How exciting it is to be doing what we are doing now. Things are happening at Higher Ground and 2009 is looking like it is going to be quite a year!

December and January camps were amazing – lots of catching up with old friends, meeting new people, adventures, networking and growth. The highlight would have to be our trip to Ushaka during the camp for adults who are blind or partially sighted. We were treated, by Ushaka, to a day of learning, fun and adventure. Getting up close to the snakes, lizzards and other reptiles in the Dangerous Animals area; meeting and touching Gambit the Dolphin; interesting talks; Dolphin Show (where two of our campers chose to get soaking wet thanks to the dolphins!); an amazing time at Water World and all topped off with waffles and coffee at Wimpy. What a day!

We already have three new and exciting camps on our programme for this year, as well as the regulars, so we are excited for new things!

Upcoming Camps

March 2009 – Glenhaven Camp for blind or partially sighted teens (SU Lifeskills Camp)

8 – 10 May 2009 – Camp for adults who are blind or partially sighted in GAUTENG

July school holidays – Camp for teens who are blind or partially sighted KZN Karkloof

July varsity holidays – Camp for tertiary students who are blind or partially sighted (KZN Karkloof)

Keep an eye on the calendar for further developments!

Become a Higher Ground Hero...

And help to ensure our long term sustainability. Please consider contributing monthly to our work – all it takes is R20/R50/R100 (or whatever you would like to give) each month. Your contribution would assist us with the day to day costs involved in running Higher Ground (insurance, phone, postage etc) as well as, as support grows, funding actual camps.

Please consider assisting us in this incredibly valuable way. All you need to do is visit your bank with our bank details (available on request) and tell them that you want to set up a Stop Order. Companies please note – Higher Ground is tax exempt (Section 18A) so please also consider assisting us in this way.

Each person that becomes a Higher Ground Hero will receive a Higher Ground t-shirt and Hero Membership Card (we are hoping to get some restaurants to offer some benefits to members as our way of saying thank you to you).

We are also in the process of making it easy for people from outside of South Africa to donate to Higher Ground so if you live overseas and would like to become a Higher Ground Hero please contact me so I can let you know how to proceed.

Thank You

A very big thank you to the many that have donated to Higher Ground recently, your help is so valuable to us:

Durban Bay Rotary Club

RAG University of KwaZulu-Natal

Westville Rotary Club

Ray and Carol Oliver

Inchanga Rotary Club

Durban Umhlatuzana Rotary Club

Ushaka Marine World

Pinetown Rotary Club

Without you camp would not be possible!

Getting into the techno age

• Higher Ground has a group on Facebook. If you're a Facebooker please join 'Higher Ground Camp'!

• If you experience any problems with this new way of sending our newsletters please let us know and please note that, should you wish to, you can unsubscribe by following the instructions below.

Thank you for reading and for your interest. Have a great rest of the month and check out our website www.higherground.org.za where we have uploaded new photos.

Yours in camping and adventure

Emma