CITW Zambezi’s Cynthia Ndiweni has just returned from handing over thousands of wildlife conservation comic books for our partner schools in Zimbabwe and Zambia…
Over the past four years, the Southern African Conservation Trust (SACT) has produced a series of comic books for rural schools, supplied free of charge as learning tools for children. Each comic focuses on a different animal or conservation theme, from elephants and vultures to cheetahs, and is full of interesting, easy-to-follow information about protecting our wildlife and natural heritage. Alongside the comics, SACT also produces large posters for classroom walls.
Their belief is simple: children are the conservationists of tomorrow, and the future of our natural resources is in their hands. Comic strips are one of the most effective ways to reach young readers, and teachers and school authorities have responded well to the content, which turns learning about animals into something children genuinely enjoy.
CITW Zambezi is extremely grateful to have received a total of 3,940 comic books from SACT, which we have distributed to all 46 CITW schools across our regions in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
In Zimbabwe, schools in Lupane, Tsholotsho, Hwange and Hurungwe each received copies of the Elephant and Vulture comics, and our Tsholotsho schools also received the Vusa and Cheetah titles.
Our seven schools in Zambia each received copies of the Elephant and Vulture comics.
Our Eco-Club learners have already started reading them and are loving the content. The stories are set in landscapes they recognise, with animals they hear about at home along with the challenges their own families face, which makes them feel truly relatable.
For the communities we work with, these comics carry real meaning. Many of our schools sit right on the edge of national parks and protected areas, and the children living there share their landscape with wildlife every day. Many of our Eco-Club members’ experience of wild animals is shaped by the challenges of living alongside them, such as crop raiding or livestock losses. Comics like these help children understand why these animals matter, how ecosystems work and what role they can play in protecting them. By learning to see wildlife as part of their heritage and future, they grow up better able to share their land with it, and they carry that understanding home to their families.
A huge thank you to the Southern African Conservation Trust for this generous donation and for their ongoing commitment to conservation education in rural schools. It has been wonderful to see our learners so engaged, and we look forward to the curiosity and conversations these comics will continue to spark about the wildlife on their doorstep.
