White-water rafting operators, Swazi Trails, has donated over R80 000 to Mphaphati, a rural community in central Swaziland.
The community consists of over 100 homesteads, whose existence is a mix of subsistence agriculture and remittances from family members working in the distant agricultural estates and cities of Swaziland.
“We have a very long relationship with this particular community as not only do we pass through this area on a daily basis with our rafting groups, but all of our river guides are drawn from families and homesteads within the Mphaphati area,” said Swazi Trails Managing Director, Darron Raw.
The company first undertook in the 1990s to voluntarily contribute money for each person who joined trips.
According to Raw the people of Mphaphati are linked by a common desire to provide greater opportunities for their children.
Education is key to this and for this reason the money donated will be directed to the local primary school.
The school currently has a long list of capital projects, which will be prioritised and attended to.
“We cannot divorce ourselves from the hardships that people undergo to eke out an existence in these rural areas,” said Raw.
“Nor are we able to change a situation that the weight of government and global activism is clearly struggling to reverse. But inertia is not something that we adventure operators are comfortable with – so we are glad that we and our crazy clients have been able to play a small part in doing good.”
