Short Story
“It doesn’t matter how fast or how far you’re going,” says Kara Goucher, an Olympic long-distance runner.
She may be right about not focusing on your running speed, because truth be told, I’m not much of a runner. However, I do know the distance I have to run, the people I’m running with, and the purpose behind my run, and that makes all the difference.
Growing up in Niassa Reserve, Mozambique, my childhood was surrounded by game rangers.
As such, I’ve truly come to appreciate the vital work they do to protect our incredible wildlife.
This is why I eagerly seized the opportunity to join Harry Bailey on his run through Babanago Game Reserve, raising funds for these exceptional men and women who risk their lives daily.
As a Grade 11 student at Hilton College, I am honoured to be one of five participants from our school joining Harry’s run.
I’m not claiming it will be easy, nor am I saying there won’t be tough times. However, I am resolute in knowing who I am running for, and I take pride in it.
The funds raised will contribute to supporting Project Rhino and Babanango Game Reserve, empowering their rangers with essential resources, training, and equipment to combat poaching, enforce conservation laws, and promote sustainable practices.
I invite you to join me by generously making a one-time donation now.
If you do a direct debit please use WIM RUN as a Reference
Story
Babanango Game Reserve, located in the heart of Zululand, Kwazulu-Natal, is a showcase for one of the most ambitious rewilding projects in Southern Africa in recent years. Set among the breathtaking topography of the upper White Umfolozi River Valley, the reserve occupies a vast wilderness area of over 20,000 hectares that is steeped in Zulu history and layered upon geological features that date back to the beginning of time. The rugged mountains and valleys provide refuge for an extraordinary diversity of birds, plants, insects, reptiles, and mammals, including the elusive aardvark and aardwolf.
Visitors to Babanango Game Reserve can be assured of an unrivalled safari experience due to highly knowledgeable guides and a range of activities to choose from. Significant historical battle sites, such as Isandlwana and Rorkeās Drift, are located close by.
Project Rhino was launched on World Rhino Day, 22 September 2011. It is a rhino-focussed association that brings together a provincial government conservation body, private and community-owned reserves, rhino owners, leading conservation NGOs and anti-poaching security specialists in the common aim of fighting wildlife crime.
Together with South Africaās Kruger National Park, Project Rhino member reserves are collectively responsible for the protection of the worldās largest rhino population, as well as the most genetically diverse white rhino population. Devastatingly, our rhino have become a target for highly organised poaching rings and crime syndicates, fuelled largely by an ongoing and unfounded demand by traditional Eastern medicine. Rhino numbers have plummeted ā more than 8,000 have been lost in RSA in the last decade ā whilst the costs of keeping the remaining populations safe have increased astronomically.
