Ignite Youth Camps

During the Foundation’s Ignite Youth Camps, mentoring, wilderness experiences, and group activities are employed to empower groups to work towards a hopeful future.  

High school students from disadvantaged communities in the areas where ANB operates, as well as children of ANB employees, are recruited to attend these camps presented by Usiko at an existing camp site on one of the members’ farms in Kruisrivier (Indigo Fruit Farming) close to Swellendam in the Western Cape. The use of the camp site is provided on a pro bono basis by Indigo Fruit Farming.

Usiko is a Non-profit Organization (NPO) based in Jamestown, Stellenbosch, that uses a ‘rites of passage’ approach.  After more than twenty years in operation, approximately 80% of graduates have completed their matric, enabling them to enter further education or employment.

Hoedspruit Hub (in Hoedspruit, Limpopo Province) is partnering with Usiko to host Ignite Youth Camps in the Northern areas of South Africa with the same structure and aim as in the Western Cape.

Youth are not just left on their own after the camps. Attendees continue to receive support in terms of personal development and career development. The youth on the Indigo Zandvliet Farm close to Ashton in the Western Cape participate in circus training and drumming on a regular basis presented by the Hip Hip Hooray Circus Project in McGregor.