Let us not be the generation that did nothing about it!

 In April 2013 Project Rhino partnered with the Kingsley Holgate Foundation in the Izintaba Zobombo Expedition. Kingsley Holgate and his expedition team travelled through a rectangle encompassing the Lubombo Range of Mountains, including the Kruger National Park and its nearby private reserves, across its fence line to the Rhino War Zone along the border with Mozambique to include Parc Nacional do Limpopo and the private reserves down to Komati Poort, then South through the nature reserves of Swaziland and into Northern KZN.

This block has the largest concentration of wild rhino populations in the world and the Izintaba Zobombo Expedition was able to undertake the most comprehensive children's education survey ever carried out through Rhino Conservation Art and soccer matches. Never before have so many thousands of school children been given the opportunity to have voice how they feel about the rhino poaching crisis. Well over 10 000 pieces of Rhino Art were collected.

The objective of the project is to gather the largest number of 'Children's Art Voices' ever recorded in support of rhino protection and to use these 'Hearts and Minds' messages from the children of Africa as a worldwide call to action against rhino poaching.

'Rhino Art' is aimed at schools closest to National Parks and Game Reserves – a worrying fact is that less than 2% of the children at these schools have seen a rhino in the wild.

The project consists of two phases:

1st school visit – A pre-production rhino educational visit to the school at which each child receives an A3 blank of paper with the outline of a rhino and suitable art materials. A careful explanation is given to the children and teachers regarding the importance of the Rhino Art and messages from a united voice of the children of Africa. It's at this pre-production visit that a return date is set for the Rhino Art judging event.
2nd school visit – The Rhino Art is judged classroom by classroom commencing with a rhino educational talk in the local language. There is a regional Rhino Soccer Challenge at which the 'man of the match' wins a bicycle. The 10 best artists win an exciting safari to see a rhino in the wild. All the art materials remain with the school for future art projects. GPS co-ordinates record each school visited and a full report on each school, including the names of the Rhino Art winners, is produced.

Achievements

• Over 150 000 children have been reached.
• Over 10 000 pieces of art have been collected from 50+ schools in KZN, Swaziland, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Cape Town.
• The 'Children's Voices' video was shown on Vietnamese TV in September 2013.
• This project has also been launched in the Eastern Cape in partnership with Dr William Fowlds, the Chipembere Rhino Foundation and Kariega, Amakhala and Shamwari Game Reserves.
• The project has been showcased at the President Joaquim Chissano Wildlife Crime Initiative in Mozambique that was attended by African politicians, international ambassadors, NGOS and business leaders

How can you help?

Become a school sponsor!

To implement both phases of this project into one rural school costs ZA R5,000.00. As a donor you will receive the following:

• Full report on each school visited
• GPS co-ordinates of each school visited
• Names of the winning Rhino Art kids
• A school by school selection of messaged Rhino Art to be mailed through to you after each judging event
• Visual material to be supplied to you for each school visit

For more information please contact Grant: grant@projectrhinokzn.org

Follow the project on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RhinoartAfrica