community

kapama thulamahashe children’s home trust

The small town of Thulamahashe lies about 40km south of Kapama and at its heart is Thulamahashe Children’s Home, a safe haven for orphaned and abandoned children from the area.

Although the home was designed to accommodate just 12 children, no child in need is ever turned away. Children range from kindergarten to teenagers, all of whom have either been abandoned or have families who are unable to support them.

At Kapama, we believe that children deserve a chance to achieve their full potential and realise their dreams. Our way of helping to make this happen was to form the Kapama Thulamahashe Children’s Home Trust. Overseen by four trustees and with fully audited financials open for public scrutiny, the trust is in place to empower the kids through both education and ongoing support.

There is a material aspect to how we add value to these young lives, but we also help out with education, from primary school all the way to tertiary education.

If you would like to know more about the Kapama Thulamahashe Children’s Home Trust, please contact us and if you would like to know how you can contribute, visit our Pack for a Purpose link below.

makwetse school – acornhoek

Kapama Private Game Reserve not only assists the community in and around our Reserve through employment of local staff, but also in the education of our community’s children.

About two years ago we partnered with an NGO called Eco Children. This non-profit organisation, which was initiated by the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, focuses on hands-on environmental education and whole school development. One of the schools that benefits from this partnership is Makwetse School in Acornhoek, about 30 km from Kapama.

Eco Children’s mantra is “Sowing seeds of Change” and empowering children by increasing their awareness of conservation, stimulating their desire to learn, improving their learning environment and their quality of education and more importantly providing opportunities for talented learners.

By stimulating an interest in nature and improving learning environments we can strive to have a positive impact on environmental awareness and education amongst children in the area around our Reserve.

Together with Eco Children, we have developed a broad-based relationship with Makwetse, through the creating of an Eco Village consisting of a large vegetable garden that demonstrates to learners the principles of food production and sustainability and contributes to the school feeding scheme. Any surplus can be made available to the local community, also educating them on its importance. In addition, refurbished classrooms with vibrant murals for conservation-based lessons are part of the project.

Once a school has shown they value their Eco village, Eco Children work with the school to improve essential infrastructure such as libraries, kitchens, toilets and school halls.

getting involved

Apart from the Eco School initiative at Makwetse School, our in-house Social Development Manager, Carmen Hallet, is dedicated specifically to our Community Development causes. Part of this strategy is to work with Makwetse School on a deeper level to help improve important development skills for its youngest learners.

Twice a week, Carmen spends valuable time with the schools youngest learners focusing on their large and fine motor skills through interactive activities which include Indoor & Outdoor activities. 

“Over the past year, with a lot of love, patience and well thought out activities we have seen an immense improvement in numerous children’s overall development and self-confidence. I firmly believe that a child’s mind is not built to sit and be taught, but rather to explore, play and learn, that will contribute greatly to their further development and education.” Says Carmen.

For guests wanting a hands-on opportunity to see this development in practice and even meet some of the children, Kapama has put together an exciting opportunity for guests to visit the School.

Together with Carmen, up to 10 guests can be part of the day’s activities at Makwetse School (except during school holidays).

Included in this experience is an introduction to the Eco Children garden, a tour of the school and the refurbishment to its infrastructure, followed by joining in the 2 activities with the children and finishing off with refreshments. This allows our guest to interact and participate directly in our Social Development and Community Projects.  For more information on this passion project please email us.

Pack for a Purpose

We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travellers like you to make a lasting impact in the community at your travel destination. If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support in need, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of our local children and families. Please click here to see what supplies are needed for our project/projects.