Ulusaba: Community spirit

While visiting Ulusaba, community tours and excursions organised by Pride 'n Purpose, are a fantastic way to engage and help give back to the local communities. One of the most popular tours undertaken by our guests is the Dumphries Community Tour.

The tours are about 2 hours long, taking place between breakfast and lunch, so you don't miss any meals or game drives. The cost is R450 per person and while a portion of this goes to the local taxi we hire to drive us to our projects, the rest of the money goes right back into Pride 'N Purpose projects.

The tour is usually lead by David, Pride 'n Purpose's Project Manager. As guests head off from Ulusaba and start the drive to Dumphries, David will point out places of interest in the community, including several homes, schools, and shops. It's a big eye opener to see how different life is here compared to life in the big cities such as Johannesburg!

The tours will always include a stop at one of the preschools - most guests' favourite part of the tour! You'll hear about what the kids are currently learning, meet the teachers who volunteer their time at the school, and interact with the children. David will show you to areas around the school such as the classrooms and gardens to learn about a typical day at one of our preschools.

From there, David will take you to another one of our projects. This could be another school, a literacy centre, a community centre, or whatever else we are involved in at the time. The team are quite flexible with these tours, so if you have a particular interest, don't be shy! We would love to include anything that is more personal for you. Also, if you would like to be more hands on, and spend your afternoon giving back to the community, we would be happy to arrange this. Just send the Pride 'N Purpose team an email at pnpadmin@ulusaba.virgin.com to arrange.

It's just not possible to have a bad day if you join this tour! The children are so loving and happy; you can't help but catch their contagious laughter and smiles. Several people are so moved by the people and efforts in the community that they will continue to be involved even after they go home. Many come back with school supplies, clothing, toys, or funds after holding their own fundraiser. Shanna who is a long term volunteer for Pride 'N Purpose, recalls that one of her favourite tour moments was when a little boy who joined the tour with his family, took off his own shoes to give to a boy who didn't have any. It's very touching to see what little effort it takes to make someone extremely happy, and to be reminded of how lucky we are.