Children in the Wilderness Camps were inspired by the concept of the Hole in the Walls Camps. The first Hole in the Wall Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman. Since then, The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps (AHITWC) has grown to include five camps in the United States, camps in Ireland and France, and one scheduled to open in Israel in 2007. The camps are staffed by trained personnel and provide recreational and therapeutic activities for children with serious illness and life threatening conditions.
Launched in 2001, The Association's Africa Initiative has provided a psychosocial intervention to more than 1500 children who are HIV+, HIV/AIDS orphans and children living with HIV+ parents, and trained more than 180 local staff in Botswana, Namibia, and Malawi and South Africa. The programme provides an opportunity to rekindle the spirit of joy and curiosity inherent in childhood.
Arriving naturally hesitant, children leave with shining memories of a community marked with laughter, hope, and unconditional love. These memories are crucial building blocks toward the creation of a sense of possibility and purpose for all children.
Visit www.holeinthewallcamps.org for further information.
With over twenty years of experience in the tourism industry, Wilderness Safaris hosts their guests in 44 safari lodges in seven different Southern African countries. The company is privileged to control, manage or lease over 1.4 million hectares of prime wildlife and wilderness land and has approximately 1700 employees drawn primarily from rural communities in the vicinity of the lodges.
Wilderness Safaris' sustainable partnerships link conservation, wildlife and communities, have won the prestigious World Legacy Award, the “Oscars” of nature tourism, awarded by National Geographic and Conservation International. Locally the company also won the DEAT-FEDHASA Imvelo award in 2003 for its community/corporate partnerships.
Visit www.wilderness-safaris.com for more information.