Investec Asset Management company said on Friday that, recognising the importance of investing in Botswana’s youth to ensure a sustainable future, it will continue its support of Coaching for Conservation’s week-long camp in Maun, the flagship programme of the charity.
Managing Director of Investec Asset Management Botswana, Martinus Seboni, said, as a global investment manager with African roots, they believe in investing in the future of the continent, its children and its environment.
“It is our privilege to be supporting Tusk and the Coaching for Conservation initiative, which has garnered such strong support from its patrons,” Seboni said.
“The message of a changing Africa is slowly reaching the developed world. This initiative will spotlight how investment in the continent’s community, its people and its environment can all play their role in securing a positive and lasting legacy,” he added.
The conservation camp will culminate in a showcase by some 700 children on 27 June 2011 at the Maun Sport Complex, and will be attended by high guests that include Frank Ramsden, Minister of Transport and MP for Maun East, Falcon Sedimo, the Director of Sports and Recreation, and Monare Lechiile, Director of Regional Operations, Ministry of Education.
Investec Asset Management support of this innovative programme is in conjunction with its broader support of Tusk Trust and its sponsorship of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust.
Coaching for Conservation (C4C) is the primary social development programme of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and it grew from the realisation that to value a future for Botswana wildlife, the people of Botswana must have a commitment to their own futures.
Developed by Lesley Boggs, C4C is a social programme which, in eight years, has grown from sponsorship of a single village football club into a regional operation that reaches 1500 primary school children annually with its Learning from Wildlife model.
Fun learning of life skills through organised sports is combined with empathy for wildlife, which is built by transforming the speed, strength and other survival skills of charismatic animals like lions, cheetahs and wild dogs into winning football skills like fast dribbling, acceleration and teamwork.
Boggs, Director of Coaching for Conservation, BPCT, said the link between sport, health and wildlife conservation is not always obvious.
“We look forward to building on this dynamic partnership to further our collective goals of changing the way we approach conservation and Inspiring a generation of Kids who Care. Coaching for Conservation is a brilliant idea. It is brilliant because it is simple. Most of us like sports, and all of us, if we just stop and think, love animals and the natural world around us. By combining the two, Coaching for Conservation is teaching us to value both.”
