Sponsorship News

Posted by Sam Hopkins on 28th Feb 2014

Here at The Great Projects, we pride ourselves on being a company that leads the way in wildlife conservation throughout every aspect of volunteering.

A key aspect of every volunteer project we offer is the donation. These donations are used to pay for enrichment and construction materials, veterinary care, animal rescue, rehabilitation and release as well as helping local communities. As such, without these donations the conservation projects would not be able to continue running. This is why in every volunteer project we offer there is always a donation included in the price.

Thanks to all of the fantastic volunteers who travelled with us in 2013, donations for the year totalled a massive £132,951! £41,457 of this went to volunteer projects in Africa, whilst £91,494 went to volunteer projects in Asia. Without those amazing volunteers that travelled with us throughout the past year, none of this would have been possible!

What's more, with our expansion to South America and Europe in 2013, it is our aim for this year and for all years to come to continue these conservation donations and sponsorship schemes to these two new regions, as well as Africa and Asia, so that we can continue the good work in helping both local communities and some of the planet's most endangered animals.

Furthermore, following on from the success of the 2013 sponsorship promise in Kisoro Demonstration School, for 2014 we have promised sponsorship projects on a quarterly basis. For the first of these, we will be funding the construction of a new cooking and dining area in the Jabulani School - which volunteers visit and volunteer at on the 'Victoria Falls Conservation Experience'. This primary and secondary school was set up by a local teacher, as the nearest school was previously a 20km walk from the town and as a result, saw high levels of truancy. A few years on, and the school provides a large number of students with an education they may otherwise have forgone.

Sadly however, the school is poorly funded, and one of the most striking results of this is the unsatisfactory food-preparation area currently used to provide the children with a midday meal (see below in the photo). This food is usually prepared and cooked by a group of the pupil's parents, who are finding it increasingly hard to do so as the cooking area is so low to the ground and the shelter so unstable - back problems and other health issues are ensuing as a result.

Our sponsorship will fund the construction of a new food-preparation area, thus providing the parents with better conditions in which to cook, and subsequently the children with more nourishing and sustainable meals each day. For the second quarter, we have also already promised to continue the good work being done at the Kisoro Demonstration School for deaf and blind schoolchildren, which volunteers visit on 'The Great Gorilla Project'. Run by Harriet, this project is a firm favourite amongst volunteers, and often volunteers cite their visit here as one of the most rewarding aspects of the trip. We are so proud to be able to continue with this sponsorship and to really help make a difference to the children.

We look forward to keeping you all updated on the sponsorship projects throughout the year as well as the news of all projects as we receive them.

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