People
Youth Development
Programme
Through the Youth Development Programme’s holistic skills development and education interventions, vulnerable youth are equipped to become economically active and environmentally responsible citizens.
All our people-focused intervention projects are housed under the Youth Development Programme in a separate entity: Wilderness Foundation Africa Youth Development, categorized as a voluntary association / not for profit organisation (NPO: 264-532 | PBO: 930061704). The entity is a BBBEE level 1 organisation and conforms with the definitions contained in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and subsequent Codes of Good Practice 2013, against Statement 100 Annex B. It is confirmed to have a beneficiary reach of 100% Black people from designated groups, with a focus on Youth, at least 51% being Black women and 100% Black new entrants.
Siyazenzela
Livelihoods, Leadership and Resilience Course
Siyazenzela (meaning “We are doing it for ourselves”), is a four-week short term basic employability and wellness course, which aims to see young people from previously disadvantaged communities gain job preparedness skills whilst also developing personal insight and understanding of themselves. The overriding objective of the Siyazenzela courses is to see young people progress from unemployment to employment by providing them with skills and vocational education opportunities leading to new pathways i.e. paid employment, post-secondary education or entrepreneurship opportunities.
Contact: Nicky Daniels (Coordinator: Youth Development Programme), nicky@wfa.africa
Umzi Wethu
Accredited Vocational Skills Training
Umzi Wethu is an accredited vocational training programme which prepares youth for positions in the conservation and hospitality industries. It not only provides accredited training for previously disadvantaged youth, but ensures that graduates enter the working world with hands-on experience and resilience to further themselves in their respective fields.
Contact: Nicky Daniels (Coordinator: Youth Development Programme), nicky@wfa.africa
Follow the journey of some of our graduates
Environmental Education and Outreach
Pride Project
Pride Project was developed to fulfil the need for an environmental education outreach programme among disadvantaged youth from urban and rural areas. Pride Projects run in wilderness areas throughout South Africa, and in the past have introduced thousands of primary and senior learners to a one-day, entry-level outdoor experience every year. Pride of Table Mountain introduces school going youth from disadvantaged communities in the outlying areas of Cape Town, who have limited opportunities to access wild and natural spaces, to the beauty and healing power of the Table Mountain National Park while also conveying key conservation and environmental awareness messages.
Contact: Sharon McCullum (Coordinator: Pride of Table Mountain), sharon@wfa.africa
Imbewu
Wilderness Trails
The Imbewu (meaning ‘seed’ in isiXhosa) Project constitutes multi-day Wilderness Experiential Trails, with the aim of delivering quality primary outdoor experiences to disadvantaged youth to stimulate, spark and inspire interest in their natural environment and conservation. This project also aims to provide our community with the opportunity to rediscover the relationship between their cultures and nature through the power of education and the experience of their natural heritage: wilderness areas, national parks and their immediate natural environments.
Contact: Nicky Daniels (Co-ordinator: Youth Development Programme), nicky@wfa.africa
ECOStudy
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
ECOStudy is an environmental education project designed to improve the teaching of important environmental and sustainable development messages in the classroom, as education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. However, teachers have very little guidance on how to include environmental learning in the classroom and have minimal practical knowledge of the environment. ECOStudy hosts teacher workshops to unpack the curriculum and improve understanding of environmental concepts. ECOStudy takes teachers and learners on field trips, providing them with a unique educational nature experience. For interested groups, ECOStudy also offers workshops on specific topics, e.g. understanding climate change.
Contact: Susan Pyne-James (Coordinator: ECOStudy), susan@wfa.africa
