Tag Archives: HIV Awareness

Reporting back on the Waterberg Charity Ride 2015

March 6, 2015Africa, Charity, Charity fundraising event, Healthcare, HIV prevention, Limpopo Province, South Africa, Travel, Trustees, WaterbergAchievement, activity holiday, adventure, Africa, AIDS in Africa, challenge, Charity, Charity fundraising, Charity fundraising event, Donate, HIV Awareness, horse safari, Horseback, Limpopo Province, Riding, riding in Africa, riding with game, Safari, South Africa, Sponsored ride, WaterbergSophie Neville

Ten riders from Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland and the Netherlands gathered at Horizon Horseback Safaris on 25th January 2015.

After an evening ride to ensure everyone was happy with their mounts,

we set off over the hills, taking on the challenge to find a route across the Waterberg plateau on horseback. Our week in the saddle proved quite an adventure.

We had some wonderful game viewing.

Being on horseback we could get remarkably close to animals

especially zebra used to grazing with the horses.

Some sections were challenging

and we crossed through territory new to the horses.

There were other stretches where we pushed on

and picked up speed.

There were mornings when we cantered for miles, afternoons when we had to dismount to walk up stony hillsides – all be good for the inner thigh.

We found ourselves going through very beautiful country.

We spent long days in the heat,

but it was high summer in South Africa and the bush was verdant.

Making our way through the game rserves, crossing rivers

and plains where herds of wild animals were grazing was exciting.

We rode with zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, warthog, jackal, red heartebeest, blesbok, impala, greater kudu, waterbuck, mountain reed buck, duiker, eland, oryx and saw nyala, sable, springbok, baboon, vervet monkey, slender mongoose, tree squirrel, ostrich, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, crocodile and even a debra – the hybrid foal of a zebra mare and donkey stallion.

We saw amazing creatures, great

and small.

Some saw sable antelope

and we even came across other horses, grazing in the Africa bush.

After six days on horseback we made it to the Palala River and could celebrate the fact that we had covered somewhere in the region of 200kms.

Everyone agreed that it had been a great expedition accomplished by a wonderful team.

Before flying home we had time to meet staff at the Waterberg Welfare Society

and see around the hospice and Timothy House children’s centre.

Very many thanks go to all those who sponsored the riders and supported such a good cause. Funds are still coming in but we hope to let you know the total raised soon and report on the details of projects we will be able to finance. The riders all paid their own expenses and brought generous donations, with gifts for the local children.

I was able to take beautiful books, stationary and clothing to the farm school where they were very much appreciated.

If you would like to add a donation via our Justgiving page please click here.

Grateful hanks also go to those who hosted us and looked after the riders so beautifully: Horizon Horseback Safaris, Koshari Game Reserve, Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill, Lindani Game Reserve and Jembisa, who treated us to dinner under the stars on our last night.

If you would like to join us on another Waterberg Charity Ride, please contact us using the Comments box below.

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Latest news about projects running in the Waterberg

January 15, 2014Charity, Healthcare, HIV, HIV awareness, HIV prevention, Home Based Care, Hospice, Limpopo Province, Orphans, Palliative Care, Peer Education, South Africa, Uncategorized, Vaalwater, Vulnerable Children, Waterberg, YouthAIDS, Boys 2 Men, Charity, Community, Community Programmes, Education, HIV, HIV Awareness, HIV Prevention, Home Based Care, Limpopo Province, Making a Difference, Mobile Clinic, Sex Education, South Africa, Southern Africa, Stepping Forward, Transformed Lives, Vaalwater, VCT, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, WaterbergSophie Neville

The Hall of Joy at Timothy House was officially opened by the Japanese Embassy and the Mayor of Modimolle. The event was well attended by local dignitaries. This Hall is used for morning activities with the pre-school children and after school activities for those on the Youth Programme.

Stepping Forward ran a very successful campaign Lesodi Village where the reception was incredible. The programme has the potential to have a massive impact on this area as the community are open to the Stepping Forward team and are willing to hear the message of HIV prevention and awareness. Part of the founder’s original vision was to reach such very rural communities surrounding Vaalwater and they were thrilled to hear about the success of this project.

The Boys2Men soccer team have done extremely well and received a lot of interest, getting to the Nedbank Cup final.

Training sessions in Social Media, Advocacy and Monitoring & Evaluation and Fundraising is being supported by Canadian CBTAF (Technical Aid Fund).

Waterberg Waves are recording HIV Messaging and Songs to compliment the Life Matters Programme on Gig Rig Community and School Outreaches.

Matriculation Results are in. The fourteen children on the Youth Programme taking matriculation exams have all passed. Four received Bachelors and five gained Diplomas. The other five received a standard pass. Many of the students were on the soccer team and came from Alma where Boys 2 Men ran a homework club.

Zach, the Director of Timothy House, married Stefina on 23rd November 2013 at ~ Timothy House, which was a very happy event.

July’s Story

March 28, 2013Charity, Healthcare, HIV, HIV awareness, HIV prevention, Home Based Care, Hospice, Limpopo Province, Orphans, Palliative Care, Peer Education, South Africa, Vaalwater, Vulnerable Children, Waterberg, YouthAchievement, AIDS, Boys 2 Men, Charity, Community, Community Programmes, Education, HIV, HIV Awareness, HIV Prevention, Home Based Care, Limpopo Province, Making a Difference, Mobile Clinic, Sex Education, South Africa, Southern Africa, Stepping Forward, Transformed Lives, Vaalwater, VCT, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, WaterbergSophie Neville

July Letsebe in South Africa

“Just eight years ago, July Letsebe was lying on his bed, seriously ill and waiting to die. But thankfully, after discovering he was HIV positive, he was given the right medication, is now healthy, and is helping others to access life saving treatment.

When July first became ill, he refused medical treatment and instead sought the advice of a healer – a common practice in rural parts of South Africa. But after a few months, he was bedridden and barely able to move. He felt desperate. “I asked my family to help me die, but they refused,” he says.

One day, a team of carers from a local project, the Waterberg Welfare Society, visited July’s tiny shack. When they saw how ill he was, they offered to drive him to the government clinic once a day for medical care. At the clinic, July received life-saving treatment for tuberculosis and also discovered that he was HIV positive.

In an incredibly brave step, he decided to reveal his HIV status at a local community event to encourage others to get tested. “People were shocked,” he says, “I could see the expression of disbelief in their faces.”

As he slowly recovered, July started training to become an HIV counsellor so that he could help other people who are living with the virus.

“AIDS does not actually kill people – lack of knowledge about it does,” says July, who manages Stepping Forward, a Comic Relief-funded HIV project in Vaalwater, South Africa. And, as someone who has lived with HIV for almost ten years, he knows what he’s talking about.

Today, thanks to HIV medication, July is healthy and is making sure that other people in remote rural areas of South Africa have access to life-saving HIV testing and treatment.”

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July Letsebe in South Africa

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