Nelson Mandela, a great advocate for both education and conservation, recognised the interrelationship between nature and humans as fundamental to our mutual prosperity. “Ultimately, conservation is about people,” he encouraged us, “if you don’t have sustainable development around these [wildlife] parks, then people will have no interest in them, and the parks will not survive.” The great statesman also counselled us that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Having recognised these truths and imbibed them at the heart of the organisation, Africa Foundation has been working for three decades to improve the quality of, and access to, education in rural communities in conservation landscapes; from early childhood development centres, through to primary, secondary and high schools.
Tertiary-level education is offered through bursaries giving young people the life-changing opportunity of attending college or university. Investment in knowledge certainly pays the highest interest long-term.