Umzi Wethu

Goal

The goal of Umzi Wethu is to fulfil the employability potential of resilient, motivated youth displaced by HIV/AIDS and poverty by using the power of the wilderness, promoting personal wellness in a nurturing home context, providing credible training, and securing sustainable job placements in hospitality and eco-tourism establishments - while extending the program's social outreach to others.

Objectives

1. Effectively recruit the best candidates for Umzi Wethu enrollment, addressing the needs of stakeholders


2. Manage Umzi Wethu Academies as nurturing home environments, meeting basic needs, and developing personal wellness


3. Utilize wilderness experiences and nature-based activities to prepare students for jobs in eco-tourism and as a source of personal growth


4. Deliver accredited vocational training combined with learnerships (internships), and place Umzi Wethu graduates in sustainable paying jobs in partnering game reserves, parks and other ecotourism and hospitality establishments


5. Teach practical life skills. Umzi Wethu students are also mentored throughout training and during transition into the workplace


6. Extend the social outreach of the Umzi Wethu program to families of students, peers in their communities and places of employment, and other youth by linking with Wilderness Foundation’s experiential education programs, Pride and Imbewu


7. Promote and support the Umzi Wethu model for replication by partnering with key organisations