From rural roots to fruits: how GWF is shaping the career journeys of young tourism economy workers

A number of South Africa’s young go-getters are making waves in the travel and tourism industry with the help of GWF, while also showing leadership in their rural communities in the Greater Kruger National Park area.

GWF operates a Conservation Academy on its Hazyview campus, training young people to meet the industry demand for trackers and field guides at nearby game lodges. 

Among the graduates of this programme is Tshuxekani “Cruz” Gumede, who works as a trails guide at Lion Sands Game Reserve. 

For him, “the bush is like home”. Gumede hails from the village of Cork, bordering the Kruger, and found, to his surprise, that he didn’t need to migrate to the city to find employment – “everything I needed was actually behind my house”.

Tshuxekani “Cruz” Gumede grew up in a village bordering the Greater Kruger National Park, but never dreamed that one day he’d be working there as a tracker and then a trail guide. Image courtesy of the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa

GWF Bridging Year Academy graduate Sithembiso Trevir Watter is a stock controller at Dulini lodge who was born and raised in nearby Dumphries village. 

“This is a dream for me; I love nature,” he says. When he started studying at GWF, he didn’t know how to use a computer, but “they built me into the man I am today” – someone who is perfectly at home behind a laptop.

“To see a young person journey from a village next to Greater Kruger, go through a GWF programme and then go back and work in this area is a wonderful circle,” observes GWF CEO Kate Groch. 

She says the wildlife economy offers immense career opportunities for young people living in the area – a need that GWF is helping to meet through its extensive partner network and Ecosystem of Learning and Working. 

Working in the wildlife economy … GWF graduate Sithembiso Trevir Watter is a stock controller at Dulini lodge.