There is an African proverb : “ An empty stomach has no ears”.
The Food Gardens Projects, run with the amazing support of Waterberg Rhino UK, aimed to empower local communities to produce their own healthy food in local gardens. This would in turn build communities’ resilience to climate change, and help alleviate poverty and hunger that often drive communities to poaching, and rhino poaching in particular.
After hours in the hot sun and tons of hard work and dedication, the gardens produced beautifully, and we are pleased to announce the results of the competition:
The money allocated by WRUK for best sustainable practices and best volunteers was R12 500 in total.
R3000 was awarded to Leubaneng Primary to spend on sustainable practice at the school. The remaining funds will be used to purchase additional supplies the volunteers need to help them achieve even greater success in the gardens.
Prizes were awarded for the following categories to the winners:
Best School (The Daniel Mashasha Garden of Excellence Award) was awarded to Leubaneng. The school won a R20,000 cash prize which is to be spent on improving the garden further. (Picture attached with Lesiba, Jessica, Lizzy from LWS, Department of Education Circuit Representative, Headmen Forum Chairman (also AirBnb participant) Jerry Mosehlana, and the Galakwena Community Headman, Mr Molekwa).
Most improved garden – Rabasotho received the R7500 cash prize.
Lunch Ladies (who harvested and prepared nutritious meals from the gardens for school children): Galakwena won R5000 which will be spent on new kitchen equipment.
Best Summer and Winter varieties: Leubaneng, Nkidikitlana, Ntebeleleng won R2000 each (R1000 for each category) to purchase new seedlings and improve their gardens overall.
For taking part in the competition, each school received R1000, and the recipients were Monala, Moepel, Ralehumane, Serupa, Matlou, and Given Mangolo.
In total WRUK donated R46,500 to the competition, which excluded the cost of Leubaneng, Lenkwane, and Rabasotho schools’ visits to Lapalala Wilderness School for a 2-night stay and educational experience.
The competition was a great success, and we thank not only all the participants, but especially Waterberg Rhino UK who made it all possible, and is helping WBR work towards sustainability and conservation in the Waterberg!
The picture collage below showcases some of the beautiful gardens the schools cultivated:
