Click here to listen to the mp3 advert for The Salvation Army's anti-human trafficking message

Click here to watch the footage taken by News24 at the Long Walk for Rhino's Mandela Day initiative at Robben Island School. (QVC donated Media Liaison to this initiative as part of its Mandela Day initiatives)

 Quo Vadis Communications on a field trip to KwaZulu Natal for client, Siyazisiza Trust.

Victoria Makalima, assistant Director for the Johnson and Johnson Burn Treatment Centre (left) and Roger Crawford, Executive Director, Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy for Johnson & Johnson (back right) happily assisted Nurse Ester Manson and clinical officer William Kalua from Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi throughout their two-week specialised training session at the Burn Treatment Centre at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The training took place as a result of a public private partnership between the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, and the University of North Carolina in USA. The hospital in Malawi recently opened a burn unit and the hands-on training Ester and William received at the leading burn treatment centre in Africa, will no doubt make a huge difference in the lives of those in need.

Date of release: 20 July 2011

Education remains the most important tool for fighting the unregulated slaughter of Rhinos in South Africa, particularly through awareness campaigns targeted towards children who are often not aware of what is happening to their heritage.

According to Game Ranger Conservationists, Paul Jennings and Sboniso Phakathi, faces of the initiative, Long walk for Rhinos, of the thousands of children they have already spoken to during their awareness-raising journey from Musina to Cape Point, there have been very few children who know what it would mean if there were no more rhinos left.

They also do not realise the impact that they as children can make towards conserving our environment and animals,” said Phakathi. “It has been exciting and rewarding to go into schools and communities and to talk to them about these issues.”

One such school that they recently spent time with is that situated on Robben Island. As part of their Mandela Day contribution on 18 July 2011, they elected to spend their 67 minutes (and more) with the children of the oft-forgotten school.

“The children of Robben Island School embraced our messages and we spent time with them painting, colouring in and making images of rhinos from collages and decoupage,” said Jennings.

They are in a school that is very passionate about teaching the children about ecology. We couldn’t think of a better place to celebrate this special day.”

Jennings and Sboniso embarked on their epic journey on 9 May 2011 from Musina, in the far north of South Africa’s Limpopo Province. They have walked thousands of kilometres in order to raise awareness around the plight of the rhinos and to raise funds for the project Rights for Rhinos that was created under the auspices of the Game Rangers Association of Africa.

Funds raised through the walk will be channelled towards:

Improving and implementing better education programs that addresses the issues of conservation, poaching and training;  Procuring better equipment to assist conservation field staff in employing organisations tasked with rhino protection; Assisting with better intelligence-gathering for relevant reserves including in their joint-ventures with the law enforcement agencies involved in fighting against poaching; Working with nearby communities to raise awareness and to develop strategies to eradicate poaching; and Assisting the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in order to develop the individual ID rhino system that will also develop a central standard secure database of rhinoceros DNA profiles for forensic purposes.

Their journey is set to end on 23 July at Cape Point where they are appealing to the public to get involved in marking their last 10 kilometres into the Cape Point Nature Reserve by walking with them into the spectacular reserve.

Throughout the last week of their journey towards Cape Point, Jennings and Phakathi will continue to visit schools and spread awareness on the topic. On their last day, they will also be joined by Gareth Morgan, Democratic Alliance’s Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs.

Says Phakathi: “We are so pleased that the Shadow Minister will join us. It shows that the issue of the rights for rhinos is being taken seriously by the government.

“Now we just need the buy-in from more corporates and the public. They can show their commitment to eradicating poaching by getting involved. This can be done through donations or sponsorships (and by joining us on 23 July).

“Corporates could sponsor a staff member or a number of staff to walk with us.  And if they feel that they would like to continue with the work they embarked on during Mandela Day, they can sponsor an underprivileged child to join us in our walk. There are so many ways in which to get involved.”

“We’re encouraging everyone to wear black and/or white (symbolising the black and white rhino) on what we are calling ‘Rights for Rhinos Day’ and to donate the green rhinos in their pockets – the R10 note – to the Rights for Rhinos Education Campaign,” adds Jennings.

In addition to the Green Rhino (R10 note) appeal, other financial donations can still be made by depositing contributions directly in the following accounts:

Internet Banking
Bank:  Nedbank
Account Name: Rights for Rhinos
Branch code:  198765
Account number:  1007082895

Direct Deposit
Account Name: Rights for Rhinos
Bank: Nedbank
Branch Code: 151925
Account Number: 1007082895

Swift Code (For donations originating outside of South Africa): NEDSZAJJ
Reference: Please use your name or company name

For more information on the Long Walk for Rhinos project or The Rights for Rhinos initiative, go to www.rightsforrhinos.co.za. For queries relating to sponsorship or meetings, contact Ms Irene Huysamen of the Green Wall of Africa SEE Network (GWA SEE Network) at Irene@greenwallofafrica.com or 083 321 5490.

Last changed: Jul 21 2011 at 1:29 PM