Newsletter January 2013
A friend posted this on Facebook this morning and when I read it I realized that I felt the
same… “Somebody please tell me it’s not the 28th Jan!!!! Where did January go?!” The
month of January is taking its last few breaths and to me it feels like we are still in the first
week of the month.
The beginning of every year brings new hope and enthusiasm. We all look forward to a
new beginning and trust that things will improve from the last year. Many of us make a
New Year´s resolution and even though making resolutions might seem like a modern
phenomenon it actually has ancient roots. The ancient civilizations too had customs and
practices in their times which can be compared to the modern New Year’s Resolutions.
Resolutions can be anything, they can be for personal goals that one has set out to
achieve or even professional things. We too have made resolutions for the New Year, in
both our personal and our professional lives.
Lloyd and I continuously strive to grow to try and do more and as a result Riding for
Horses has grown into a non-profit company called Earth Awareness NPC. Earth
Awareness encourages greater awareness of self, others and the environment which
creates greater care for our planet and the living. Under this banner we are offering a
travel/volunteer experience for anyone wanting to connect with themselves and the
environment whilst travelling through South Africa. When we travelled with our horses
around South Africa we experienced and learnt so much and with this program we
would like to give others the opportunity to do the same. Through exposure and
participation in different projects i.e. our Riding for Horses Equine Outreach Project in the
former Transkei, Environmental and community projects and others, we aim to empower
people to take the initiative and care for their earth. If you are interested in the Earth
Awareness Travel volunteer program please get in touch with me on
Isabel@ridingforhorses.co.za .
On this note, our EBook “Between Fire and Shadow – A personal journey inspired by
horses” is available on Amazon and Kalahari now. We hope you enjoy reading it and
that it touches you somehow… We continue to give talks on this journey and dates have
been set for the 4th and 5th February in Howick/Hilton, for the 7th February at Kainon
School Hall in Westville and for the 27th at the Natal Forum in Kloof. We hope to welcome
many of you to share our life changing story with you… Have a look at our website
www.earthawareness.co.za for more detail on our talk times, places and more.
…is an awareness and fund raising campaign for the plight of Africa´s
Rhino. For 4-5 months Lloyd and I will run 21km; cycle 50-60kms and horse ride 20-30km
from Durban to Cape Town north to the Kunene River (Border of Angola), east to
Mozambique, south to Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Game Reserve and back to Durban. A distance
of approximately 10000km and we aim to cover about 100km per day. Earth Awareness
is a fully audited and registered non-profit company and all (100%) funds raised during
this campaign will go towards three cornerstone projects in Rhino conservation.
We have spent the last year working on this and Dr. Ian Player has been a continuous
guiding and mentoring force. One is active anti poaching through The Lawrence
Anthony Earth Organization (keeping helicopters in the air over Zululand), the second is
intelligence through Dr Ian Player´s Magqubu Ntombela Foundation and the third is
education in Asia through Edu Wild (A chapter of the Lawrence Anthony Earth
Organization).
We urge event organizers of any sporting event, be it cycling, running, horse riding,
swimming, …. to contribute only R 1 per event entrant or spectator fee to the Rhino
Knights initiative.
Through this campaign we aim to get sportsmen and spectators of Southern Africa
behind the rhino cause and while we travel we invite the public to become a Rhino
Knight and run, cycle or horse ride with us on the road! Rhino Knights campaign costs are
made possible by corporate and private sponsorship and to make this a success we are
currently looking for title sponsors, monthly campaign sponsors and product sponsorship.
Contact Lloyd and me on lloyd@ridingforhorses.co.za if you would like to get involved
and help us.
Please spread the word and become a Rhino Knight! Rhino need all the help they can
get!
Stay well & happy!
Isabel & Lloyd
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
- Thomas A. Edison