Letter from the Project Manager
Hello to all once again! It’s been a while since our last newsletter and a lot has been done. We have signed on some new donors as well as some new beneficiaries. First off, we’d like to say thank you to the following new donors:
- Paint Chemistry
- Apple tool
- Industrial Weld
- All road tyres
- Kehls upholstery
We have been investigating supporting a new project in Zimbabwe for a little while now and I hope that come the next newsletter the Trust would have been able to get all of the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted, so watch this space. One new beneficiary that we have finalised the procedure for is the Cape Leopard Trust, who you can read about further on in this newsletter.
Sadly, this will be my last newsletter as I will be moving on from the Trust, but I know that Henk’s capable hands will ensure a continued smooth operation. As for all our readers, I wish you all the best and I look forward to joining you in hearing about the positive impact that this organisation continues to have on the people, places and animals of Africa.
Sincerely
Gray Maguire
The Cape Leopard Trust
The Cape Leopard Trust aims to optimally facilitate conservation of the Cape's predator diversity through simultaneously implementing conservation strategies, research projects and tourism initiatives. It also educates and encourages the youth of disadvantaged communities to have a vested interest in the environment.
The current work of the Trust includes several research projects involving leopards in the Cape and elsewhere in South Africa, including a comprehensive conservation genetics project estimating gene flow, genetic variability and genetic relatedness among South African leopard populations. A key aim of this study is to determine whether the leopards of the Western Cape region should be considered as a unique genetic unit– a group of small leopards weighing up to half that of their northern cousins.
Quinton Martins is the man heading up the Trust and he is in the final stages of writing his PhD through the University of Bristol (U.K.), on: “The ecology of the leopard in the Cederberg Mountains”. There are presently twelve leopards in the Cederberg that have been collared with GPS transmitters and these are revealing remarkable information on home range and activity patterns. A leopard population density study using camera traps has been underway for the past 3 years, revealing valuable information on these elusive predators.
A hearty welcome then to the Cape Leopard Trust!
Fundraising
SMS Donations
AfriDesign has recently set-up an sms line for donations for the Trust at no cost, for which we are mighty grateful. This service has allowed to us to begin an sms fundraising drive which costs R10 to make a donation
If you would like to donate you can SMS "africa" to 38961. Please note that free sms’ do not apply and network operator fees and administration fees will be deducted from amounts paid before being paid to the Trust.
Golf Days
We recently held three Golf Fundraising Events and would like to thank the Strand Golf Club, Stellenbosch Golf Club and the Erinvale Golf Club as well as our generous sponsors for their support! Without them it would have been impossible to make a success of these events. Needless to say, a big thank you must also go out to all the club members for opening their hearts (and wallets) to our rather chilly fundraising team.
Back-a-Buddy
We must also express our gratitude to the 6 good people from Crazy Goodness who chose to walk the Discovery 702 Walk the Talk 5KM backwards to raise funds for the Nomad African Trust. They chose to do this because they identified with our “vision which is focused across the three spectrums of life needed to sustain co-habitation on earth”.
The Backwards Walkers were:
- Imiel Visser
- Christo Brits
- Lechelle van Staaden
- Robin Holliday
- Ronald Singo
- Themba Makoti
You can watch their video by following the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDfoUXbPAYk
Gwexintaba
As usual, Louis has been working up a storm in the Eastern Cape hills of Gwexintaba. The skills development work that he has been doing with the local teenagers is coming to fruition with craft making like leather work and macramé being used to raise funds for other projects like perma-culture gardening classes.
The gardening classes are presently held at his Magwa Volunteers base camp and not at their houses as they don’t have fencing to keep the chickens, goats and cows out. The community is planning to address this problem by making money from the macramé and leather work to buy fencing for the whole team to plant their new veggies behind. A role of fence netting is 50 m and costs about R400. With this they can give every boy a garden of 12m x 12m with this at his own house!
They also have 5 volunteers working in the community at the moment who are helping to make up some stock for a weekend in Port St John’s to have some fun, practice soccer on 2nd Beach, sing tribal songs at some Backpackers and show their guests a little Pondo Culture. If any of our readers would like to order some of the products they make, feel free to contact them for an order (which you can do through us at no charge).
The RAM Pump is ready to get tested which will hopefully carry 500 buckets of water a day for the woman in the village. That’s 10 000 litters of water a day energy free! This means the woman will have more time to start better veggie gardens which will lead to healthier lifestyles and income generating possibilities. Louis is also busy showing the community how to use their grey water to grow fertilizer and even use solar energy for hot showers.
We are looking forward to the expressions on the people faces when the water comes out of the 1.2km water pipe! They still need 3 km pipe to supply water to remainder of the people in Gwexintaba however, so if you have a hosepipe at your house and it is not being used, please send it to Magwa Volunteers where it will get used in the food security program.
Conclusion:
While we are happy to be able to report on the successes produced at our projects, we are acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead. A lot of work is required to spread these successes into farther flung regions, and to build on what we have already accomplished. In a country such as ours, with the world's highest inequality ratio, we feel it is vital for all members of society to lend a hand in ensuring that our nation can look forward to a future that truly holds a better life for all. Sadly, nothing can be done without finance so tell friends, family, suppliers, clients, etc. to join or donate now to make a difference. We hope you will choose to be a part of this vision.
We hope you've enjoyed this update of our projects, if so, please forward this newsletter onto people that you think might be interested in helping African development, or refer them to the Nomad African Trust website for more news. Don't be shy to send us a mail at info@nomadafricantrust.co.za if you have any comments or queries. Looking forward to hearing from you, until next time, sala gahle, tot siens!
