Wilderness holiday treat for orphaned and vulnerable children
Written by Staff Reporters   

Orphaned and vulnerable children were offered a holiday of a lifetime seeing and learning more about wildlife by Children in the Wilderness Namibia.The organization literary closed the doors at a camp in the private Palmwag Concession to paying guest to allow the children to learn about their wildlife, flora and fauna.

Over 40 children drawn from Rundu, Tsumeb, Opuwo and Bergsig participated in the camp that was held from 3 to 16 December.
The children were hosted in the Desert Rhino Camp, said the organisation's Communications officer Birgit Deibele.

Sarah Omura, the Programme Coordinator of Children in the Wilderness, said the remote location provided a unique opportunity to educate the children about the wildlife, birds and plants of the area and to introduce them to conservation in ways that they can take back to their own communities.

She said for many of the children it was the first time that they had ventured outside of their small communities, and it was a real privilege for the organisation to show them the incredibly rich and diverse habitats that are part of the country they live in.
The highlights of the camp included rhino tracking with the assistance of the Save the Rhino Trust and the Elephant Walk, she said.
Somura said with rhino tracking the children were able to track and view the endangered desert-adapted black rhino from a safe distance, and the Elephant Walk was for teaching the children about the desert-adapted elephant, the conflict between humans and elephants and why it is important to protect and conserve them for future generations.

Somura said with the love and support from the organisation's dedicated team, the children began to grow in self-confidence and esteem and, by the end of the camp, they went home filled with a new sense of hope and purpose for the future.

“It was amazing seeing the change in the children over the course of the camps,” she said.
11-year-old Paulus, one participant, said: “I would like to become a tour guide when I leave school. I want to show tourists the wildlife of Namibia.”