A long association between The River Club and the nearby Simonga Village has resulted in an excellent example of how the futures of rural communities and ecotourism ventures are intertwined. In 2008, Toka Leya Camp became involved with Simonga Village projects as well, adding further funding and endurance to the initiative.
The majority of River Club staff live in Simonga Village which is located only 3km away. Although only 20km from the thriving urban centre of Livingstone, Simonga is undoubtedly rural, with subsistence farming the mainstay of a local economy subsidised by small cottage industries. Its 4 000 inhabitants are for the most part poor with high levels of unemployment and low levels of nutrition and sanitation. Since 2000 The River Club has carried out a range of projects here which have been funded by the camp itself as well as by the generous donations of guests and funding from the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust. Expenditure to date has been aimed primarily at the focus areas of sanitation, health, education and income generation.
The first priority was running water and a pump, pipes and storage tanks now provide 50 000 litres of water per day to the village. A basic medical clinic has also been constructed and provides medical assistance to the people of Simonga.
Education, as always, is vital and projects in this sphere at the Simonga Basic School have included (with the assistance of other donors) sponsorship of students and teachers to further their education, construction of a school library and canteen, and provision of school supplies and books. Specific students are sponsored through different levels of education - even to tertiary level - and teachers are subsidised both in terms of salaries as well as enabling them to receive the necessary qualifications through study. Transport for high school children attending schools outside of Simonga and for school sporting events is also provided.
The success stories have been numerous since 2001, and some of the highlights include the following:
- Student sponsorships to attend high school in Livingstone
- Sponsoring teachers from the village school through higher educational courses
- Building and stocking a library at the school largely funded by the Carr Foundation in USA
- Sinking a borehole, which will complete the 50 000-litre water system for all members of the village
- Building of a police post in the village
The very successful Elephant Pepper initiative, where Simonga Village farmers have been taught how to grow chillies around their vegetables patches in order to deter the elephants, who dislike chillies. The chillies are then sold to the manufacturers of Tabasco sauce thereby creating a much needed source of income for the villagers: Read more here.
The construction of a clinic in the village, the Kramer Clinic. This is a very exciting project, which will provide valuable medical assistance to the people of Simonga Village who currently need to travel 18 kilometres to Livingstone town for treatment.
For updates on this project, see the Trust website: Simonga Village Project.Pack for a Purpose is an innovative way that guests of Wilderness Safaris can help this project. See their website.
Projects in Zambia
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