You can donate to help take HERD elephant orphanage in the Kapama Private Game Reserve, South Africa off-grid. We are working with a local company to power HERD Trust operations through solar energy, so that we are not dependent on expensive and interruptive national Eskom power frequently subjected to load-shedding. Forced blackouts are implemented to prevent overloading the national power grid when energy demand exceeds production. This leaves HERD in the dark and without reliable communication systems. Read more in our blog >

Our mission at HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation & Development) is to care for and rehabilitate orphaned elephants, give them a new family, and give them a second chance at life with a herd.

Many people in other parts of the world don’t understand South Africa’s energy crisis. Eskom is the sole public electrical utility in South Africa, and it supplies 95% of the country’s electricity. The typical American experiences fewer than 10 hours of power outages a year, whereas in South Africa, we frequently experience more than 10 hours of power outages in one weekend. This makes running an elephant orphanage very difficult.

Solar energy is the most readily accessible resource in South Africa, with the sun shining brightly over many parts of the country all year round. Hoedspruit, where HERD is based, receives excellent sunlight in winter and summer. We have decided to take HERD off the grid for the sake of our elephants and our environment.

Please consider supporting our solar campaign by donating a ray of sunshine to HERD. No donation is too small.