Meeting the Children, Africa’s Future
Bet you didn’t think you’d go on safari to meet local children!
There are many unique and special aspects you will enjoy in the Tasimba experience. Meeting the kids is just one of them. Our previous guests have said that the time spent in conversation with Grade 6 & 7 kids was an “unexpected highlight of the whole trip!”
The best safari companies, like Wilderness Safaris, understand the mutually beneficial relationship between their safari camps and local communities. To see how this works, Tasimba guests visit Ngamo village and primary school, just outside Hwange National Park where our Linkwasha camp is located
First, we have the privilege of an Indaba (meeting) with Mr. Johnson Ncube, the village Headman. Then our guests are welcomed to the school by about 30 kids, exuberantly singing and dancing.
Inquiring Minds
Whenever we visit the school, as we walk about the school grounds, the kids want to hold our hands as they pepper us with questions. Local people see hand-holding as a mark of friendship. We find it endearing.
As with every part of the Tasimba experience, we want a deeper, more personal experience for our guests than just visiting a classroom for a five-minute photo-op. Instead we have a unique interactive engagement that includes a free-flowing Q&A.
Our guests are enchanted by these bright, inquisitive and joyful children who are so full of questions – on every imaginable topic! The room is full of chatter punctuated by peals of laughter.
Inspiration
Perhaps the most lasting takeaway for our guests is that kids with so little in the way of material belongings (many walk as much as 7 km each way to get to school), are so eager to learn. They love going to school and they really get what a privilege it is to be there. And they have such high hopes for their future, wanting occupations like pilots, doctors or safari guides.
They are Africa’s tomorrow. And their wide-eyed optimism is a true inspiration for our guests.
Footnote: In appreciation for the deep impact the village and school visits have on our guests, Tasimba donates one year’s school fees on behalf of each of our guests. After our upcoming October 2018 safari, for example, our gift will allow 12 children to have a year’s school fees paid. It’s the best way we know to say thank you!
