Brand new vehicle for Lapalala Wilderness School
Ford Wildlife Foundation handed over a new Ford Ranger 3,2 TDCI 4x4 XLT A/T Double Cab to the Lapalala Wilderness School to support its Community Outreach Programmes in Limpopo on Wednesday at Ford Unitrans Mokopane.
LIMPOPO – The handover forms part of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s (FMCSA) commitment to the conservation and preservation of the environment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Established in 1985, the Community Outreach Programme enables LWS to impact many lives in rural communities adjacent to the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve through it’s Youth Development Programme. The overarching aim of the project is to increase awareness of issues relating to the environment and sustainable development and to encourage the children and youth to take positive action.
“Being part of Ford Wildlife Foundation provides Lapalala Wilderness School with the opportunity to increase our footprint within the local rural area,” says Lizzy Litshani, Outreach Coordinator of Lapalala Wilderness School. “This will also increase the publicity of our project through social media.”
The locally-built Ford Ranger, which is one of South Africa’s top-selling vehicles overall and in the light commercial segment, will be used to enable the project to go further and make a real impact, particularly in the remote locations often associated with conservation and environmental projects.
For the past 30 years, FMCSA has been actively involved in the conservation of wildlife and ecosystems in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, FMCSA has invested almost R40 million to support more than 170 conservation projects. The Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) is a body that consists of FMCSA, members of Ford’s dealer network, and experts from the wildlife conservation sector. The
Ford Wildlife Foundation is unique as it does not provide a cash donation to the conservation projects it supports instead, Ford’s partner organisations are equipped with Ford Rangers. The vehicles provided are used to help project operations, such as transporting field equipment, helping vets reach sick or poached animals, or translocating the animals themselves. The vehicles operating in all Ford Wildlife Foundation projects are monitored and serviced by Ford’s extensive dealer network to ensure they operate at peak efficiency.
