Rural Healthcare & HIV/AIDS Awareness Project

Leopard

The leopard is the most widespread and adaptable big cat, but it is also one of the most persecuted. Information on population densities is very limited and the risks facing them are relatively unknown. These graceful animals are now classed as near threatened. With your help, our aim is to understand the relationships between the leopard populations and the local communities. By reducing the human-animal conflict, we can help ensure a sustainable future for South Africa’s leopards.

Lion

Arguably Africa’s most iconic big cat, these majestic animals are disappearing at an alarming rate and are now classed as vulnerable. Together with our partner ALERT (African Lion & Environmental Research Trust), we monitor pride dynamics and social structure in order to assess the viability of releasing captive-bred lions into the wild to establish new prides and bolster existing ones.

African Wild Dogs

The elegant African wild dog is one of the world’s most endangered mammals and it is the second most endangered carnivore in Africa. Hunting and habitat loss means that there are only approximately 6000 left in the wild.  With your help, our aim is to collect location and pack ID data to better understand their territories, pack dynamics and conflict with landowners.

Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyenas are strong, smart animals that are often misunderstood. These courageous animals are also experiencing a continual population decline. Help us monitor hyena populations so we can better understand their densities, distribution, and behavior.

Jackal (Black Backed And Side Striped)

These cunning omnivores have long been the subject of superstition and although they play a vital role in our ecosystem, they face ever-increasing conflicts with farmers. Help us study these animals and learn about their movements so we can better understand what non-lethal control methods can be used to both safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and the jackals’ future.

Clinic Work

Local clinics are the first point of call for many ailing individuals, and are predominantly run by nurses, with Doctor’s visiting once a month. There are several departments, including outpatients for adults and children, HIV and TB services, pharmacy and maternity but these can be severely overcrowded. Volunteers are a huge help, freeing up nurses to consult and treat patients while volunteers man the intake desk, taking blood pressure, weight and directing patients to the correct departments.

Home-based Care / Nutrtition

Home-based Care has brought hope to the lives of many people in the villages of Khula and Eswenalisha by increasing access to provisional healthcare. Alongside local caregivers, volunteers visit homes in these communities to support chronically ill or injured patients that are too sick or poor to get to the clinics. Track progress and assist in administering nutrition programme to malnourished individuals – many with tuberculosis and HIV

This can be at first challenging and confronting but you will gain a wonderful chance to establish a deep relationship with those often forgotten members of the community.

Home Assistance

Some of our patients on Home Based Care and Family Empowerment Program are also in need of additional assistance in their homes. The people we help may be elderly, very unwell or disabled. This is an incredibly rewarding project for all involved, providing support that makes a difference to patient’s day to day lives. Our assistance depends on the individual needs of the family but could include helping With moving those that are infirm, cleaning, washing clothes, carrying out house repairs and building/ maintaining gardens.

HIV Education Classes For Adults

An important addition to our services in the local community is to offer HIV education opportunities. Approximately 92% of the local population are living with HIV/AIDS – we never refer to our communities as being infected with HIV, as it affects not only the people that have HIV/AIDS but their families as well. We deliver an informative, structured course that volunteers can add value and passion to. The effect is to pass on knowledge and educate children and local community members in a non-stigmatized manner.

Support Groups

Each week volunteers will be given the opportunity to become involved in community support groups. As part of this upliftment project, volunteers help deliver basic health, lifestyle and nutrition information to a group of adults of all ages. As a volunteer you can encourage the group to seek out positive lifestyle habits and to support each other and their community. Through this activity, you will get to know the people who regularly come to discuss their daily struggles and see life from a different perspective.

Farming

To help encourage positive and healthy living, volunteers also assist in creating and maintaining vegetable gardens for community members in need. These will supply people with much-needed healthy food and encourage them to be more self-sufficient.

Family Empowerment Program

This amazing community outreach project is only made possible through the help of volunteers and it is a unique insight into how traditional Zulu families live. As a volunteer you will bond with each family and learn more about the daily struggles they face, as well as providing essential help in the form of education, nutrition, refurbishment and general home assistance.  In 2015 we provided multiple beds, toilets, gardens and access to clean drinking water to a variety of families.

Building And  Refurbishment

Community buildings in the local villages tend to be run down, particularly in the more rural and remote areas. This project has succeeded in refurbishing community buildings such as schools, orphanages, and day care centers that are in desperate need of repair.