South African National Parks (SANParks) and education non-profit the Good Work Foundation (GWF) have signed a landmark agreement that is poised to increase access to conservation education and create job opportunities for young rural South Africans living near our national parks. In terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by the two entities, plans are afoot to expand GWF’s existing footprint by establishing additional digital learning campuses adjacent to key national parks across the country.
GWF already operates five campuses in the Mpumalanga province, providing digital education to school children and skills-based training to young jobseekers – a central campus in Hazyview, and four satellite campuses in villages surrounding the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. The non-profit also has a campus in the Free State Karoo town of Philippolis.
SANParks, which manages 21 national parks, is now partnering with GWF to expand the latter’s education and skills training model to rural and township communities surrounding several of these parks, starting with the Greater Kruger National Park. The partnership will be piloted at GWF’s existing Hazyview campus, which will serve as a gateway hub to the Kruger National Park, expanding digital skills, conservation education and job opportunities for young people living in the vicinity of the game reserve. Additional campuses are also planned for the Greater Kruger area, catering to the high demand.
Closing the digital divide in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Free State
In terms of the cooperation agreement, GWF campuses will also be established in other “mega living landscapes” identified by SANParks. This collaboration is set to empower communities living near the Eastern Cape’s Addo Elephant National Park, the Free State’s Golden Gate Highlands National Park and the Northern Cape’s Augrabies Falls and Namaqua National Parks. Good Work Foundation CEO Kate Groch says, “GWF’s mission is to connect young South Africans with the skills they need to access opportunities for careers in South Africa’s rural spaces.” This, she explains, aligns closely with SANParks’ 2040 vision to create mega living landscapes as part of a people-centred, conservation-driven future anchored by sustainable and climate-resilient national protected areas.
‘Multiplier effect will benefit tens of thousands of young people’
With GWF already serving over 13 500 young people across its existing operations, the envisaged extra campuses will see a massive multiplier effect, giving tens of thousands of young South Africans access to conservation education, skills and jobs, she adds. Many children living near game parks have never seen a lion or elephant in the wild, Groch says – something that this partnership aims to change. Opportunities are also set to open up for students at GWF’s Career Academies and Bridging Year Academy to undertake internships and work placements at SANParks establishments.
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SANParks CEO Hapiloe Sello and Good Work Foundation CEO Kate Groch sign a cooperation agreement
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