Lending a helping hand
Giving back to local communities
“To Arathusa, Pack for a Purpose, and all of the donors, you are so wonderful to us. You are continuously leaving an indelible mark on the children, parents and teachers in the Dixie community by always supplying the school with stationery and equipment. To us, no gift is too big or too small. We are so thankful!” – Zimande Concilia, Principal of Hanani Primary School
Arathusa Safari Lodge focuses its external social responsibility on assisting the Hananani Primary School in the local community of Dixie. Dixie is a small village with only 1 000 households, and children from this community used to have to walk kilometres to the nearest primary school in search of education.
Mr Mdlulu Petrus, a businessman from the nearby community of Manyeleti (and owner of a construction company), recognised the need, and voluntarily built a primary school in Dixie which opened in January 1983.
The name ‘Hananani’ appropriately means ‘giving’. Mr Petrus is well-known in the surrounding communities, and has through the years built a number of schools, a clinic and even a post office to serve their people.
Please help Arathusa Safari Lodge to assist the Hananani Primary School so we can ensure all children are given the opportunity to further their education. We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travellers to make a lasting impact in the community at their travel destinations.
If you save just a bit of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support, you’ll make an enormous difference in the lives of our local children and families. Click here for a list of items required by the school.
Environmental & Social Responsibility
“Employment is an extremely scarce commodity in our area. We have an unemployment rate of up to 90%! If you consider that most lodges procure artisans, electricians, plumbers, thatchers, etc from Nelspruit and even further afield, over the years we have made a huge direct contribution to the extremely poor communities around the Sabi Sand. We are part of the community. We know the people, their children, and families and provide a living to them through employment. This is something I have taken a personal interest in, and consider it my responsibility as a lodge owner in the reserve.” – Hannes Feuth, Owner of Arathusa Safari Lodge
Arathusa Safari Lodge has been dedicated to the upliftment of people for a number of years through:
• Direct Employment & Skills Development
• Forty of our staff members are from the local community, and when positions open up, Arathusa has committed to approaching the local villages for suitably skilled personnel first. Where possible, Arathusa has provided training for unskilled people and subsequently provided employment opportunities.
Procurement of services and product from local businesses only, including (but not limited to);
• Ordering of supplies – Vegetables are purchased from the Utah Gardens; Ice is purchased from the village hotel; Bread is sourced and purchased from Utah Bakery.
• Labour is outsourced to local businesses – Tyre punctures are repaired by Mhiti Tyres; the qualified electrician contracted for all projects is from the community, and all casual labor is from local communities.
• Funds are donated to the Buffelshoek Trust, which is allocated to schools, soccer teams, school holiday initiatives, and general upliftment programmes for the local communities.
• The Sabi Sand Wildtuin has a community investment project, Pfunanani Enterprise Development Project, that all lodges are actively involved with, and invest in.
Environmental Responsibility:
• Before focusing on commercial initiatives, Arathusa subscribes to sound conservation management of its land and natural inhabitants. This includes a strict vehicle/ hectare and vehicle/ sighting ratio control.
• The Sabi Sand Wildtuin (and as a consequence, the lodges making up the Sabi Sand Wildtuin) invest significant resources of both money and time towards rhino poaching awareness and prevention.