit. The programmes include leadership programmes and an Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) programme.
While reading the game reserve’s mission statement, Fowlds stated that it serves to identify threats in the environment and form social development programmes for the community. Amakhala has partnered with the Centre for Social Development (CSD).
Cathy Gush, the director of the CSD says that they have a craft centre operating on the reserve, where young women from the area make beaded bracelets, paper and candles to sell to guests. According to Gush, one of the four major forms of support is the Isipho HIV/Aids Project in Paterson.
"Guests who visit all the Amakhala Lodges are encouraged to buy a brick to help sponsor the new building for Isipho. In his presentation Fowlds mentioned that once a year in December, the children from the Isipho project spend two weeks at the Amakhala Conservation Centre free of charge, where they are accommodated and a whole programme is laid on for them. Amakhala also has a relationship with the Raphael Centre, which visits the reserve regularly to provide information, counselling and voluntary HIV/Aids testing,"said Gush.
In addition to the initiatives, they also have community building programmes such as sports and talent shows for reserve staff and families, which is sponsored by the owners. "We define the community as those people living on the reserve or on farms in close proximity, as well as those living in the nearby town of Paterson," says Gush. She added that their commitment has always been to employ as many local people as possible and to implement a skills development programme.
