More Community Foundation’s aim is to help make communities sustainable. Although conservation is a focus area, MCF knows that without service delivery of the basic necessities of life, communities will likely turn a deaf ear to anti-poaching awareness campaigns and a blind eye when the opportunity to make a quick buck arises due to abject poverty and a lack of basic resources, such as food and water.
More Community Foundation is built on four core pillars which form the basis for their work:
Education & Skills Development
Early childhood development, primary and high schooling education, tertiary education, and training (in ICT, Nature Conservation & Hospitality), as well as adult skills development through community-based learning programmes. This up-skills communities to enter the workplace, but also empowers them to create their own jobs and employment for others.
Enterprise Development
MCF facilitates the development of local businesses and provides MFC-supported enterprise opportunities to drive demand and enable them to trade locally. Supporting local business, employment and a market gives many more people the opportunity to escape poverty and build a better life for themselves, as well as to work together to build their communities and contribute to their country’s economy.
Living Standards MCF supports the provision of basic human needs to improve our communities’ quality of life and ensure their well-being. Our main focuses are on providing access to security, basic healthcare, proper sanitation and clean, running water. Water is by far the greatest basic necessity, the availability of which will go a long way to securing the future of our communities, and therefore warrants its own project focus.
Clean Water
We support access to clean, running water through the installation of solar-powered or renewable energy powered boreholes in our most underprivileged communities. Currently, many of Southern Africa’s rural areas have limited or no water service. This is a fundamental human right which, when realised, prevents illness, and reduces mortality, especially amongst children.
We care for and protect the earth’s natural environment and resources for future generations. This includes the planned management of natural resources, maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as the natural functions of the environment through community-based conservation, environmental education and supporting human wildlife conflict mitigation where possible. Every species and natural habitat has a role to play in the delicate balance of nature and our planet’s health. This balance is critical for habitat survival, and is the source of what we all need to live – OXYGEN, WATER and FOOD. Our natural resources are a key economic driver in South Africa, with tourism accounting for trillions every year. The tourism industry has an impact on several other sectors, and is a key driver of social development through local communities. Bringing conservation into communities is critical in maintaining a healthy environmental balance, and we strive for community collaboration and custodianship.
