How Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris Helped Kick-Start the Lehikeng Building Project

Some partnerships begin with a conversation.

Others begin by helping turn a vision into something people can see, touch, and build on.

A vision that started taking shape in 2022 and stood the following year.

In 2023, Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris became part of Lehikeng’s journey in a very practical way: they helped kick-start the Lehikeng Building Project by constructing the boundary wall around the property.

It may sound like one part of a much larger development, but for Lehikeng, that boundary wall represented something much bigger.

It marked the beginning of turning an idea into a permanent home for the work we do with vulnerable children and young people.

One of the reasons we say we are supported by people who care about seeing children and young people thrive.

A Vision That Needed a Place to Grow

Lehikeng’s work has always been centred around creating opportunities for children and young people who need additional support.

Through our programmes, we work to address challenges such as food insecurity, limited access to opportunity, skills development and pathways into employment.

But as our programmes grew, so did the need for a permanent space from which we could serve the community.

The vision for the Lehikeng Building Project was born from that need.

We want to create a centre where children and young people can access support in an environment designed specifically for their development, learning and wellbeing.

Before classrooms, programme spaces and community facilities could take shape, however, the property itself needed to be prepared.

That is where Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris stepped in.

Building the First Piece of the Vision

The early days of Lehikeng taught us something that continues to shape the organisation today: you do not have to have everything before you begin helping someone.

We started with the resources available to us.

A roof provided shelter.

A meal provided nourishment.

Time provided companionship.

And consistent support began creating something far more important a place where children could feel that someone cared about their future.

But as the work grew, we also began asking a bigger question:

What could Lehikeng become if these children had a space built specifically for them?

That question eventually became the vision for the Lehikeng Building Project.

In 2023, Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris supported Lehikeng by helping construct the boundary wall surrounding the property.

This became one of the first visible pieces of infrastructure connected to the building project.

For a development like this, a boundary wall is not simply a finishing feature.

It helps define and secure the site where the future Lehikeng centre will stand.

More importantly, it gave the project momentum.

There was now something tangible on the land.

Something that showed that the dream of creating a permanent home for Lehikeng was beginning to move from plans and conversations into construction.

Why Early Support Matters

Large community projects rarely happen because of one donation, one company or one moment.

They happen in stages.

Someone helps with the first structure.

Another partner helps with materials.

Another contributes financially.

Someone else provides professional expertise, equipment, transport or labour.

Over time, those contributions begin to form something much larger than any single donation.

The support from Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris demonstrated the importance of organisations being willing to participate early in a project’s journey.

At that stage, there may not yet be completed buildings or finished classrooms to point to.

There is a vision, a plan and a piece of land waiting to become something more.

Partners who step forward during those early stages help create the foundation that allows others to follow.

For us its More Than a Wall

For Lehikeng, the boundary wall represents progress.

But it also represents partnership.

Every section of that wall is connected to the larger vision of what we hope the property will eventually become: a place where young people can find nourishment, guidance, education, skills and opportunity.

As the building project develops, new spaces will allow Lehikeng to strengthen existing programmes and create qgreater capacity to support the community.

The wall built in 2023 therefore tells an important part of the project's story.

It was an early signal that this centre could become a reality.

When Tourism Businesses Invest in Communities

Botswana’s tourism sector has the ability to create impact far beyond the experiences offered to travellers.

Companies working within tourism are connected to communities, employees, families and young people across the country.

Partnerships between tourism businesses and organisations such as Lehikeng can therefore have a lasting effect.

Support does not always need to take the form of a traditional donation.

It can include:

• Construction materials or infrastructure support

• Financial contributions

• Internship and employment opportunities

• Professional expertise

• Transport or logistical assistance

• Equipment and supplies

• Long-term programme sponsorship

Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris showed what this can look like in practice.

Their contribution helped start something.

And that matters.

The Building Project Continues

The boundary wall was an important early milestone, but it was only the beginning.

Lehikeng continues to work towards developing the property into a functioning center capable of supporting more children and young people over the long term.

Each new phase requires partners who believe that investing in infrastructure for vulnerable young people is also an investment in Botswana’s future.

Some organisations may be able to fund an entire component of the project.

Others may contribute building materials.

Some may sponsor specific facilities.

And others may simply help us reach the next milestone.

Every contribution moves the project forward.

Thank You, Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris

We remain grateful to Safari Essence and Endeavour Safaris for believing in the Lehikeng Building Project at an early stage and for helping us take one of the first physical steps towards making it a reality.

You have to understand they believe not only in the building project but in the care and love for these kids. They want to see them succeed in every way possible.

Their support since the beginning has helped establish the boundary around the property and, with it, helped establish the beginnings of what we hope will become a lasting center of opportunity for generations of young people.

There is still much more to build.

But every building has a beginning.

For the Lehikeng Building Project, the boundary wall is part of that beginning.