Newsletter No 4
Letter from the project manager
Well it took a while but winter has finally passed us by here in the Mother city (Cape Town for those not in the know), and we can finally look forward to a bit of break from the seemingly endless winter that we've just had. For the rest of the sub-continent the rainy season is about to start and with it comes a reprieve from the cold, crop planting, fresh water and abundant animal and plant life. Needless to say, challenges still abound and a great deal of work needs to be done to continue on with the progress made at our project sites across the region. Continuing on with last months theme, we are highlighting the Jane Goodall Institute-Chimp Eden in this months newsletter as well as taking a look at the Machabeng conservation project and Hlengiwe Mthimkulu's school and AIDS orphanage, Ngwavuma Mpontshini.
The Jane Goodall Institute
 The Jane Goodall Institute of South Africa is a non-profit organisation set up by world-renowned scientist and humanitarian Dr Jane Goodall in 1996.
The vision of JGI-SA is to develop and implement effective environmental, scientific and humanitarian awareness programmes by means of:
- A chimp sanctuary and education centre.
- Environmental and humanitarian education projects (Roots & Shoots)
- Networking and collaborating with other organisation.
- Sound governance, leadership and organisation.
- Creating awareness through effective branding and marketing.
- Raising adequate funds to be self-sufficient
- Participating fully in the international JGI organisation
JGI SA's mission is to care for and protect Chimpanzees as a continuation of Jane Goodall's work. Chimps are very much like human beings, they differ from us by only one percent of DNA and are more closely related to humans then they are to gorillas. Part of JGI SA's work in saving Chimpanzees is to create awareness of illegal logging. The deforestation that this causes effects us all, animals and people, and Chimpanzees are especially vulnerable as it destroys their natural habitat. This, as well as conflict, poaching and the bushmeat trade has seen the almost 2 million Chimpanzees found in Africa in the 1900's reduced to an estimated 80 000 today.
SA's chimpanzee sanctuary now home to 30 chimps
 The Jane Goodall Sanctuary in South Africa (Chimpanzee Eden) was started in March 2006 about 15km out of Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, and adjacent to the Cussons family's luxury Umhloti Lodge whose grounds the Sanctuary is situated on. The main mission of the sanctuary (the first and only chimpanzee sanctuary in South Africa) is to rescue and take care of chimpanzees in need of refuge (here the rescue team is shown receiving a new arrival), providing the chimpanzees with a home to live out their lives and also with the necessary attention to recover from the trauma they have experienced. The sanctuary boasts three large, treed enclosures, each served by state-of-the-art night quarters. (Construction of the third building is currently being completed.)
"The official opening of JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden was a magical moment for those of us who had been involved with the vision of a South African sanctuary for so many years," says Sue Slotar, executive director of JGI SA.
A little more than two years after their opening, the JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden is home to 30 African-born chimps, ranging from approximately one to 44 years old, from as far afield as Dubai, Mozambique, the Sudan, Italy and Ghana, most rescued from appalling conditions.
The acclaimed reality series filmed at the sanctuary, Escape to Chimp Eden, starts on Animal Planet in SA on November 3 2008
Machabeng conservation and development project.
 On dusty red roads and through overgrazed villages, approximately two hours drive from Makhado (Formally Louis Trichardt), you will find the hidden treasure of the Limpopo Province: The Machabeng Plateau. Unique geological formations are peppered with ancient rock art documenting everything from the lives of the San to events affecting the region in World War II. Visiting the area is parallel to stepping back in time, before the colonisation of Africa, to rural and undocumented landscapes. The development of a 'no-impact' community run reserve is under-way. Through volunteer involvement we have created brochures informing tourists of the area and are starting the process of empowering the locals to develop self-sufficient tourism projects. Recent surveys have identified plant and animal species, as well as rock art, which has not been recorded in this part of the world before. Every discovery is a new discovery adding to our African Heritage. With the growth of the Machabeng Conservation and Development Project, the local villagers become more proud of their homeland and its assets: wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and ancient rock art, the conservation of which is now becoming a priority.
Ngwavuma Mpontshini school and orphanage
 The town of Ngwavuma is located high in the mountains, north of the town of Josini bordering Swaziland. The effects of HIV/AIDS have been devastating in this area, and an estimated 70% of people are infected. Unemployment is close to 80% and poverty is rife. This is where we find Hlengiwe Mthimkulu, (pictured right) headmistress of the Mpontshini School.
Hlengiwe had a dream to create a sustainable food garden, a place for orphans to stay, and a vibrant school community that would help alleviate the pressure on the many child run households in the area. Many of the children in this area rely on the school feeding programme that she has launched and in some cases children walk up to seven kilometres to be educated and fed.
 Hlengiwe approached Gavin Eichler and Francois du Toit in 2002, after hearing of the home garden, holistic food systems work that they do through the Zululand Centre for Sustainable Development and began the process of erecting an envirolaundry, putting in a food garden, and providing community training.
She has now expanded the orphans homes to cater for about 20 kids, and the food garden provides some of the food for the over 300 children she serves, but the task of acting as a surrogate mother is fraught with difficulty, and she still plans to expand the existing operation with your help.
Visit the Nomad African Trust website to find out more about her, and other, projects that we support.
|
