Dec/ 09
Our annual fundraiser, which was held at Royal Colwood Golf Club on Dec 10 raised CAD13000.00. We would like to thank the staff and management of Royal Colwood Golf Club for making this the success it was.

Jan /10
The new school year began on Jan 18 with an enrollment of about 270 kids. Unfortunately, the 2 new classrooms have not been completed, so at the moment, all the kids are still in the original classrooms.

With the proceeds from the village tour offered to guest staying of Sabi Sabi, we purchased additional playground equipment at a cost of approximately CAD5000.00 We are very grateful to Sabi Sabi for including the preschool as part if their village tour.

Jun/10
John and I have just recently returned from our annual trip to South Africa. We were in South Africa about 2 weeks before the World Cup and you could feel the energy, excitement and anticipation of hosting this big event.

Our 4 days at the school was busy, productive and always fun. We were surprised to see flowers planted in front of the school and the garden was looking much better as well. Our 2 security guards are also looking after the grounds and they are really doing a great job. Our principal, Luzile Khosa and her team all work in such harmony.

On this trip, we purchased a push lawn mower, which was a huge hit with the men. In addition we bought garden tools, uniforms for the guards and cooks, paint, cleaning supplies and a floor polisher. We also purchased a laptop for the school, which will make communication a breeze. In the past we would email Sabi Sabi and then they would print the email and bring it with them on the village tour! We can proudly say our school is now in the 21st Century!

Our best day of our visit was when we decided we wanted to bring ice cream and make ice cream cones for all the kids. It was a bit daunting; as we couldn’t figure out how much ice cream you need for about 300 cones. We bought 30 litres of ice cream and every ice cream cone in the store and off we went to the school!! It was a beautiful sunny day and after lunch, all the kids were made to sit in the courtyard. We placed a table in the middle and just started scooping and delivering the cones. For most of these kids, this would have been their first taste of ice cream. After the ice cream everyone danced and sang. It really was a special day.

The 2 new classrooms were 90 percent finished and all that was left to do was install the window, and paint the interior and exterior. The contractor assured us it would be finished in August.

Kwa Zulu Natal project
The successful bidder has now been selected. KZN Wildlife had 3 quotes and Siyakhula Park Home Manufactorers won the contract. It was decided because of the remote area and lack of building supplies in the area, that a 3 room manufactured building was the way to go. We just received the quote, which is Rand 427809.00 (approx CAD64000.00)
This excludes leveling and preparations of the site. We anticipate this project to cost CAD70 000.00 excluding furnishing the classrooms. It is my understanding the Community Trust has Rand130 000.00 to contribute to this. As more information is received we will update this website.

Marianne Schaubeck & John Johnston