Wildlife Conservation South Africa Project #14141

Protect and Save the life of Our Rhinos

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | May 4, 2020
Stronger Connections & Active Patrols

By Zoe Biggs | Program Manager

Dear Supporters,

Today, the availability and fluidity of online communication has dramatically impacted the war against poaching on private game reserves in South Africa. Anti-poaching units (APUs) must remain one step ahead of poaching syndicates in order to be better prepared and respond immediately to emergency situations. In order to remain advantageous, APUs must have a faster connectivity and higher quality resources to ensure competent protection.

Improving the connection on Karongwe

After meeting in February with the head of the APU on Karongwe Private Game Reserve – Dean, he mentioned the difficulties he was facing in terms of communication struggles both for him and his current ranger team on the reserve at their APU base. Dean was struggling with cell phone signal, which he was using for all his anti-poaching activities, from admin tasks to responding to emergencies in the field with his team. With the help of the GVI Trust’s “Saving South Africa’s Rhinos” Fund, we were able to assist with the installation and subscription of a reliable Wi-Fi connection for an entire year at the APU base on Karongwe.

Wheels keep on turning

In September 2016 The GVI Trust assisted with the purchase of Karongwe’s APU patrol vehicle – a second-hand Toyota Land Cruiser. The availability of this vehicle has made a significant impact towards our APU’s presence and mobility on the reserve. In February, the patrol vehicle’s oil coolant system had become rusted and its water pump started leaking, requiring urgent repairs. With cash available on base thanks to participant purchases of our Rhino & Cheetah T-shirts, we were able to quickly purchase the necessary parts needed for the repairs so that the vehicle could be up and running again quickly. The use of this vehicle is vital in the protection of our wildlife and human habitants on the reserve.

This fund is dedicated to the protection of the wildlife on the Karongwe reserve where GVI Limpopo operates. Dean, his anti-poaching unit, and reserve management personnel risk their lives every day to protect the people and wildlife here, and without a fully functioning and operational base and patrol vehicle the chances of something detrimental happening to our vulnerable wildlife or the people that reside here increases dramatically.

The ongoing role of GVI Limpopo and The GVI Trust to Karongwe’s APU & reserve management teams is essential to ensure the sustainability of our operations, and without our donors’ generous donations and support, we would surely see the negative impacts. From the bottom of our hearts once again, we thank you!

Love,

The Karongwe Team

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Jan 9, 2020
2019 Pub Quiz - another huge success!

By Zoe Biggs | Program Manager

Dear Supporters,

On the 30th of November we hosted yet another fun-packed Pub Quiz fundraiser at our local Mahlahla Game Lodge. The purpose of this event was to finish raising funds for the final touches to our three boom gates that surround our reserve in the Harmony Block. These boom gates play an indispensable role in monitoring suspicious activity around the reserve and keeping poachers at bay.#

Pub Quiz Fundraiser

After some seriously needed upgrades to the living conditions of our security guards, it was time to focus our attention on further upgrades to the boom gates and to acquiring essential radio equipment for the anti-poaching team. It is imperative that the team can communicate effectively to one another in such a vast area where mobile phone reception is not always available.

This year’s Pub Quiz brought a fantastic crowd of benevolent people from the local community together for a night full of laughter and banter. Movie quotes, bush knowledge and music trivia were some of the categories of questions asked during the pub quiz. The quiz ended with a suspenseful tiebreaker, as it was very competitive until the end. One of the highlights was watching adults run around like children during the scavenger hunt!

Our volunteers worked exceptionally hard and got their creative juices flowing to produce wonderful prizes for raffle ticket winners. Prizes included rhino-shaped cakes, a painting of Karongwe’s majestic male lion and photographs taken of various wildlife on Karongwe printed onto canvas. Volunteers and staff also spent hours the night before baking delicious brownies and scrumptious cookies which were also given away as prizes and sold throughout the night. Some amazing prizes were also generously sponsored by local retailers in Hoedspruit, which included the top raffle prizes of one-night breakaways for two at some of the top lodges in the surrounding area!

All in all, the event was a huge success and the night concluded with some funky dance moves and jovial singing. In the end we raised over ZAR30,000 on the night, as well as a whopping GBP150 through our online fundraising page! This will be more than enough to not only purchase proper radios for the team but finish the upgrades to the third and final boom gate. This money will go a long way in ensuring the protection of not only our precious wildlife but those who live in the area as well.

Love,

The Karongwe team

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Oct 11, 2019
Fundraising a win for our first line of defence.

By Zoe Biggs | Program Manager

Dear Supporters,

Arriving back to base covered in paint, volunteers were excited to announce the completion of boom gate one!

Boom Gates

Three boom gates surround our reserve in the Harmony Block, keeping out unwanted vehicles and people. Living conditions for our security team and members of anti-poaching were less than ideal. We held a pub quiz in December of last year and raised R29,000 to renovate and reconstruct the buildings that house our first line of defence against poachers. Along with your generous donations from Global Giving, in total we raised upwards of R80,000!

After a fresh coat of paint from our volunteers, boom one has been completed and reconstruction of boom two has commenced. Renovations include new doors, walls, windows and bathrooms with running water. The greatest reward of all during this process is the newfound joy on our security guards faces as they see how much we appreciate them and how essential they are for the protection of the iconic species that inhabit our reserves.

Pub Quiz Fundraiser

Following the awesome turn-out of our pub quiz last year, we’ve decided to hold another one on the 30th of November to raise the rest of the funds needed to finish boom two and complete boom three. Interns and volunteers are busy organizing for this event and are creating fresh content for trivia questions. We’re hopeful to have the same numbers as last year, as this is a chance to bring together people who are all working towards to same cause – the conservation of South Africa’s natural world.

Stayed tuned for the outcome of our pub quiz being held in late November!

Once again, a massive thank-you to our generous donors for your ongoing support during 2019. We can barely contain our excitement to see the conclusion of our Boom Gate upgrades towards the end of this year, and we look forward to starting the next big project with you all come 2020!

Love,

The Karongwe team

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