2009/01/22
CHAIRPERSON of the Eastern Cape Parks Board and leading conservationist Andrew Muir was recently honoured at the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise.
He was recognised for his work in championing a social development programme that combined ecotourism and empowering youth from HIV/Aids affected families.
The awards served to honour those who demonstrated a spirit of enterprise and addressed pressing needs around the world.
“It is a great honour to be recognised by your colleagues. The recognition has put the work that I have done with others for 21 years on the map,” said Muir at a celebration function organised by the Parks Board on Monday night.
He was the only South African among five recipients who won a R1million cash prize and a gold Rolex wristwatch.
The award was handed over to him at a “nerve-racking” function in Dubai in November.
Muir will use his prize money to cover the costs of 20 students at the Somerset East academy.
Muir is the force behind Umzi Wethu (our home), a non-profit training academy that offers vulnerable youths a gateway to learning and getting self-sustaining jobs in the ecotourism industry.
What inspired Muir to start Umzi Wethu was the fact that South Africa has an estimated 88 000 child-headed families and 5.5 million people infected with HIV/Aids.
“The ecotourism industry has grown by eight percent every year since 1994 in the Eastern Cape. Conservation and biodiversity is a catalyst in socio-economic development; there is definitely a lot more than meets the eye,” he said.
The programme aims to directly address the impact of the HIV/Aids crisis by providing practical work experience, counselling, mentoring, life skills and wilderness trail experiences to young people who find themselves displaced because of the disease.
Since Umzi Wethu is a non-profit initiative, with two centres in Port Elizabeth and Somerset West, it relies on partnerships with 35 organisations representing environmentalists, social workers, Aids organisations, academics, training institutions and the hospitality industry.
The Port Elizabeth-based man, who is also the executive director of the Wilderness Foundation South Africa, said 63 of 65 learners on the Umzi Wethu programme last year were successfully placed in jobs after a one-year training programme .
In future, Muir’s goal is to expand the programme to other African countries and make it a Pan-African Umzi Wethu.
“There is nothing more rewarding than walking into a game reserve and seeing one of our graduates working there,” he said.
Professor Graham Kerley, a Parks Board board member, said the award would leave a long lasting legacy for the Eastern Cape.
“The significance of this achievement is a long lasting legacy that has to be used for the betterment of our people,” he said. - By GCINA NTSALUBA
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