Our Community
HENNA PRE-SCHOOL
Henna Pre-School first started operating during 1991 and was named after one of the Indunas of Huntington under the Jongilanga Tribal Authority (the local authority which presides over most of the local villages adjacent to Lion Sands).
Henna Pre-School got off the ground after receiving a donation from the Roman Catholic Church and approximately 20 children attended the school in the early years. The school initially used mud-walled buildings for infrastructure and since the turn of the century, with the involvement of Lion Sands, better facilities have been built and the number of children attending the school has risen sharply to 250.
Since then, Lion Sands’ involvement in Henna Pre-School has gown dramatically due to the need for basic education and healthy meals for the pre-school children. Lion Sands co-ordinates projects for the basic upliftment of the school and its daily activities:
- Through community based tours, all guests at Lion Sands get the opportunity to visit Henna Pre-School and the HIV/Aids Home Based Care Initiative in the local village. These tours are complimentary and sponsorships and donations received from visitors to the school are directed through Bhubesi Community Projects (a Section 21 Company) and applied to agreed projects.
- We have appointed a facilitator, Thembi Mdluli (a former employee of Lion Sands), to ensure that the funds are applied efficiently and that all donors are sent constant updates on the various projects.
- To date, the total donations received from guests exceeds ZAR 400,000.00 and includes initiatives such as books, stationery, shelving, learning tools, food, cooking utensils etc.
- The new classroom initiative (recently built by Lion Sands and sponsored by an American group) has helped Henna Pre-School educate the children in their correct age groups by dividing them into four different classes.
- Lion Sands also invites the children on an annual day excursion to the lodge and the children get to go on a morning game drive and enjoy a lovely lunch, prepared by the lodge. This also exposes the children to go beyond the boundaries of Huntington Village and it gives them a chance to experience something most of them can only dream of.
- During December each year, Lion Sands funds the Annual Graduation Ceremony, where over 100 children dressed in graduating gowns and their parents receive certificates, food, refreshments and personal congratulations from Nick More, Operations Director and an Owner of Lion Sands.
HIV/AIDS CLINIC
Lion Sands has recently extended it community involvement to the Huntington HIV/Aids Clinic which is being managed by an ex-employee of Lion Sands, Thembi Mdluli.
Unless each donation is given for a specific task or need, we split the funds between the pre-school and the clinic on a 50:50 basis assessing their needs analysis and making sure that the donations are correctly administered and get to the end user.
Administration of Donations
All sponsors/donations are administered by the Bhubesi Community Project Trust who include community members from the Clinic & Pre-School as well as a Directors and Management from Lion Sands Private Game Reserve.
The Trust is a registered Section 21 non-profit entity which is audited on an annual basis by the appointed auditors of the Trustees.
