The Eden Empathy Initiative

The inability to feel empathy, due to early emotional trauma, is how the abused and neglected often go on to inflict harm on other people and animals.  This is exactly what The Eden Empathy Initiative (NPC) aims to prevent, through early intervention. 

The Eden Empathy Initiative combines an exciting new mix of animal-related education, skills training, activities and clinical therapy, with our focus on pre-teen children living in disadvantaged communities.

Our mission:  To create kinder, safer communities, by unlocking and developing empathy and authentic leadership skills in children as a critical means to disrupting cycles of violence and abuse. 

Our top projects :

We are about to embark on our programme development phase, where we will be assessing and developing the planned activities within the specific social and cultural context of the local community.  This will be done by working with a specific group of children within a controlled environment. We will also be working with our international research partners to develop our programme assessment criteria and tools. Once we are ready to launch, we will start with our first local school. Each school with then become a project, as will our individual dog clubs in the communities of those schools. 

A list of our needs :

Immediate:

Ongoing financial assistance for clinical therapy, education and dog club facilitation, as well as start-up costs such as website, brochures, humane education material, equipment costs.

- First aid level one safety training for 4 x staff members.

Future:

 Mini-bus vehicle for transporting kids from schools in disadvantaged communities.

Our animal ambassador is Cody the Brave, he has already started “working” with children receiving private equine assistance on the farm. 

Cody was badly injured in the Knysna fires last year and returned home after 16 days - thin, dehydrated and seemingly blind.  However, despite the scary road and the fact that he could hardly see at the time, he was found trying to cross the busy N2, to get help. His story of survival is incredible and it has inspired thousands across the world.  His message is that no matter how bad things may seem, or how much trauma you’ve been through, anyone has the capacity to heal and be happy – provided you are brave enough to get the help you need.

Contact person Karen Rademeyer (Director and Cody’s human)

Tel/Cell: 065 925 7469

Physical Address: Essendale Farm, 16/212 Buffels Vermaak, N2, Knysna, 6570

Banking details for those who wish to donate to you:

Banking details

Bank: FNB

- Account Name – The Eden Empathy Initiative (NPC)

- Account Number: 62767491120

- Branch Code: 255355

- Account Type: Business Account (Cheque)

- Reference: Algoa Cares