We’re proud to deepen our relationship with Wild Shots Outreach (WSO), a nonprofit organisation that uses photography to impact the lives of young South Africans. If you’ve been following our photo competition, you’ll already know a little about who they are and why we believe in them. We’re now excited to let you know about our new formal partnership, and give you an update on what WSO has been achieving recently.
We’re delighted to announce that we will now donate $10 to Wild Shots Outreach for every booking made with us. It’s a simple way for our community to make a difference, and it means that every photography adventure you take with us contributes directly to the next generation of African wildlife storytellers.
For those who are new to WSO: they’re a South African non-profit that uses wildlife photography to connect young people from disadvantaged communities with their natural heritage. Through workshops, mentoring, and a bursary fund that supports access to further education, WSO gives unemployed youth and secondary school students the skills, confidence, and pathways to build careers in conservation and the creative industries.
For funding, the organization relies on direct giving and corporate partnerships. “Our work would not be possible without the generous support of our donors and corporate partnerships such as with Penda”, says Harriet Nimmo, who leads WSO’s operations. “We receive no public funding. Every donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference to young Africans’ lives. And US dollars, pounds and Euros go a long way in South Africa.”
WSO’s reach has grown considerably in recent years, and the results speak for themselves. “Our teams have just returned from our fifth successful year in Botswana and third year in Namibia,” Harriet explains, “where we partner with Natural Selection and Canon EMEA to run photography and storytelling workshops with six groups of young job seekers from communities bordering protected areas.”
The impact of those workshops on the young people who take part is hard to overstate. Thabang Lewanika, from Maun in Botswana, described what it felt like to photograph wildlife for the first time: “Photographing the wildlife made me feel like I was connected to the animals – they felt my presence and I felt theirs. This made me feel at one with nature.” And from Namibia, Elsi Fredricks of Maltahohe: “I grabbed this life-changing opportunity with both hands… it made me fall in love with nature!”
Beyond the workshops, WSO’s bursary programme continues to produce results. Lennox Chiloane has just become the fourth WSO bursary student to graduate from AFDA Media School with a BA Honours in Filmmaking, majoring in cinematography and Visual Effects. “It all started in 2019 at a WSO workshop when I fell in love with the camera,” he says. “Thank you to everyone who’s made my dream to become a filmmaker a reality.”
Then there’s Fabian Mduli, another of WSO’s rising filmmakers. After securing a place at We Africa’s Wildlife Film School in Timbavati, Fabian impressed so much that he was invited to join the We Africa team as an assistant. He is now part of an international film crew making a rhino documentary in the Greater Kruger Area – a long way from where he started.
This year, WSO’s work has also been recognised on the global stage: the organisation has just been honoured in Travel + Leisure’s 2026 Global Vision Awards, cited for “leading the way with innovative and sustainable initiatives that elevate the travel experience.” A well-deserved nod.
“Our goals for the next few years are to continue connecting, inspiring and uplifting young Africans from underprivileged communities with wildlife and conservation through photography,” Harriet says. “To date, nearly 2000 young people from local communities have benefitted from transferable digital skills, enhanced self-esteem and a sense of connection to their natural heritage. We have a waiting list of youth foundations, high schools and unemployed youngsters wanting to join the workshop programmes. In addition, through our Bursary Fund, our goal is to increase the number of young Africans accessing further education and training to gain employment, helping to catalyse the next generation of conservation leaders.”
Nearly 2,000 young people, and a waiting list still growing. The demand is there, and what WSO needs is the support to meet it.
The good news is that supporting them doesn’t require anything more than doing what you were already planning to do. Book a photography adventure with us, and $10 goes directly to WSO’s work. It’s that straightforward. If you’d like to go further and donate directly to the bursary fund or support a specific program, you can do so at wildshotsoutreach.org. Every contribution, however small, helps put a camera in someone’s hands and opens a door that might otherwise have stayed shut.
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