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Umzi Wethu - Nature, Nurture, Future

“Umzi Wethu is a holistic approach to conservation and job creation, enabling social, economic and spiritual transformation for young South Africans who are currently experiencing endemic poverty, orphan hood and high vulnerability often as a consequence of the HIV AIDS pandemic affecting Southern Africa. It has been pioneered in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape” Andrew Muir, Wilderness Foundation

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Working with our closest partner, the Wilderness Foundation (South Africa), we’ve pioneered a pilot project to address the dangerous and escalating crisis of youth orphaned by the AIDS crisis and related social disruptions. The program is gathering steam quickly, and provincial and national governments are noticing. The Premier of the Eastern Cape, Mrs Nosimo Balindlela, is the Patron of the project and our goal is to create a model that can be implemented by other organizations and business sectors. Here’s an updated report…

Background information on the AIDS orphan crisis  >>>
Media Release for first Umzi graduation  >>>

Umzi Wethu selects and qualifies vulnerable youth, impacted by AIDS and other causes, for ecotourism jobs through training scholarships and effective partnerships with game reserves and parks. Umzi Wethu trains, nurtures and equips its students through a comprehensive intervention including certified hospitality training, internships, mentoring and wellness skills. Umzi Wethu is empowered by an environmental ethic, and introduces the healing qualities of nature to support long-term health, self esteem, employability and personal growth.

Umzi Wethu provides more than national standard training and care. Graduates are also guaranteed jobs…something provided by few if any other programs for such orphaned and disadvantaged youth. Even further, we bring innovation to this field, based squarely on our 50 years of experience providing experiential wilderness programs in wild areas of South Africa. Every Umzi learner – regardless of their specialty training – goes “on trail” for 5 days every two months, spending almost 15% of their training time in a wilderness setting. We design our programs to fit the motto of Umzi Wethu - -Nature, Nurture, Future.

After 18 months of the pilot phase, the first intake of hospitality students graduated on 1 July from the Umzi Wethu Academy. They all qualified as either Junior Chefs or Food and Beverage coordinators, and have guaranteed employment in the eco-tourism sector of the Eastern Cape (South Africa) at Kariega; Kuzuko and Shamwari Game Reserves, and in the PE Hotel Group.

The current group of learners, from townships and rural villages throughout the Eastern Cape, are training to be Game Rangers. They graduate and are employed in February 2008. Simultaneously we are also screening applicants for a 3rd intake of 16 learners, for training in Hospitality.

The vision is to roll out a successful model nationally.

THE NEED FOR UMZI WETHU

Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) are seriously disadvantaged in South African society. Orphans on the street are typically malnourished and thus more easily contract tuberculosis, respiratory infections, diarrhea, measles and other otherwise preventable diseases for which they rarely receive medical attention.

Economically, orphans are typically destitute, as households become impoverished in the inevitably futile attempts to save the lives of family members with AIDS.

Hunger is likely to drive orphans to engage in high-risk survival strategies. Girls especially wind up in sexually vulnerable situations. Furthermore, losing a parent traumatizes a child and can trigger negative aggressive behavior and emotional withdrawal, and affect the child’s ability to learn.

Within 10 years, the number of children without both parents is estimated to more than quadruple to an estimated 4.7 million – even with a full roll out of anti-retrovirals. Today funding emphasizes preventative measures. However, the fact is the huge number desperately poor and uneducated youth that has grown in the absence of AIDS/HIV prevention will have profound implications for South Africa’s new democracy.

South Africa has only limited ability to respond to this crisis. With declining numbers of productive adults, community capacity to supply basic elements of survival such as food and shelter is saturated. The Minister of Finance, in his last budget speech, signaled a cutback on state welfare spending. School fees and uniforms required for public education are out of the question. Parental guidance and accompanying non-formal education, such as how to care for younger siblings, are lacking. OVCs in the foster care and orphanage systems often face abuse and violation of basic human rights. Discrimination because of the stigma of AIDS and being an orphan severely limit their opportunities to advance. Few plans deal with the uninfected but displaced children. Care institutions may absorb the HIV-positive, but leave the HIV-negative without options, and in towns they are easily lured by gang leaders and druglords.

Read about the connection between Environment and AIDS (PDF) >>>
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While society is under stress from AIDS/HIV, ecotourism is booming in South Africa.

Tourism has grown 10% a year since 1994, and is now the third largest industry. Generating jobs and on average paying twice the minimum wage and three times the farm laborer wage, ecotourism provides steady employment but demands skilled labor. Research shows black South Africans rarely access the parks, and training in ecotourism is almost nonexistent; thus a job in this lucrative sector is out of reach for OVCs.

Read a full report >>>