November will see the official opening of the new building at Kokwana Day Care centre in Makushane outside Phalaborwa, where 30 children are looked after while their mothers work. The new building is one of the latest projects undertaken by Sefapane Lodge and Safaris, based in Phalaborwa.
In the past, Sefapane has been involved in community outreach projects such as 'Schoolkids on Safari' which took over 300 rural children into the Kruger National Park to learn about tourism and nature conservation.
The lodge has also helped fund a shelter for abused women and children, bought tables and chairs for an impoverished rural school, and helped buy a car for a physiotherapy project that treats handicapped children in the rural areas.
The lodge is run by Joris Bertens, formerly of the Netherlands, who also drives these charitable initiatives. A fund has now been set up to help bring a more structured approach to the good works, and the Sefapane Community Development Fund has been launched with the help of locals from Phalaborwa as well as benefactors from the Netherlands.
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