The five pillars and how you'll be working

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Education

Education is vital for anyone to have the ability to better themselves and is a crucial part of the charity’s mission. There are many different ways to get involved.

The charity operates its own independent creche  for young children unable to attend government run schools, usually due to the family’s limited financial situation. Children are able to come to the creche both to learn and to play in a safe and supportive environment.

For older primary school children, the after school program offers pupils the space for homework help or to learn about anything from environmental issues to arts and craft skills.

The charity also provides meals for the schoolchildren, and for many young people, this is often the only meal they will have each day.
 

Conservation

Living in an area that is surrounded by stunning natural beauty and wildlife, helping the community to love and safeguard its heritage and resources has multiple benefits: it both improves the community’s long term livelihood prospects and helps protect the environment itself;  the community becomes its guardian rather than its poacher or abuser.
 

Working with and educating the community, especially the children who are its future caretakers, is crucial to promote sustainability and to mitigate human wildlife conflict. The charity has many projects and encourages children to become wildlife ambassadors in an atmosphere of fun and experiential learning about nature.

Hamba Africa guides routinely visit the community to give talks or conduct surveys engaging both children and adults whilst helping locals learn about wildlife and teaching them new skills. We sponsor wildlife centers encouraging animal ambassadors to the community, raising awareness, promoting interaction and understanding and developing respect for wildlife.

Volunteers are welcome and encouraged to take part in these activities!

Tourism
The magnificent natural beauty of the surrounding area attracts tourists from all over the world.
The charity and community are developing new ways to showcase this vibrant community to travellers passing through.

Visitor tours operate throughout the community and surrounding area and there are plans to launch a local restaurant and food store for tourists and visitors to experience local culinary delights.

Economic Development

As is often the way, the economy generated by tourists and conservation enthusiasts passing through the area, is not evenly distributed. There are high levels of unemployment and poverty as a result. Working together through cohesive initiatives, the community, entrepreneurs, volunteers and Hamba Africa, can effect change and improve the local economy and lifestyle for its population.

Developing arts and crafts projects such as recycling waste and plastics into functional, practical objects, or crafting original art and sculptures for sale, offers the potential for new skills to be taught, utilising local resources and generating new income streams for the local community through artisan and cottage industry growth and development.
 

Sustainable Agriculture
The charity and community invest in various agricultural projects offering fantastic benefits; some enable locals to upskill, others help produce greater supplies of foodstuffs for children at the community school.

The charity cultivates its own Moringa Tree orchard, which produces leaves that are considered a super food. Native to Africa and Asia the highly nutritional leaves are 25% protein and contain additional minerals and vitamins, often eaten by the local children and volunteers. In addition to their nutritional value they also boost the immune system, help bone growth and have various other pharmacological properties that medical groups are currently researching.

The charity teaches the community to produce lip balms and face scrub products from the tree to generate local industry and sell these unique products to lodges, tourists and other groups.

A newly developed aquaponics system is being introduced, helping to  recycle organic waste into food. The charity also runs and operates a vegetable garden and even rears chickens teaching the children and community useful cultivating skills, not to mention providing healthy nutritious food and a possible extra source of income selling the extra eggs and vegetables.