SOUTH AFRICA: Kuzuko Game Reserve
 | Since the fall of apartheid in 1990, South Africa has been making huge advancements in the area of human rights. However, the still continue to struggle with the rising issues of poverty and HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 5.5 million people in South Africa are currently living with HIV/AIDS, which is about 11% of their total population. The Dual ProblemAs a result of the devastating effects of such prevalent HIV/AIDS, many children are orphaned, which leaves them as vulnerable targets for violence and abuse. |
Breaking OutIn order to help these children break out of this destructive cycle, Jubilee Action contributed in helping to set up Kuzuko Game Lodge in a private section of the Addo Elephant National Park. Kuzuko is as committed to serving the local community as providing tourists with a luxury experience. Kuzuko ensures that all the children in their community of the appropriate age are enrolled in a school so that they can receive the opportunity given by education. They also organise a nurse to visit the area every month to ensure that everyone in the community has access to basic health care. They endeavour to trade with the community as much as possible, buying food from local farmers and selling locally produced items in the shop. Also, Kuzuko are partnered with Umziwethu, a project based in Port Elizabeth, which seeks people from disadvantaged backgrounds to train them for jobs in hospitality. Kuzuko Lodge has already employed several students from the Umziwethu programme as chefs, waiters and field guides. Looking ForwardsAs well as being socially conscious, Kuzuko Lodge is looking after future generations of children by making an effort to be environmentally conscious, endeavouring to use renewable sources of power and conserve the natural ecological environment of the local area. One of our goals is to build our projects towards self-sustainability, and the great thing about Kuzuko Lodge is that, once built, it became completely self-sustainable. Now it has opened, the luxury tourist experience is able to stand alone to fund the social transformation of the local community well into the future. Grand Opening of Kuzuko LodgeKuzuko Lodge was opened in November 2008 by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Unveiling the plaque, he commended the role Kuzuko is set to play in helping to eradicate the cycle of poverty in South Africa and for giving the people "the opportunity to realise their full potential". Click here to visit Kuzuko Lodge's website >> Join our fight for justice... Donate now >> | |
