CLEF supporting students across partner communities
Community Leaders Education Fund
What Access to Education Makes Possible
In KwaJobe, near the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, some families work hard to keep children in school, even as financial pressure and lack of opportunities shape what is possible after matriculation. Continuing beyond school requires more than good marks, it requires determination and support.
Nokwanda was interested in Land planning as a subject as a way of understanding how people, land and development intersect in real places. When she was accepted to study Environmental Planning and Development, the opportunity was a dream come true. But the financial gap was the main barrier.
She applied for the Wild Impact Community Leaders Education Fund (CLEF) bursary to address the practical barriers that she faced and that ends many students’ journeys early.
She was successful and for Nokwanda, that support meant registration, transport, and learning materials and resources. It reduced pressure on her family and allowed her to focus on learning.
How CLEF Supports Students Like Nokwanda
The Community Leaders’ Education Fund (CLEF) began in 1996, built on an understanding that now sits at the heart of Wild Impact’s work- that conservation outcomes are inseparable from people’s access to opportunity.
From the beginning, CLEF was shaped through partner communities living in and around conservation landscapes. These communities are collaborators, already engaged in stewardship, tourism, land management, and local economies.
CLEF was designed to support capable and talented students from these partner communities who face financial barriers to further study. Decisions about support are grounded in local context and informed by families, educators, and community leadership.
What Support Looks Like at Scale
Nokwanda’s experience reflects a much wider pattern across Wild Impact’s partner landscapes.
Over the past financial year for 2025, 137 students were supported through CLEF across twelve Wild Impact partner landscapes, including iSimangaliso, Greater Kruger, the Okavango Delta, the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Masai Mara and coastal and island communities such as on Mnemba Island and the Bazaruto Archipelago seascapes.
Students attended a wide range of universities, colleges, and accredited training institutions across Southern and East Africa. Some were entering post-school education for the first time. Others were returning after interruption, balancing study with family and work responsibilities. Fields of study included education, healthcare, environmental sciences, law, accounting, tourism, wildlife management and related disciplines.
CLEF’s role is not to direct career choices, but to allow students from partner communities the chance to pursue recognised qualifications aligned with their own goals. Nearly 70% of supported students were women, reflecting both increased access and growing confidence among young women and adult learners across multiple landscapes. Especially in rural communities where young woman are discouraged from studying further and are given household responsibilities and married off at a young age.
Buyisela Programme
Through “Buyisela” or “Shikra”, students are expected to contribute their time and skills back into their communities during and after their studies. This expectation is embedded in the programme’s values of giving back and reinforced through community relationships.
Over the past year, Buyisela contributions included supporting learners with university and bursary applications, mentoring high school students, sharing health and environmental knowledge and assisting with community initiatives.This is where education becomes tangible where learning is applied, shared and tested in real contexts.
Midway through her studies, Siyamthanda returned home during her study break and and for her Buyisela helped younger learners think through subject choices and applications. She simply passed on knowledge that she had recently gained while it was still fresh.
Expanding Educational Pathways
This year also marked a deliberate expansion of vocational training within CLEF. In landscapes such as Greater Kruger, Okavango Delta, iSimangaliso and Mnemba Island, students pursued accredited training in early childhood development, hospitality, guiding and culinary and service professions.
This expansion reflects the realities of partner communities, where local economies depend on skilled labour and practitioners. Vocational training strengthens these economies by building skills that are immediately relevant and locally rooted.
Nokwanda is still studying. Still managing deadlines, transport and the ordinary pressures of student life.
“Thank you to Wild Impact for the support that made my studies possible.”
By covering key costs and providing essential resources, the bursary removed barriers that often derail students early on. It allowed me to focus on my coursework, research, and practical training with confidence and consistency.
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Wild Impact is a Public Benefit Organisation registered in South Africa. Reg. No.: 930002115