Lisa Witherden ran Eco-Mentor Training in in Simson Village in Limpopo last week. Twenty-three eager community members and three teachers attended the two-day training session.
The aim of the training was to inform the community about the Children in the Wilderness (CITW) programme, with the hope of getting them involved in various CITW projects and programme elements. CITW has been running an Eco-Club in Simson Village at the local school, Modikwa Primary School, for the past three years. Portia Phokela, our lovely CITW Eco-Club Coordinator for Modikwa Primary, meets with 35 children every Thursday to run our Eco-Club lessons. Many children from the Eco-Club have been on an annual Tri-Nations camp with us.
The Eco-Mentor Training Programme involved discussions around what CITW is and our programme structure. Thereafter, we worked through lessons from our Eco-Club Resource Book. From a community debate on conservation issues, to learning about the intricacies and balance of the food web, to discussions around climate change, to learning how to build a Tippy Tap – it is safe to say that the participants had fun, and that much learning took place. Many of the participants reported that they would be making their own Tippy Taps, and that that they wanted to start a project looking at the issue of litter in their village. Here’s what a few of them had to say about the training:
[Training] teaches me so many things, like to take care of the environment and also to keep it clean – Doris Tauyatswala
I want to learn more about how to keep animals safe, like rhinos, cheetahs, wild dogs and elephants and to help it to not become endangered – Rosina Motsoto
I learnt about perservernace, cooperation, kindness, responsibility and honesty. I am very much excited about training – Nicolas Sepaela
