CHRISTMAS 2025: A MILESTONE YEAR
As we prepare for the 10th Ride for Rhinos this January, we can proudly look back on 2025 as Waterberg Rhino UK’s most successful fundraising year yet. With our sincere thanks for your incredible generosity, we received nearly £150,000 in donations, firmly establishing the charity as a major force in rhino protection and community development across the Waterberg.
Wild and free…
Our foremost priority remains the safety of the Waterberg’s critically important rhino population. This year, we continued to expand the region’s ANPR camera network, enhancing the detection and deterrence of criminal activity. This data-driven system not only supports security operations but also helps foster confidence among local residents and businesses.
To further strengthen protection, the charity funded targeted ranger patrols in a known poaching hotspot. These patrols led to arrests and noticeably increased community engagement in safeguarding the area.
Ensuring that rangers have the tools they need to operate safely and effectively is vital. In addition to boots, we have recently delivered mobile cameras, battery packs, head torches, signal boosters and comms systems, equipment that directly supports their challenging daily work.
…Hope for the future
Our partnership with the Limpopo Rhino Orphanage continues to flourish. Many of you will know the story of Tyson, the rhino calf raised from birth at Ant Africa Safaris. In March 2024, he was moved to the Orphanage to benefit from essential companionship and social integration with other rhino. We continue to fund his feed and care, thereby supporting other orphans in the process, until he is ready for release back into the wild.
If you have not yet watched already, we highly recommend Harry Hough’s beautiful films about Tyson on the Waterberg Rhino YouTube channel.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF DR. PAUL HUBER.
Strengthening community and education
The Waterberg Rhino Food Gardens Scheme continues to grow in scope and impact. Following our second Gardens Competition in November 2024, we partnered with the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve for a week-long training workshop at Laluka Farm near Vaalwater. Forty representatives from across the region took part, learning new skills, sharing experiences, and returning home empowered and inspired. With such enthusiasm, a further workshop is planned for March 2026, focusing on turning produce into opportunities both in the kitchen and the marketplace.
Today, 22 rural schools and communities participate in the programme, promoting sustainable gardening and enhancing food security. Our two garden champions regularly visit the schools, offering practical help and advice, while also spreading the message on the importance of protecting rhino to the environment. Over 3,000 children are fed daily with garden-grown produce.
With a lack of opportunity and jobs in remote rural areas, many of the young emerge from school with the false hope of a better future. Playing sport can help build confidence and aspiration, so with this motivation, Lapalala Wilderness School (LWS) organised a football tournament, sponsored by Waterberg Rhino. Eight rural villages assembled teams of 18-23 year-olds to play over 2 weekends, with the top five teams each receiving new football boots for every player.
We also supported a wide range of educational initiatives, including:
• A grant to the Waterberg Academy bursary fund
• Funding for 60 children to attend a three-day conservation course at LWS
• Sponsorship of a public-speaking competition at LWS focusing on the social, political, and economic impacts of rhino poaching
Fundraising and partnerships
Our annual events have become essential to our mission.
The 10th Ride for Rhinos, setting off in January 2026, marks a decade of extraordinary commitment. Since 2016, more than 110 riders have taken part, raising over £210,000. This support has built and upgraded the ANPR camera network within the Waterberg Security Initiative cluster, making the region one of the safest rural areas in South Africa. Due to high demand, future rides are booking to 2028.
The Waterberg Rhino Clay-Pigeon Shoot, hosted by E.J. Churchill, is now a permanent fixture in our calendar. Join us again on 26 June 2026, when we will have special access to the stunning West Wycombe estate.
We are deeply grateful to sculptor Zoe Carmichael for her remarkable generosity. Sales of her sculpture – Tyson and, most recently, a spectacular giraffe – have raised more than £21,000. Zoe will join Ride for Rhinos 2026 and is currently working on an exciting new rhino piece. More to come soon.
Respect for rangers
To mark the 10th Ride for Rhinos, we are shining a spotlight on the extraordinary work of the region’s rangers. Due to special funding, 130 Christmas hampers are being distributed to the men and women who stand on the frontline of conservation every day. This gesture is part of a broader plan to support ranger welfare and improve the wellbeing of their families.
Collaboration across the Waterberg has strengthened markedly this year. By uniting conservation groups, landowners, schools, and community leaders, we are advancing a shared, region-wide response to the threats posed by wildlife crime and the networks behind it.
Waterberg Rhino UK is committed to deepening this collaboration—improving safety, creating opportunities, and enabling both people and wildlife to thrive. From security and education to food production and community empowerment, our mission remains clear: to protect the Waterberg’s rhinos while supporting the communities who live alongside them.
With heartfelt thanks
We extend our warmest gratitude to every donor who has supported us this year. Special appreciation goes to: Ant Africa Safaris, Urban Rhino Gin, Zoe Carmichael, Harry Hough, Andrew Yates Photography, CHK Foundation, Littleton Glover, Waterberg Rhino Golf Day, and Annabel Pope.
Donate: justgiving.com/waterbergrhino
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous New Year
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
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