Pride n Purpose

What is Pride ‘n Purpose? 

Pride 'n Purpose is a non-for-profit organisation, committed to helping disadvantaged communities living adjacent to the Sabi Sand Reserve.  

Originally established in 2003 by members of the Ulusaba family, all the charity’s running expenses are covered by Virgin Limited Edition and Virgin Unite, resulting in 100% of donations going directly toward much-needed projects in the region.  

The Pride ‘n Purpose philosophy is that people are most effectively helped if they are empowered to help themselves, with this in mind the organisation’s work focuses primarily on sustainable initiatives and it is estimated that Pride ‘n Purpose benefits over 35,000 people across six communities.  

What does Pride ‘n Purpose do? 

Many communities surroundingUlusaba lack basic needs such as access to clean drinking water, basic healthcare, food, childcare, and job opportunities. Pride ‘n Purpose exists to improve living conditions in these communities. The work Pride ‘n Purpose does is divided into four key areas: 

Access to clean and safe water 

Pride ‘n Purpose has invested in the purchase of two ‘FunPumps’ that have been installed near an underground borehole. These function like a merry-go-round that you would find in any playground around the world, except as children play, clean water is pumped directly from the borehole to a water harvester for use by the community.  

Education 

Pride ‘n Purpose has a particular focus on pre-school and primary school education, and has helped build and run 16 pre-schools for more than 500 children. Schools are kitted out with all the necessary educational materials and educators are trained to use them correctly to build the essential foundations for learning. 

Pride ‘n Purpose has also constructed three literacy centres and is partnering with the Good Work Foundation to build the Dumphries Digital Learning Centre, which will benefit the wider Dumphries area. 

Extracurricular activities for children 

Partnering with Food and Trees for Africa, a South African non-governmental organisation, and Foundations for Farming, Pride ‘n Purpose has helped set up food gardens in communities and at its schools. 

The project includes on-going training and support for schools and pupils to set up and cultivate healthy, fresh vegetables. Each garden produces food for 700 pupils, with the surplus being sold in the village. 

Support for local entrepreneurs 

Ulusaba is a major source of employment in the region, but there is a lack of accessible jobs available for many of the village’s adults. Pride ‘n Purpose is attempting to address this issue with support for local entrepreneurial schemes.