A central and ongoing focus of our foundation is supporting Bracefield, a local remote farm school located in the heart of rural Zuurberg.

Bracefield educates approximately 43 primary school children from nearby farms, yet, consistently overlooked by governmental support, it regularly lacks even the most essential resources such as food, clean water, and building maintenance.

This is where our foundation steps in.

On an ongoing basis, we provide assistance by supplying food, educational materials, and maintenance support for the school’s facilities, to ensure that it can continue to educate and house its students (of which approximately 15 board) when its budget inevitably runs out.

Beyond these practical needs, however, our social outreach officer also offers mentorship and guidance to the young students, particularly when it comes to helping the transition after graduation. Many of these young learners face great challenges when moving on to secondary school, as it is located in the nearest town, Somerset East, and results in many choosing to drop out rather than continuing their education. We aim to address this gap and empower the remote school students to pursue their education further - and uplift their futures.

Additionally, we support the dedicated teachers at Bracefield, who find themselves with extended responsibilities that span far beyond teaching, including caregiving, hostel matroning, and even cooking. We are committed to ensuring that both students and educators have the resources and support they need to thrive. Together, we want to build a stronger future for these children, where education opens doors to new possibilities.

At Kuzuko Foundation, we firmly believe that education is essential for conservation. That's why we are dedicated to sharing environmental knowledge and the importance of conservation with as many young people as possible, with the hope of inspiring a deep appreciation for the natural world that surrounds them.

Each week, we conduct environmental awareness talks for children, youth, and young adults from local communities. These sessions are held in various locations to maximize our reach, but are primarily delivered at local schools, the Somerset East Museum—where we engage older youth—and our education centre at Hopewell, situated within the Kuzuko Private Game Reserve.

Through these talks, we aim to deepen young people's understanding of their environmental heritage and teach them how to coexist harmoniously with nature. Our topics also cover a range of issues, including habitat restoration, water conservation, and the importance of managing invasive species.

“We are all nature. Every one of us. There is no way in which we can separate ourselves from it.” - Fred, our social outreach manager.

Our mentorship programme, ‘Pathfinders’ is a key component of our mission to uplift those in our local communities.

Each year, the foundation takes on young individuals from Somerset East (our nearest town) to participate in the initiative, carefully chosen based on their potential and the need for support and empowerment in their lives.

Within the programme, each participant benefits from personalised guidance, life advice, career coaching, and daily assistance. Our mentor’s mission is to enable, empower, and uplift these young people, covering topics from financial management to health and personal development.

Centrally, our mentor takes the time to understand each mentees unique goals and aspirations, which allows us to tailor our job preparedness training (read more below) to better facilitate their success and help them navigate a course to their destination.

Job Preparedness Training

Complementing our mentorship program is our job preparedness training, which focuses on soft skills and practical skills that can open doors to employment. For example, this may be as simple as assisting an individual in obtaining their driving license.

Our ultimate goal is to help these young people secure jobs in their desired fields, enabling them to grow independently and, in turn, inspire, guide, and uplift others in their communities.

“My ultimate goal is for my mentees to be able to do even more good than I can, and be able to inspire others.”

We are delighted that many of our mentees have gone on to become mentors and role models to others as they have progressed.

Many unequal career opportunities stem from a lack of exposure and experience, and as a foundation, we aim to address both for as many local young people and adults we can reach.

For those interested in pursuing careers in conservation, guiding, hospitality, mechanics, or maintenance, we are fortunate to be able to offer direct hands-on work experience within the game reserve and at Kuzuko Lodge.

Equally, in link with our mentorship programme, our mentees are either accommodated at Kuzuko or set up elsewhere if it’s more in keeping with their personal career goals. Our mentor can enable these opportunities for them.

Our ultimate goal is for these young people to be empowered and uplifted with the confidence, skills, and experience from which they can build their careers and secure a job.

Hopewell, situated within the non-dangerous game section of our reserve, serves as the base for our foundation and is home to our permanent education centre.

Here, we welcome children and young people from the surrounding communities to engage in hands-on learning about conservation and the environment.

Through these visits, we aim to instill a sense of stewardship in the next generation and inspire a deep appreciation for nature, so that they will protect it as they grow. We highlight:

• Key species, including members of the Big Five found in the reserve

• The work and purpose of habitat restoration efforts, including our recent spekboom reforestation project

• The significance of native vegetation to the ecosystem

• Examples of habitat management and ongoing conservation initiatives

• The responsibilities of anti-poaching teams and rangers

• Potential careers within the conservation sector

Looking forward, we have many exciting plans for the foundation’s future. For example, this includes developing a hospitality internship programme at Kuzuko Lodge, to enable us to uplift even more young members of the local communities.