Please help to keep Malwande and Afika in a decent school

Greetings again to all you wonderful, generous people.

My dear friend and spiritual brother Siphiwe, his wife Sithabile, their two school age children Afika (now nearly 14) and Malwande (now nearly 16) and myself would like to offer our grateful thanks to all who have been donating so generously to help to keep the two children in a decent school in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa over the past two years.

Thanks to you Afika and Malwande have been able to continue to work hard and do well in their education, with the younger child, Afika, making particularly excellent progress, and we are very much hoping that with the help of your kindness and generosity they will be enabled to continue to do so in 2026. Without a decent education they have very little to look forward to in their young lives and the potentials of two more very talented and beautiful young people are likely to be wasted to the world, to their family and to themselves.

The family's financial circumstances continue to be extremely challenging in an increasingly tight labour market with both parents constantly struggling very hard to increase their income and keep up with the constant rise in the cost of living.

To briefly recap on the background. For two years in his early teens, Siphiwe found himself with no choice but to live and sleep on the street in Durban. He subsequently worked for thirteen years for the Wilderness Leadership School as a bush trail guide until covid decimated South African tourism in 2020. For the past two years he has found limited employment of usually less than 4 days a month as a short tour guide, mainly in urban settings. His wife struggles to bring in a little extra as a seamstress.

We became firm friends when I ventured on my first walking trail in Mfolozi in 2006 when Siphiwe was just beginning his guide training. Over the subsequent years, I enjoyed 15 amazing trails under his leadership, mainly in Mfolozi Game Reserve but also in Okavango and other southern African locations.

Despite being highly skilled, responsible, courageous and making a significant contribution to conservation awareness, guides are paid very little and I have been happy to assist Siphiwe and his family financially over the years, including nowadays after my small business of 20 years went bust in 2012, by working as a health care assistant here in Brighton, UK which I continue to do, fortunate to be in apparently good health at nearly 73.

Please help as much as you can and share this appeal with your friends and family. It will make an immeasurable difference to two beautiful young lives.

If you would like to see Afika and Malwande's recent school reports and/or the school invoice for 2026 please let me know.

Ngiyabonga kakhulu (Thankyou very much)

Rob Leech