Botswana Camp Feedback
January 2005

Report compiled by: Martin, Jacana Camp Councilor

In the month of December 2004 Okavango Wilderness Safaris in conjunction with many sponsors, once again played host to the Children in the Wilderness program, or 'Bana Ba Naga' as it is known in Botswana.

The nature of the program is to educate the children about what their country has to offer them, and encourage them to work towards a positive future both for themselves and for the country as a whole.

During the course of the program, the children took part in a range of activities that were both fun and educational. They took part in activities that inspired their creative talents such as arts and crafts, creative writing and drama. The camps had a vibrant and friendly feel to them that was further reinforced by the many team building games played and songs sung (which you can hear hummed from time to time many months after the camp by the staff or the children). The kids also had a chance to get some exercise in a range of energetic sport sessions in which they took part each day. All of these activities are very important in their own right but within the Bana Ba Naga program, they were part of a greater plan that centred on instilling a sense of love and respect for the environment in all the children that attended. In this respect, the very setting of the camps were a key factor. Set in the heart of the Okavango Delta, surrounded by vast, untouched stretches of bushland and wide sweeping floodplains, all teeming with an incredible diversity of animals and plants with barely a hint of human habitation.

Every day the children set out in to this pristine example of conservation, either in a landrover, mekoro or on foot, armed with notebooks, checklists and the inexhaustible knowledge of their guides. After each activity, they would come back overflowing with excitement over the things they had seen and wonders of nature that they had experienced. We used this time to tap in to their inquisitive minds and broaden them further with an educational session shortly after their return from the morning's activity. These sessions were always highly informative but children's minds are always more receptive to the information that they discover for themselves, so there was always a highly interactive component to these sessions as well. Topics ranged from caring from the environment, to the formation of the Okavango Delta, to the importance of tourism in Botswana, as well as the dangers posed by HIV/AIDS. The final educational session was always a small test on what the kids had learned on all their activities out in the bush followed by each child doing a presentation on their favorite aspect of the environment that they had experienced. It was during this final session that we were truly astounded by the capacity of pre and early teen children for being able to soak up every iota of information provided to them.

This program is an integral part of Wilderness Safaris' commitment to supporting local communities and preserving the environment for future generations. The crux of the matter is that no matter how many local people are employed in the company, even at the highest levels, or how many species are saved from extinction, or habitats preserved, all this amounts for naught if the future generations do not share the same passion for the environment. Children in the Wilderness is the conduit, through which we are trying to ensure that conservation continues to be a priority in the future. It has been so gratifying to be part of a program that does so much immediate good for the children that attend , but will also eventuate in the perpetuation of such sound principles that are ultimately to the benefit of the entire country.

We all have such fond memories of every child who participated on the program, you could see how each child had gained something different from the experience and combined this new outlook with their already radiant personalities. It is satisfying to think how much Botswana cumulatively benefits from 100 children given the opportunity to partake in a life changing experience.

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Personal report from Annette, Kaparota Camp Councilor

“On the whole Kaporota, Bana ba Naga 2004 was THE best thing that I have ever done. I enjoyed every minute of the programme and although I was spoilt to bits by the wildlife and birdlife, this was secondary to the experience I had with the children. I still can not believe children can change in such a short period of time right before our eyes, nor can I believe that nearly all 67 children snuck into my heart and every time I let my mind wander I hear their voices and see their faces.
Personally I have new friends and their influence have made me a more positive energized person”

Kaparota Camp, Participant Feedback

This year, we hosted some older children, aged between 16 - 18 years at Kaparota Camp. We were skeptical at first as to whether they were at an age where they could fully benefit from the camp program. We were proven wrong and their camp was an overwhelming success. Following are excerpts from two letters written by two of the children who participated in this camp.

“Usually am a very quiet person. No words, no phrases, no explanations can explain the way I feel……. So real, so freer and so loved by people I have hardly known for five days. To every beginning there has to be an end. A sad end cause of departing. A sad end cause there is every possibility of me never seeing such a ring of joy ever again. A ring that has kept me going up to this day.

Such an experience happens to those who seek for love and freedom. It look me 30 minutes of scripting down a story I totally made up to be here. 30 minutes to enjoy 144 hours of fun. Something I paid less attention to got me here. Leaving behind the 144 hours and only keeping up vivid memories of something which I know will become a dream.The kindness, protection, dedication and above all love that councilors have shown us (including me) Kaparota has been the first camp I have lived in. I will always remember this experience.

(Thanx guys and always conserve nature)

FOLLOW THE RIVER AND YOU WILL FIND THE SEA

By Lesego Kadisweng

“According to my school of thought, God thought he took human race out of paradise and I wonder if God is aware that there is another substitute for Eden, a paradise camp in the Okavango Delta called Kaparota, a Camp that has the very same features, as the way the garden of Eden is explained in the Bible, a camp full of love, joy, peace and prosperity, and as for the smiles. Scientifically I would say smiles here are perennial. This camp is small but it takes giant steps in every activity it does…..

I found it hard to think that people like the beautiful workers of Kaparota do really exist and if I was to give examples of all the good things the Kaparota staff do, you would have to give me an endless supply of tissue paper, as tears of joy want flowing down my cheek, like a river flowing from the top of killimanjaro”

A huge thank you to everyone for your participation and for helping to make this all possible!