Singita Grumeti, situated adjacent to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, is an integral part of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, the home of the Great Migration.
The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem. In 2002, the Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund, a not-for-profit organisation, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres, for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world. Four years later, Singita took over the management of the property, at the request of the concessionaire and began the task of generating, via low impact tourism, the funds necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the reserve through conservation and community partnerships.
SINGITA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTRE
Singita’s commitment to conservation, development and community outreach come together in perfect harmony in the establishment of the Environmental Educational Centre. The Centre serves to engage and educate the community’s next generation of leaders on the importance of a balanced, sustainable ecosystem.
The Singita Environmental Education Centre is dedicated to teaching students in their penultimate year about the majestic Serengeti Ecosystem and instilling in them an appreciation and understanding of this incredible place. The Centre also provides education on wildlife and environmental conservation and the reasons for creating “protected areas” as well as general, local and global environmental issues. The Environmental Education Centre conducts approximately 25 week-long courses per year. These are attended by 300 youth from the 26 secondary schools in the Bundu and Serengeti districts, which border Singita Grumeti. The content of the course is aligned to the school curriculum and, as such, enables the youth to be better prepared for their formal education. Knowledge
shared includes soil
and vegetation usage and management; water conservation; as well as the
protection of local wildlife including birds, animals and insects. The
Centre also includes teachers in its 5-day on-site programmes to help better
teach their students about these crucial topics. In order to ensure the long
term sustainability of the ecosystem and the rich biodiversity within it, it is
essential that the local communities be empowered, informed and engaged with
conservation. The Environmental Education Centre ensures that local people are
being brought into the conversation at an early age and helps to create well
informed and responsible decision makers for future generations.
Further Community Development Projects at Singita Grumeti
Education
Singita
Grumeti continues to invest strongly in the education of local youth. Its
scholarship fund has over the last few years enabled hundreds of young people
to complete their schooling, university degrees, and has enabled physically
challenged students to attend learning centres for disabled youth in Arusha or
Dodoma. So far Singita has assisted with 88 scholarships with 34 at
tertiary level.
Right to
play – the Grumeti Fund provides
financial support to the ‘Right to Play’ project, an international organisation
that uses structured play to bring about healthy physical, emotional and
social development of the youth of the Serengeti district. The project
trains teachers as coaches to engage children in regular sport and play
activities devised as part of this initiative.
Small
Business Development
Adult education
has been a key focus, with a special emphasis on training and support for small
agricultural businesses. These enterprises include vegetable gardens, pig
farming, chicken breeding, bee-keeping, and cultural centres and tourism
supported by means of guest community visits. This is helping to create
self-sustaining jobs, provide alternative sources of protein (reducing reliance
on bush meat and illegal hunting) and ensuring the existence of model small
businesses which can be replicated within local communities.
Access to
Fresh Water
A core
programme requested by local communities during the early days of involvement
in the area, was the provision of clean drinking water. This project has
now achieved: the drilling and maintenance of 37 boreholes and the training of
local water committees; improved water spring sources; and 3 natural water
harvesting projects per year. Want to Help?
You can become a valued funding partner
of the Singita Grumeti Environmental Education Centre by sponsoring a five-day
course, attended by 12 learners and two teachers. The cost of this is
$2,000 or just under $150 per person for the full course. Funds received
enable the Centre to implement an increasing number of courses and so maximise
the impact of the programme on the preservation of the reserves and of the
community lands.
If you are interested in making a
contribution to this or any of the other programmes listed above - or if you
require more information about any of the programmes - please contact one of
the lodge managers at Singita Serengeti and/or Pam Richardson, Singita's Group
HR and Community Development Manager - 27 21 683 3424 or pam.r@singita.com.
Your funds will be put to excellent use as agreed with you.
SOURCE; Singita Grumeti Game Reserve website.
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