Wilderness Foundation Africa Youth Development

Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) is a project-driven conservation and leadership organisation that works to protect and sustain natural ecosystems and wilderness areas for future generations. This is achieved through an approach informed by the twin strategies of conservation and education and centred on three key focus areas: species, spaces and people. Whether it is direct action anti-poaching in the field, large landscape wilderness management, or developing rising young leaders from disadvantaged communities for a career in conservation, Wilderness Foundation Africa has over 48 years of results. Building on these guiding principles, WFA aims to work towards a world that has sufficient intact natural ecosystems and wilderness areas that are valued and effectively protected for the benefit of all. In order to achieve this, WFA recognises that empowering citizens to protect and care for their local environments is vital. As such, the development of young people from disadvantaged communities to pursue careers in conservation is central to this work. Wilderness Foundation Africa has developed a number of holistic skills development and education interventions that harness the healing power of nature, to equip vulnerable youth to be economically active and environmentally responsible citizens.

These are our current projects :

Siyazenzela Training Courses: Siyazenzela (meaning “We are doing it for ourselves”) training courses are run as a three-week short term project with facilitation on the following focus areas: Emotional & Social Wellness; Occupational & Financial Wellness; and Physical & Environmental Wellness. The courses are aimed at previously disadvantaged youth between the ages of 18 and 27. Youth participating in the Siyazenzela project gain job preparedness skills whilst also developing personal insight and understanding of themselves.

Imbewu Trails: The Imbewu (meaning ‘seed’ in isiXhosa) trails aim to introduce school learners from disadvantaged communities to the beauty and healing power of the local wilderness areas while also conveying key conservation and environmental awareness messages.

Umzi Wethu Training Programme: The Umzi Wethu (meaning “Our Home”) youth development training courses provide accredited training in the areas of Conservation and Hospitality to selected Siyazenzela graduates; ensuring that they enter the working world with hands-on experience and resilience to further themselves in their respective fields.

Impact of Covid-19:

The Covid-19 pandemic had a severe negative impact on the implementation of our Youth Development Programmes, with most projects placed on hold for the majority of 2020.

Since then, implementing Siyazenzela training has come with some new challenges, since social distancing, regular sanitization and the wearing of Personal Protective Gear has become the new norm.

YDP’s three-day wilderness trail offering (Imbewu) was the programme most negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing regulations. Due to the contact-based nature and subsequent risks involved in conducting three-day wilderness trails (where contact between participants are inevitable), YDP had to amend the duration of the trails to a shortened one day version for the immediate future.

Unfortunately, the pandemic also deepened the vulnerability of the groups that we traditionally target through our youth interventions with many of our learners and graduates losing any form of income to sustain themselves / families.

WFA YDP has also found that funding has become more difficult to obtain since a lot of organisations re-directed their usual funding towards Covid-19 initiatives.

A list of our needs :

Financial assistance towards our youth development projects
Companies / Organisations willing to offer our learner's workplace experience and/or offer graduates full-time employment opportunities
In-kind donations of stationery, snacks, refreshments, etc. used during training courses and wilderness nature trails
Choose Wilderness Foundation Africa as your My School beneficiary of choice

Visit our website or FB page on: https://www.wildernessfoundation.co.za and

https://web.facebook.com/WildernessFoundation for any other ways you can assist.

Contact person and their/Cell/Landline

Nicky Daniels: 041-3740746 / 041-3730293

nicky@wfa.africa

Physical Address:

Wilderness Foundation Africa

11 Newington Road

Central

Port Elizabeth

6001

Banking details for those who may wish to make a donation.