Botswana

Children in the Wilderness

Children in the Wilderness has been operating in Botswana since the inception of our programme in 2001. CITW Botswana runs eight Eco-Clubs in the north of the country around the Okavango Delta and Maun.

Thanks to the extraordinary funds raised by the annual Nedbank Tour de Tuli mountain bike event, which takes place in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GMTFCA), CITW is able to run our life-changing programme in villages in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe surrounding the GMTFCA. As such, we also have six Eco-Clubs in the Bobirwa sub-district which with we work.

Our newest addition to the CITW Botswana Family, is a ‘city school’ in Gaborone.

Read all about what’s happening on our programme in Botswana below, or sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

Botswana

NEWS

16th September 2020
Wilderness Safaris Provides Further Food Relief in Botswana
In a continued drive to aid rural communities in Botswana, Wilderness Safaris donated additional consignments of essential supplies to Tsodilo Hills and the Okavango Community Trust villages at the end of August 2020. Thanks to generous support from past guests, friends, trade partners and Wilderness Safaris staff and Chairman’s Foundation, 1 820 food hampers have...
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Josephine BesticBotswana
15th September 2020
WWF’s First-Ever Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders List
The WWF is calling African youth to share their conservation success stories in order to inspire and tell the world how African youth are shifting from business as usual and are taking action to protect African ecosystems and the people who depend on them. From their website: As part of a commitment to strive toward...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, GMTFCA, Malawi, Namibia, News, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
7th September 2020
International Literacy Day – 8 September 2020
“The more that you read, the more things you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” – Dr Seuss Reading corner at St Mary’s School, Zimbabwe Each year on September 8th we observe the UNESCO-initiated International Literacy Day, to raise awareness around the issues of adult and child literacy. Literacy workshop...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, GMTFCA, Malawi, Namibia, News, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
31st August 2020
Wilderness Safaris Heritage Day 2020
As one of the 4Cs of our business philosophy, we celebrate our Culture every day in our organisation. However, the last Friday of August marks our extra special annual celebration of Wilderness Safaris Heritage Day. While we were apart this year due to COVID-19, our regions went all out to showcase our beautiful cultures and...
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Josephine BesticBotswana, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
20th August 2020
#ThrowbackThursday: Meet our Campers
Botswana Programme Co-ordinator, Mo Lebekwe, reconnects with a 2019 camper. Name: Oaratwa Tlotlo “T-Gurl” Chilume Age: 12 years old Gender: Female Grade: Standard 6 at Tubu Primary School Home village: Mathangwane Country: Botswana, Northwest Region When and why did you join the Eco-Club in your school? I joined the club in 2016 when I was...
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Josephine BesticBotswana
17th August 2020
A meeting of chance: Impact that goes way far…
During Wilderness Safaris Botswana’s food hamper deliveries in Gudigwa, our colleague and former CITW Botswana Programme Co-ordinator, Lesh Moiteela, was surprised and delighted to run into one of the pupils who received a bicycle donated by The Mike’s Bikes Foundation in 2018. CITW Botswana and The Mike’s Bikes Foundation’s partnership dates way back to 2015....
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Josephine BesticBotswana
5th August 2020
Conservation Heroes: Our Botswana Community Support
‘We saw evidence of malnutrition in some of the children, and people whose food was running out. They didn’t know food was coming’. Kim Nixon, Wilderness Safaris Botswana MD, describes ‘an increasing scale of hardship’ witnessed in his team’s ongoing outreach to villages surrounding the Okavango Delta, and Bushman families within the Central Kalahari Game...
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Josephine BesticBotswana
28th July 2020
Sanitiser Refill Donation
CITW Eco-Mentors at Gobojango Primary School in the Bobirwa Cluster yesterday received a welcome donation of sanitiser refill from Craig Lord and Annie Peatling of Jwala-Dopotta Game Reserve in the area. We cannot thank Craig and Annie enough for their personal donation, and ongoing support of our Eco-Mentors in the area at this time! See...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, News
6th July 2020
Food Hampers Donated to Matlapana Village by WS Botswana
On the 26th of June, Wilderness Safaris donated 150 food hampers to Matlapana village in Botswana’s North-West District near Maun. Valued at P78 500, the donation was handed into the care of the Kgosi, Village Development Committee (VDC) and the social workers, and will provide much-needed support to identified vulnerable families who have been most...
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Josephine BesticBotswana, News
3rd July 2020
CITW & the Nedbank Tour de Tuli
At a glance, this infographic provides an illuminating overview of the impact the Tour’s fundraising has on the Children in the Wilderness programme! Thank you to the riders, sponsors, donors and volunteers – without you none of it is possible!
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, GMTFCA, Malawi, Namibia, News, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
24th June 2020
Sanitiser and Thermometer Donations for Tshwaragano Primary School in Gaborone
Tshwaragano Primary School is home to Fern Brasem’s Children in the Wilderness urban Eco-Club in Gaborone. “They appealed to me with a wish list of items to help them welcome the rest of the children back to school (there are over 1 000 precious souls in this school)”, says Fern. “I called a local company...
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Josephine BesticBotswana, News
24th June 2020
Bobirwa Cluster Hand Sanitiser and Thermometer Donations
Bobirwa Programme Co-ordinator Tanya McKenzie arranged a donation from CITW of a “no touch” foot-pumped hand sanitiser dispenser for the central area/entrance for each school in the cluster, including Gobojango JSS and Mathathane – Badale JSS. MabolweBadale Tanya noted that each school already has six thermometers per school donated by Steve and Maggie Lansdown, but...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, News
23rd June 2020
300 Food Hampers Delivered to OCT Communities in Botswana
In the face of these challenging times, Wilderness Safaris Botswana, together with the Botswana government, community leaders and a handful of generous donors, have made it possible to bring tremendous relief to rural communities affected by COVID-19. Having been reliant on ecotourism, these villages are facing a tough financial reality, with food shortages increasingly prevalent....
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Josephine BesticBotswana, News
29th May 2020
What it Means to Volunteer at the Nedbank Tour de Tuli
Being part of the volunteer team on the Nedbank Tour de Tuli is certainly an honour and privilege. I enjoy coming back each year, as the Tour gives me the opportunity to be part of a network of people who are dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives – not only for the riders,...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, GMTFCA, News
21st May 2020
Outdoor Classroom Day – 21 May 2020
Our vision at Children in the Wilderness is to support sustainable conservation through leadership development and education of rural children in Africa. Our educational programme includes aspects of environmental education and life skills development, as we believe that both of these are crucial in forging an enduring path for informed, dedicated and passionate next-generation leaders...
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Josephine BesticBobirwa, Botswana, GMTFCA, Malawi, Namibia, News, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe