The SORAI Foundation Partners with Eco Children to Empower the Next Generation of Wildlife Protectors.
At the edge of Kruger National Park, where wild landscapes meet rural communities, the future of conservation depends not just on fences or patrols—but on people. On children, families and teachers who live alongside nature and who, given the right support, can become its fiercest protectors.
That’s why the SORAI Foundation has partnered with Eco Children, an organisation transforming education in under-resourced areas through community-led conservation and learning. Together, we’re building a future where young people not only understand the value of wildlife—but feel empowered to safeguard it.
To date, nine primary schools, and 5500 scholars, on the Western boundary of the Kruger National Park have been adopted and transformed through this partnership—each becoming a thriving Eco Village rooted in both environmental and educational development.
Every Eco Village includes two critical elements:
- An Eco Garden, where students learn to grow food sustainably while also supporting the school’s feeding program.
- An Eco Classroom, a purpose-built space where conservation-focused lessons come to life—lessons that plant more than crops, but seeds of stewardship in young minds.
Through these hands-on experiences, children learn the interconnected value of nature, community and opportunity. They begin to see rhinos and other endangered species not as distant symbols, but as part of their own shared heritage—and future.
However, this is about more than lessons and gardens. The SORAI Foundation also supports critical school infrastructure improvements—rebuilding libraries, kitchens, toilets and classrooms—to create spaces where learning and dignity go hand in hand.
And at the heart of it all is a deeper goal: breaking the cycle of poverty through education.
Many of these schools are classified as quintile 1—the poorest in South Africa. Yet, amid the challenges, there is brilliance. Children who show exceptional promise. Children who, with the right opportunities, could lead change in their communities and far beyond.
That’s where the Eco Children Bursary Programme comes in. With the support of the SORAI Foundation, this program identifies high-potential learners and gives them access to high-quality secondary education—opening the door to future careers in conservation, science, tourism, and leadership.
This is where conservation becomes generational. Where the impact moves from bushveld to blackboard and where community-rooted education becomes the foundation for long-term, sustainable change.
By investing in young minds today, SORAI and Eco Children are building a future where protecting wildlife is not just a lesson—it’s a legacy.