“WHEN our first democratically elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.” – Nelson Mandela.
In September South Africans celebrate Heritage Day. Spring is in full swing and many of us head outside for a lekker (more recently adopted) Braai Day.
But in-between flipping steaks and chops and tossing salads we should all put down the braai tongs and take a moment to think about our heritage and how we can help to preserve it.
“There are many ways in which we can think about our heritage this month – preserving South Africa’s rich and diverse culture, our history, architecture, wildlife,” says the chief executive of Relate Bracelets, Neil Robinson.
“Wildlife, in particular, is top of my mind this year. The hunting and killing of Cecil the lion by US dentist Walter Palmer in Zimbabwe earlier this year, and the international uproar and media frenzy that ensued, made wildlife conservation a global talking point in 2015. Let’s face it, we all know our wildlife populations are dwindling, but what do most of us do to help?”
Relate Bracelets is a 100 percent not-for-profit social enterprise, which has raised more than R28million in just five years from the sale of 1.8m beaded bracelets through retail and corporate partners.
In the process, Relate has created earning opportunities for more than 300 people – including the township seniors who thread the beads at their local seniors’ clubs (many of whom care for HIV/Aids orphans), and the young closers and packers who are put through skills training courses to help them move beyond Relate to achieve their life goals.
Relate Bracelets are sold in support of more than 65 South African causes in health, education, social upliftment, children, empowerment, and conservation.
“For Heritage month, I want to present a call to action to all South Africans to wear the change they want to see in this country,” says Robinson.
“We make and sell bracelets in support of a number of causes, including many organisations which work on the ground, every day, to preserve our wildlife heritage.”
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) was founded in 1973, with the purpose of protecting threatened wildlife species in South Africa, and has projects running in every South African province and across Africa.
As part of their fundraising initiatives, EWT has collaborated with Relate Bracelets on a selection of beaded bracelets to fund specific programmes – cheetahs, rhinos, the dugong, wild dogs, Bateleur eagles and the Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.
Funds raised from the bracelet sold in aid of the Cheetah Project, for example, help EWT monitor, protect and introduce cheetahs into safe new wild territories, helping to ensure their freedom and survival.
EWT’s “Save the Dugong before it’s gone” bracelet funds much-needed research into the elusive mammal’s population numbers and needs.
And the EWT Rhino Project bracelet helps the fight against rhino poaching through a number of interventions to help ensure its survival.
In Heritage Month, we also celebrate World Rhino Day on September 22, to raise awareness for all five species of rhino – black, white, greater one-horned and Javan rhinos. First announced by WWF South Africa in 2010 to celebrate all African and Asian rhino species, World Rhino Day has since become an international success “uniting NGOs, zoos, cause-related organisations, businesses, and concerned individuals from nearly every corner of the world”.
Elephants Alive receives funding from Relate Bracelets sold through selected Woolworths branches, raising funds for research, monitoring and tracking of African elephants.
The non-profit organisation’s mission is to ensure the survival of elephants and their habitats, and to promote harmonious co-existence between people and elephants.
They aim to provide science-based information and create awareness to secure the survival of elephants (at a time when populations are being decimated across Africa).
“South Africa is one of the few places with large tusk elephants left. We follow collared elephants from the border of the Kruger National Park and track their movements to see what motivates them, and their impact on the environment,” says Michelle Henley, programme manager and principal researcher for Elephants Alive.
Henley adds that elephants’ main motivators are social reasons – food and safety. Elephants Alive’s research “contributes towards the long-term survival of the African elephant, thereby maintaining the vital diversity of our world”.
The Relate Bracelet in support of the Jane Goodall Institute South Africa raises funds for Chimp Eden, a sanctuary based in Umhloti Nature Reserve just outside of Nelspruit, where they are committed to rescuing and homing traumatised chimpanzees.
“If every employed South African bought just one Relate Bracelet each year, only one – for a cause of their choice, it would mean close to a quarter of a billion rand towards our causes annually. This small spend would impact on our country in a big way," says Robinson.