WALK THE WALK—WTW

Background

WTW or “Walk the Walk” is Hunt The Sun’s motto for doing something about our community and not just talking about it. WTW was started through the request of our clients after experiencing first hand the poverty that exists in our communities especially Hayfield where our staff call home. It is a tiny spot, a dusty dry place without even the luxury of basics such as a shop or kiosk. The community are the remnants of the salt mine, a few ruined houses occupied by mostly older people. The younger folk might work in town or on neighbouring farms if they can find employment often leaving the children to be raised by elderly grandparents in the community. The scourges of poverty are blatant, alcoholism especially is a huge problem. Unemployment is rife but more concerning is the dismal standard of education that the children are experiencing. The school currently offers Grade 1 – Grade 7 with 56 children crammed into 2 small classrooms. While the teaching staff are willing and make an effort they too get despondent with the lack of facilities and assistance that is offered to them. We are not talking about the lack of the latest tech audio visual aids yes these are important but the needs are simpler it’s about basics, equipment such as desks, paper, pencils not to mention computers, classrooms and yes a full tummy to learn on every day. The Govt feeding scheme sponsors each child a daily meal, often the only one they will get but what does one buy for 18 US cents a day? Yet somehow they manage, most goes to cooking gas and hiring a taxi to go purchase the foods but with a little initiative the teaching staff produce a meal, often only soup (with no meat) or a jam sandwhich with a juice, often far more than they would get at home. The schools veggie garden is vital, but it too gets routinely raided by the local goat herd. Morale is low, the Govt is unsupportive in assisting these far flung places as they do not represent many votes for the politicians and initiatives are routinely squashed.

Vision

So what is this about? Simply put we need to invest in our children, the key being education with the focus on educating the children, getting them an education that will afford them the opportunity to compete on the open market as well as access to modern education tools such as computers and the internet so that they will not be disadvantaged by a lack of what is now an essential skill. The older generations need to be assisted where possible but unless we educate the children, they too will remain behind to perpetuate the cycle. The school currently caters for Grades 1 – 7 and then parents send their children away to boarding school. They don’t have transport or even the means to contact their children most do not even see where the children are educated and live. This is most unsatisfactory and children are raised by others without the vital input of a stable family environment. The boarding houses leave much to be desired and the atrocities which kids are dealt with can only be imagined. The idea is to eventually change this and have the children educated at Hayfield. An after school education system with skills training as well as placement system is required for the children to make a meaningful contribution and in turn assist their families.

Operational

HTS is committed to assisting and uplifting the community. HTS operates in the community and this is in a small part the manner which it can put back into the community. Clients hunting with HTS have made generous donations and these have been put to good causes such as assisting the school with basic needs and also with the basic needs of the children. HTS will not utilize any of these funds for administration costs and therefore the total amount of the donations are used for a tangible project. Administration, HTS salaries, fuel, transport, labour etc. are our input to the project, we bear these costs so that your donation goes 100% to a tangible project, so yes you can make a difference! We manage these projects privately so your donation is not through government but directly to the school. As HTS bears the admin costs such as fuel, wages etc, your donation goes 100% to a deserving project. In order to be completely transparent a full set of books will be made available on request.

 Projects
Currently the projects that have been identified by the school are as follows:

• Computer room
• Internet facility
• Fax machine
• Sports equipment including uniforms, soccer nets &
• poles, balls, bats etc.
• Library
• Fence around vegetable garden – those goats!
• Cooking pots
• Fridge Freezer

These are obviously the tip of the iceberg and there are a lot more requirements.

Benefactors
These have been numerous this season and we have named Darrell Noblitt from Mustang, Oklahoma as the “Beggar-in-Chief” and guardian of the project. Through him we have established a connection with schools in the U.S. and we are extremely excited about the links and friendships being created.

The benefactors list is currently:
Darrell Noblitt
Jim Wilson
Matt Rigdon
Alan Newport
Terry Bennett
Mitch Henry
Lance Odom
Don Benedik
Dan Lepper
Nathan Lepper
Doyle Bruner
Gail Baker
Leo & Donna Bettinger
“Thanks guys, you have made a difference”

Our list of Donations include:
Blankets
Laptop computer
Writing materials
Clothing
Sports equipment
funding