Jackie Gray
Top South African courier company Globeflight has joined the fight to save South Africa’s endangered rhino.
Through a multi-faceted campaign spanning July to September, Globeflight hopes to raise much needed funds and awareness for the country’s rhino which is now teetering on the brink of extinction due to a dramatic upsurge in rhino poaching in recent years.
Says Jo-Ann Grace, Globeflight’s Sales and Marketing Director: “Having observed the plight of our rhino, we thought it was high time that Globeflight got involved and made a stand. Simply put, if we fail to take action now, there won’t be any rhino left to save in the near future and that will be a tragedy indeed.”
Grace explains that the campaign revolves primarily around a countrywide ‘Spot the Rhino’ initiative whereby Globeflight’s own beautifully painted rhino mascot named ‘Ilanga’ (meaning ‘Sunshine’) will “lead the charge” so to speak.
Ilanga weighs approximately 220 kilograms and fittingly, was painted by Clement Mkhise of ‘My Rhino’, an artist’s collective which donates funds from the sale of its ceramic rhino ornaments and gift accessories to an Eastern Cape rhino conservation group.
Ilanga will tour South Africa and Swaziland in her own specially branded van from the 4th of July. At each town that Ilanga visits, green 3D rhino puzzles will be distributed to the public at strategic points. Those interested in participating can assemble the puzzle and take photos or videos of themselves with their rhinos in interesting and fun locations. The photos must be posted to Globeflight’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Globeflight1) YouTube channel or the company’s twitter handle (@Globeflight1) to stand a chance to win fantastic prizes.
Participants must use #Ilanga and # Globeflight in all posts to qualify. Winners will be selected according to the number of ‘likes’ their photo or video receives. Prizes include weekly draws and cash; fantastic hampers will also be awarded during the course of the campaign.
Towards the end of the campaign in September, three entrants deemed the ‘most travelled’, ‘most creative’ and ‘best selfie’ will be awarded an all-inclusive three night stay for two at a five star South African resort complete with up-close-and personal experience with rhino and other wildlife.
Importantly, for every ‘selfie’ posted, Globeflight will donate money towards the Wilderness Wildlife Trust’s Black Rhino relocation project and the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF) which, amongst other laudable initiatives, trains anti-poaching rangers.
In addition to the ‘core’ competition, members of the public can also win weekly prizes by identifying the landmarks Ilanga will be photographed with along her journey. All participants need do is log on to Globeflight’s website (www.globeflight.com) identify the landmarks and complete the entry form.
In a bid to boost awareness of the campaign and its important message, Globeflight has partnered with popular local breakfast show ‘Expresso’ which announced the competition on the 8th of May when Ilanga visited the show’s studio. Expresso will track Ilanga’s movements on its website, post some of the selfies taken and lend a hand in the judging. The final three winners will be announced on Expresso on the 26th of September.
Notably, some local celebrities have already endorsed the fun, interactive campaign which is unsurprising given that many feel passionately about taking action to save the rhino explains Grace. She adds that once the campaign comes to an end, Ilanga will be auctioned at Hyde Park by My Rhino to raise additional funds for rhino conservation initiatives.
Ilanga will visit Swaziland, Witbank, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Kruger Park, Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, George, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Kimberly, Johannesburg and Pretoria. For further details on when Ilanga will be in your area, go to www.globeflight.com.