Visit to the Village

Visit to the Village

After our second day on safari we visited the village that is across the street from the Timbavati Safari Lodge. Our guide was from the village himself as well as many other employees at Timbavati.

We learned from him that the South African government owns the land of the village and the elder’s jobs are to distribute it to the people of the village without charge. The people then are responsible for building their own homes. They cannot sell these homes, instead they are passed down through the family. We met the village witch doctor who treats everyone in the village if they have a medical issue or to help them with social and emotional issues as well. Villagers get free water from the government, but pay for electricity on pre-paid cards.

The children of the village walked along with us as we got a tour of some of their homes and neighborhoods. There were many houses that had goats and cows living in small-fenced areas in the families’ plots of land. Many of the houses had thatched roofs and no electricity. The children walking with us spoke English very well and were able to tell us about their schooling and their village. They were all very happy to guide us through their home.





The teachers from Clarke had gathered school supplies ahead of our trip and we gave them to the Timbavati staff, which provides direct support to the children’s school in the area. We also gave the witch doctor multiple soccer balls to hold onto so that the children would have them to play with.

It was an amazing experience to talk with the kids and it made a lot of us think about wanting to get involved and help this village in the future.



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