Education South Africa Project #54782

HERD - Community Development Project

by Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation & Development

Project Report | Apr 4, 2025
Empowering Little Leaders in our HERD Community.

By Sunel Craythorne | Donor Care Officer

We are happy to share feedback with you on our long-running community project with Jameyana Primary School in Acornhoek, close to us at HERD.

In February this year, 2025, four HERD team members, three JabuLadies as well as two founders of Wellspring Nkosi Super Bars visited the Jameyana Primary School. We have been working with the Wellspring NPO since February 2022 to provide children at Jameyana with these supplementary bars, as a way to help prevent childhood malnutrition. The Nkosi Bars contain essential macronutrients crucial for the development of children under the age of 6.

We had a fantastic day meeting all the new Grade R and 1 learners for the 2025 school year.

The children were extremely excited to see everyone, and Principle Never extended his gratitude to HERD, Jabulani and all our donors and followers who are helping to provide the children with nutritional meals.

We were informed that since the Nkosi Bar program started, the school has had a 100% pass rate for all Grade R and 1 learners and that the learners have shown improved concentration in class.

Measurements of each learner were taken on the day, to ascertain their growth while being supplemented with the bars. The children will be measured again at the end of this year. This will provide us and the Wellspring team with statistical records for monitoring the project’s social impact, and the children’s progress, and performance while they receive Nkosi Bars.

This year we plan to deliver and provide 32,500 Nkosi bars to a total of 187 learners in Grade R and 154 learners in Grade 1. This will cost approximately R299,000 ($16,400).

Many children in the previously disadvantaged rural communities around us in Hoedspruit are at risk of malnutrition and poor health, due to poverty and the consumption of foods with insufficient nutrition.

With the help from our sponsors, as well as Jabulani and our HERD followers, we are looking forward to giving more learners a chance at a healthy academic future, while sharing the opportunities of conservation with them.

In April this year, the youth-led registered NPO, Lessons in Conservation will be joining HERD to teach the Grade 7 children at Jameyana more about conservation. The learners will also have the opportunity to visit three of our elephants at HERD one morning – including Jabulani, Sebakwe and Somopane, for an educational and enriching experience.

We will share more with you in the next report.

We appreciate your ongoing support of our community school initiatives. Together we are helping to nurture the next generation of conservation custodians, building strong learners who will contribute to a brighter future.

Kind regards,

The HERD Team

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Dec 5, 2024
Great Success in Feeding Little Minds and Bodies!

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are pleased to provide an update on the recent community initiatives undertaken by HERD Trust at the Jameyana Primary School (formerly called Mpisi Primary School).

The Nkosi Nutrition project is a solution to severe malnutrition. Wellspring NPC, with the support of HERD Trust, identified children at risk at Jameyana Primary School in Acornhoek. Children are at risk of malnutrition and poor health, due to the consumption of foods with insufficient nutrition in communities where incomes are low and job shortages high. Many children might have their only meal of the day at school, rather than home. By supporting the children with Nkosi Bars on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we can give them a better chance at a healthy future in all aspects – academically, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

We raised $1370 specifically through our GlobalGiving Community Project between August and November 2024, and with the support from donors like you, we were able to provide 2800 Nkosi bars during this time for the Grade R Children at the Jameyana Primary School.

On October 29th, the HERD Operations Team and Joe Niemand from Wellspring NPC visited the school to assess the learners participating in the Nkosi Bar project. Over two busy days, we measured and engaged with 310 children. This initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts of all partners involved, and we are excited to continue supplying these highly nutritious Nkosi Bars to the children in the new year.

There has been an observable change in the performance and behaviour in the children throughout the programme, improving their overall school performance such as:

Enhanced energy levels, concentration, and attendance among learners
Overall improvement in the well-being of learners, to apply cognitive learning skills
Increased ability for learners to concentrate and engage meaningfully in the classroom
Improved quality and frequency of nutrition received at school

The Nkosi Nutrition Programme is essential to support this selected community of the Hoedspruit area to overcome the ravages of severe malnutrition of children.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing support of our community school initiative. Together, we are helping to nurture the next generation of conservation custodians, building strong young learners who will contribute to a brighter future.

Warm regards,
The HERD Team

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Aug 8, 2024
Bring on Summer, Please!

By Sunel Craythorne | Fundraising Administrator

We are happy to report back on our community work at HERD Trust.

Four of the five trees that we planted at the Jemeyana Primary School, formerly known as Mpisi Primary School in Acornhoek, are still growing well; unfortunately, one of the trees was accidentally broken by some rough play. The more trees planted the better, as we know it’s difficult for little feet and hands to be gentle when excited. The vegetable garden at the school is not currently very green and abundant, but this is likely due to it having been a long hard winter, and we are sure the summer will bring new crops.However, we have had a bumper crop of mangoes this year, which the students at the school thoroughly enjoyed.

The fruit trees we planted at the school are growing well, and we hope that in the next year, there will be a variety of fruit for the children to eat.

Our next visit to the school, during which we will redo and better enhance the vegetable gardens, will be in early September. The kids loved the watermelons we planted previously and this is the perfect growing season for them.

Water is the main issue at the school. We are currently looking at installing a better watering system through drip irrigation, which does not need to be constantly monitored; rather, it can be set to a timer.

We would like to thank GlobalGiving and our incredible donors for all the support they have given to us in our bid to assist the local communities around HERD. As the first rains come and the trees start sprouting again, we will be able to send some updated images of the trees.

Thank you for all your support for our community school initiative and for helping us to build strong little learners who will become our next generation of conservation custodians.

Warm Regards,

Adine and the HERD Team

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