Education South Africa Project #54782

HERD - Community Development Project

by Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation & Development

Project Report | Dec 5, 2024
Great Success in Feeding Little Minds and Bodies!

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are pleased to provide an update on the recent community initiatives undertaken by HERD Trust at the Jameyana Primary School (formerly called Mpisi Primary School).

The Nkosi Nutrition project is a solution to severe malnutrition. Wellspring NPC, with the support of HERD Trust, identified children at risk at Jameyana Primary School in Acornhoek. Children are at risk of malnutrition and poor health, due to the consumption of foods with insufficient nutrition in communities where incomes are low and job shortages high. Many children might have their only meal of the day at school, rather than home. By supporting the children with Nkosi Bars on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we can give them a better chance at a healthy future in all aspects – academically, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

We raised $1370 specifically through our GlobalGiving Community Project between August and November 2024, and with the support from donors like you, we were able to provide 2800 Nkosi bars during this time for the Grade R Children at the Jameyana Primary School.

On October 29th, the HERD Operations Team and Joe Niemand from Wellspring NPC visited the school to assess the learners participating in the Nkosi Bar project. Over two busy days, we measured and engaged with 310 children. This initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts of all partners involved, and we are excited to continue supplying these highly nutritious Nkosi Bars to the children in the new year.

There has been an observable change in the performance and behaviour in the children throughout the programme, improving their overall school performance such as:

Enhanced energy levels, concentration, and attendance among learners
Overall improvement in the well-being of learners, to apply cognitive learning skills
Increased ability for learners to concentrate and engage meaningfully in the classroom
Improved quality and frequency of nutrition received at school

The Nkosi Nutrition Programme is essential to support this selected community of the Hoedspruit area to overcome the ravages of severe malnutrition of children.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing support of our community school initiative. Together, we are helping to nurture the next generation of conservation custodians, building strong young learners who will contribute to a brighter future.

Warm regards,
The HERD Team

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Aug 8, 2024
Bring on Summer, Please!

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are happy to report back on our community work at HERD Trust.

Four of the five trees that we planted at the Jemeyana Primary School, formerly known as Mpisi Primary School in Acornhoek, are still growing well; unfortunately, one of the trees was accidentally broken by some rough play. The more trees planted the better, as we know it’s difficult for little feet and hands to be gentle when excited. The vegetable garden at the school is not currently very green and abundant, but this is likely due to it having been a long hard winter, and we are sure the summer will bring new crops.However, we have had a bumper crop of mangoes this year, which the students at the school thoroughly enjoyed.

The fruit trees we planted at the school are growing well, and we hope that in the next year, there will be a variety of fruit for the children to eat.

Our next visit to the school, during which we will redo and better enhance the vegetable gardens, will be in early September. The kids loved the watermelons we planted previously and this is the perfect growing season for them.

Water is the main issue at the school. We are currently looking at installing a better watering system through drip irrigation, which does not need to be constantly monitored; rather, it can be set to a timer.

We would like to thank GlobalGiving and our incredible donors for all the support they have given to us in our bid to assist the local communities around HERD. As the first rains come and the trees start sprouting again, we will be able to send some updated images of the trees.

Thank you for all your support for our community school initiative and for helping us to build strong little learners who will become our next generation of conservation custodians.

Warm Regards,

Adine and the HERD Team

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Apr 11, 2024
Our Little Learners Meet the Elephants in Person

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are happy to report back on our community work at HERD Trust.

On our recent visit to Jemeyana Primary School, formerly known as Mpisi Primary School, we delivered new boxes of Nkosi Super Bars to very eager young students. In South Africa, we have begun the second quarter of the school term, following a two-week holiday.

We welcomed some of the Jemeyana school students for an activity in our reserve, working together with a youth-led organisation called Lessons in Conservation, on 23 March. This was a huge success, as 20 children attended and truly enjoyed every moment. It gives us immense joy and a sense of purpose to be able to engage with and give back to our community in different and important ways, and to show new generations the value of conservation.

It is these students in our outlying communities around our nature natures that will be the next generation to care for our natural and wildlife areas. Many of the children in these areas have visited the reserves around them, not had the opportunity to witness the beauty of nature whether fauna or flora.

The HERD conservations students joined with Lessons in Conservation and the Jemeyana school students for activities both at the school and on the ground at HERD, surrounded by the wilderness with its elephants and other animals. We engaged in different games that shed light on recycling, water usage, the prevention of water wastage, and the effects of poaching with a particular focus on how damaging a snare placed in the bush can be to humans and animals. These specially designed games and interactive lessons helped the pupils to understand the subjects better and to keep them motivated and wanting to learn more. lessons are easily understood and can be slightly modified to accommodate children of all ages.

On the visit to HERD, the young learners were able to view many animals on their drive into and out of the reserve. They also met three of the bull elephants in our rescued herd, including Sebakwe, Somopane and Jabulani. While they were nervous at first, the students slowly gained confidence and relaxed into this unique opportunity to witness elephants up close.

This is the second year that we have had the privilege to be part of this important project, and in the future, we are looking to assist Lessons in Conservation with the work they do by running the lessons throughout the year so that more and more pupils at the school are able to benefit from these opportunities.

In 2021, we implemented an on-campus vegetable garden at the Jemeyana school, providing daily nutritional and economic support for the school. The vegetable garden teaches the pupils how to grow food and how to utilise the produce effectively in the kitchen. The garden includes a row of young fruit trees which will soon be providing delicious, healthy fruits for the learners to enjoy throughout the day. Planning is underway for work that needs to be continued in the vegetable garden. We have found a teacher who will take care of the garden even during the school holidays which is an exciting new development as the gardens need to be maintained constantly. The fruit trees are doing well at this stage and have even produced a crop of mangoes for the school.

Thank you for all your support for our community school initiative and for helping us to build strong little learners who will become our next generation of conservation custodians.

Warm Regards,

Adine and the HERD Team

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