Kay inspires new Elephant Havens initiative

We want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving! As always, Elephant Havens has so much to be thankful for this year. So do the people in the communities we support.

We encourage our team members to alert us to any needs they see in the community that we may be able to help with—they are our eyes and ears. As examples, we have been able to provide eyeglasses for youngsters, school uniforms, and help some families with needed food during hard times. We try to identify things that are not fleeting gifts but are tools with which we can help learners, enhance the school experience, and build confidence and esteem that can be a foundation for future success.

I want to share an email I received recently from Kay Lesetedi, our first female Elephant Handler (and the first in Botswana!) proposing a program to uplift students at Shorobe primary school. Kay is an exceptional young woman and a valued member of our team. She grew up and attended school in our local community. Those who have met Kay always comment that she speaks perfect English with no accent at all, or rather, with an American accent. That’s because she learned her English by watching Sesame Street and shows on the BBC whenever she had access to a television.

Since she was a young schoolgirl, Kay has been aware of a need in the school community, and now she has proposed that Elephant Havens help to address that need. With wonderful initiative—before even pitching the plan—she researched all aspects of the outreach and gave us exact details and pricing to implement the project. The “wins” achieved by her program are multi-faceted as you can see from her proposal. Total cost to implement her program at the Shorobe school for a year is just $4500, and it will make such an impact on these children. Her email touched my heart, and I think you will all agree this is a very special project. Who knows—maybe in the future we can take it to more schools.

I did ask Kay for her permission to share this with you, our friends and donors, as I know her story is personal. I want you all to realize that because of your donations, large or small, we are able to do projects like these. Your gifts make a difference, and we are so very thankful for YOU.

Here is the email Kay submitted to us. We believe it would make quite a positive impact on the children.

Subject: The Ellie Hair project proposal

Mission
This is a unique program to assist under-privileged children who are unable to maintain their hair, while also creating employment for local hairstylists. It directly addresses issues of poor personal hygiene, low self esteem, and overall mental health at one of the earliest stages of their lives.

I am a firm believer in this project, not because I came up with it, but because I have experienced firsthand the repercussions of coming from an underprivileged family.

Background Story
Growing up I was an excellent student academically, but physically I was not always looking my best. It did not make it any easier that I was being raised by a single mother who constantly had to try and make ends meet to keep our family afloat. Braiding of hair and buying “unnecessary” clothes was deemed a luxury in our household. If you could survive without it then you had no need for it! On every casual Friday I would still wear my school uniform because I did not have fancy clothes to wear like the other kids. If ever I managed to put an outfit together, I would not have the shoes to go with it, so I would wear my school shoes instead. And no matter how hard I tried to slick my hair back, it never stayed in place. This made me one of the “rich kids” favorite topics on Fridays.

I was bullied most of my primary school life for things I had no control over, for looking and being different and, surprisingly, for speaking the way I do. It had a very large impact on my overall mental health and childhood. I have had to unlearn a lot of things in my adult life that were a result of bullying and always being treated or seen like less of a human being because I could not afford some of my basic needs as a child.

The point I am trying to make is that hygiene plays a very crucial role in proper development of a child and it is necessary for molding one’s confidence. Charities across the world already try their best with donating food, toiletries and clothing for children, but no one does anything for their hair. Having spotted this loophole, I think we could do something about it.

My proposal is that the last weekend of every month we go into the Shorobe primary school to cut and braid the children’s hair so that they start every month on a high note— feeling confident and ready to tackle their academics.

During this time I will also be teaching them about the importance of being confident, compassionate and accepting of themselves and each other, also good personal hygiene tips and tricks, and touching on issues that concern them individually as a result of coming from an underprivileged home.

The Budget
I have identified 88 school children in Shorobe that need that kind of assistance and of the 88, 70 want to cut their hair and 18 would like to get it braided. I have also put a two-person team of hairstylists together, the braider being Sofie and the barber being Elijah. Both are from the immediate community and have no means of putting food on the table besides using the work of their hands.

We have agreed that the boys will be cut at 50p (pula) per head, meaning Elijah will earn 3500p every month for the 70 children he cuts. Sofie has agreed to braid hair at 70p per head, meaning she will be earning 1260p a month. We will need an additional 1000p for after care products, braid extensions and relaxers for those who need it, which totals it to P5760 every month.

Side note: we may not need to buy some of the hair products monthly, it will solely depend on how they are used or needed, products like hair relaxers are only used every other month as too much use of them can be damaging to hair and scalp. This will mean that the cost of the project will fluctuate but never exceed the provided sum.

In conclusion, I think Elephant Havens has built a beautiful reputation, stood by its mission and has generously continued to give back to the communities of Shorobe, Gabamochaa and Matsaudi. And although these projects are to better the lives of the children in the community, I think it would be wonderful to touch their little hearts individually with this project. Kids never forget how much you were there for them in their times of need, and if we teach them how to spread love at an early age we risk having a better tomorrow.

Thank you for your time!

Yours truly,
Kay