SA rugby legends lend a helping hand to communities in need and the local wildlife

The Sarla team helping the rhino get dehorned. | Supplied

The Sarla team helping the rhino get dehorned. | Supplied

Published Mar 1, 2022

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Cape Town - The SA Rugby Legends Association (Sarla) has partnered with the Manyoni Private Game Reserve and the Zululand Conservation Trust to fight animal poaching as well as provide support to local communities in Mandlakazi, KwaZulu-Natal.

Sarla is a non-profit company aimed at developing rugby at a grassroots level and supporting the needs and interests of legends of the sport. Former South African player and Sarla CEO Stefan Terblanche has highlighted the positive work that they do.

“Our association is proud to work with the youth and to give so many eager young faces the opportunity of a brighter tomorrow through sport. We have grown from strength to strength and the work that Sarla does touches more and more lives each year.”

The legends contribute in different ways to help usher in the next generation of rugby players. Some famous names involved include 2007 Rugby World Cup winners John Smit and Percy Montgomery, among many others.

The Mandlakazi Community and the Manyoni Reserve are closely linked as the community borders the reserve’s property. The community plays a big role in farming cattle, maize and fruit.

Karen Odendaal, the reserve’s managing director, said she and her team could not ignore the challenges that the community faced

“Without the involvement of our local communities, the reserve would simply not be able to function as successfully as it does today. We owe it to them to help wherever we can.

“We are providing essential foodstuffs and support to the Mandlakazi people and creating valuable awareness of the importance of anti-poaching in the reserve – especially of rhinos.”

Two of Sarla’s partners, SA Harvest and The Domino Foundation, have helped by donating food to the community. They also helped participate in a de-horning exercise to showcase the importance of the anti-poaching done in the area.

Wildlife vet Dr Mike Toft co-ordinated the exercise with the legends, whose strength helped massively to position a rhino safely so that Toft could attend to it.

You can find out more about Sarla at http://www.sarugbylegends.com/.

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