Fundraising for rural schools in Zululand happened miles away through a German school’s charitable initiative.

Adenau Primary School organised a charity run for Zululand Hilfe ‘(Zululand Help’), an NPO in the making, School Shoe Project to assist disadvantaged families.

This is thanks to Michael Holthuysen, Thula Thula Private Game Reserve’s European manager, who believes conservation works best when uplifting surrounding communities.

After Holthuysen gave lectures to elementary school pupils, showing how different the lives of the Zululand children are compared to Germany, the interest to help was heightened.

“The questions and interest were really impressive,” said Holthuysen. “The commitment to the charity run surpassed everything. How the children worked there and ran laps around the school simply left me speechless. It was deeply moving how often we heard ‘for the children in Zululand’.”

Twelve classes joined the cause, running around the school (about 200m). Holthuysen proudly stood with the South African flag at the starting line and cheered the runners.

Two determined students, Moritz Keuler and Julian Sandberg, managed 19 rounds in just 15 minutes. The run exceeded EUR 6000 – over R120 000 – which equals 1 400 pairs of brand new shoes to be donated.

Earlier this year, Holthuysen organised the distribution of 1 000 pairs of shoes to the surrounding Thula Thula Private Game Reserve’s community schoolchildren, with money collected from German citizens.

In January 2026, Zululand Hilfe plan to increase the number even more.

Don’t have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here:

HAVE YOUR SAY