Protect and Save the life of Our Rhinos

Dear Supporters,

Some exciting news! The funds raised so far for anti-Rhino poaching will be used to pay for a brand new 4x4 vehicle that will be used as a dedicated anti-poaching vehicle on the Karongwe Private Game Reserve. The vehicle will become available immediately and will then be sent off for custom modification. This vehicle will do daily patrols of fence lines, checking for incursions and serving as a deterrent to potential poachers. The vehicle will also be a response vehicle in emergencies and will be capable of pursuing poachers off road. Not only will this vehicle help reduce the threat of Rhino poaching, but all forms of poaching and criminal activity targeting the reserve.

With a large deposit paid for the vehicle, the monthly payments for the vehicle will be reduced, improving the reserve’s cash flow, allowing the reserve to free up funds to employ new local staff members and afford more fuel to run the anti-poaching vehicle.

Photographs and report of the vehicle’s first deployment will be posted as soon as it arrives. Thank you for your support and we hope this will go some way to protecting the Rhino population on the reserve. 

Kind Regards

Andreas Fox

Limpopo Program Coordinator

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org

Dear supporter,

I bring you fantastic news on a great fundraising event that has helped us raise additional funds for this project. On the 11th and 12th of August, the GVI Karongwe staff and volunteers undertook a challenge helping this cause by climbing just under 50 km’s of the Fanie Botha Trail in the northern Drakensberg Mountains. This is a normally a five day hike that they took on in just 2 days! 

The starting location was the Ceylon Hut where they climbed 24 km’s to the Stables Hut. The next day they started the second leg of their adventure by hiking another 22 km’s to their destination, the President Burger’s Hut, where they celebrate with a BBQ! They essentially did a half marathon each day, through mountainous terrain, tackling Sections 1 and 2 in day one and Section 3 and ‘Link B’ on day two. Through their fantastic efforts, they raised an additional $2500 for this project which is fantastic news towards a great cause!

668 rhinos were illegally killed in SA in 2012, Over 400 have already been poached in the first half of 2013. This project aims to assist cash-strapped game reserves with rangers and equipment they need to effectively protect these rhinos.

Rhino poaching is a huge problem. In Limpopo, the financial incentive to rhino poachers combined with very high unemployment figures in rural communities, mean that poachers will force entry into the reserves to get a shot at a rhino, often at high risk to themselves. Many reserves are also partly funded by eco-tourism, so viewing these magnificent creatures is critical to the success of these lodges who employ many local staff, targeting unemployment figures and preventing poaching.

Thank you for your support to this project.

Many thanks

Sophie Birkett

Charitable Trust manager

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org