Part of an inspiring Pack for a Purpose story recently saw two young Australian brothers mobilise their energies and community to support education and conservation project they visited whilst on safari in Zimbabwe. This month the delivery of all of their hard work and passion came through; as supplies of footwear, clothing, blankets, knitting material and more arrived in the remote Mambanje community, on the border of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
After their visit to Somalisa Acacia (African Bush Camps family camp in Hwange) in April 2018, Khody and Owen realised that many of the Mambanje students did not have ideal footwear for their often long journeys to school and back. This became the focal point of the for the boys as they decided to have a “shoe drive” and send the shoes, in a container that was shipped along with larger items to support health projects in Zimbabwe & Zambia as well as Mobile Cattle Boma projects in the Hwange & Lake Kariba areas of Zimbabwe.
Supporting them with this was their school Westbourne Grammer, where they collected over 300 pairs of shoes and raised funds to the value of AUS$2500.00. They sold chocolate as a fundraiser, staged their own ”garage sale”, announced and gave presentations to their school peers, and also received major support from the Seabrook Basketball Club. Khody & Owen launched these mighty efforts, knowing that their actions would contribute towards empowering the community and children they had met in Zimbabwe.
The Mambanje community is a special one and critical to conservation efforts in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Located just 2km away from the Hwange National Park border, it is important that the community is aware of their responsibility of taking care of and living in harmony with their natural surroundings, whilst at the same time to be able to prosper and be financially sustained.
Through our different programmes, we aim to empower the community with education and sustainable income generation such that they understand their role in the ecosystem and in being very close to important natural biodiversity. Through our education projects, the community is learning more about protecting and living in harmony with their environment, while empowering them financially.
