On the 26th of July a group of 320 happy and excited community members (referred to by Wildlands Conservation Trust as Tree-preneurs) from Empangeni and surrounding areas, eagerly awaited the arrival of their new, shiny ‘Klevr Desks.’
This forms part of the Wildlands’ Tree-preneur initiative which allows participating members of local communities to sustain themselves, by planting and growing indigenous trees and being rewarded through a barter system for their “green” efforts with items such as ‘Klevr Desks’.
The Klevr Desk is a pilot project involving support from the Dalo Group, MTN and Samsung. The desk made of corrugated board, folds up and fits into a back-pack made from up-cycled billboards. The box the desk comes in is also re-usable and transforms into a cycling board game that can keep children busy for hours. “The Klevr Desk was developed when there became an obvious need for desks and chairs within rural schools,” said Dax Barker of the Dalo Group. “The corrugated board structure can hold up to 100kgs of weight and also has some educational elements on the desk cover including a space for a child’s name, timetables, alphabets and children’s rights,” commented Barker.
“To see women actively involved in these uplifting projects gives me great pleasure, because it shows that they are doing it for themselves and they are fighting for the educational growth of their children. I believe that these desks will bring change in the lives of beneficiaries at school and at home,” said Eleanor Potter General Manager: Branded Channel at MTN.
The total number of ‘Klevr Desks’ that will be handed out to different communities nationally (Durban, Empangeni, Luphisi, Port St John’s, Hogsback, Vosloorus) is 2500, with 1050 of these desks having been handed out in Empangeni last week Friday. The recipients include school children and Tree-preneurs in respective areas. The first in the series of Klevr Desk hand overs was in Durban on the 25th of July and the last of these will take place on the 8th of August 2013.
“The people that have been involved today have taken the first step towards making their dreams a reality. It starts small, when they trade for groceries and they move up when they trade for building materials, for example,” said Dr Andrew Venter, CEO of Wildlands Conservation Trust. “This is also one of the ways they are able to gain self confidence, because it gives them courage. They don’t have to live on handouts because they work hard for all the rewards they receive with this project,” he said. “We must also thank MTN, Samsung and the Dalo Group for their involvement in this initiative, as this day would not have been possible without them,” commented Venter.
Craige Fleischer, Director of Mobile Communications at Samsung said – “We would like to thank all community members for giving us the opportunity to contribute towards improving their lives. This gives these individuals a sense of ownership, accountability and creates a value system for them as some of these individuals have never owned something of their own,” commented Fleischer.
One of the beneficiaries of the desks Thabile Maureen Dludla, a teacher and a caregiver from the local crèche named ‘Gods Love’ received 12 Klevr Desks which she had traded with 1200 indigenous trees. “I love these desks because they teach the children how to count and spell. They really do help in the growth of these children”, said Dludla.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)