Cheetah Conservation Fund

Hot on the heels of Usain Bolt, who recently adopted “Lightning”, a cheetah cub in Kenya, Windhoek International School has adopted “Cheetah” and “Cub” as the names of their soccer teams in support of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, an NGO based in Namibia.

The school’s decision to christen the boys’ team the Cubs and the girls team the Cheetahs was part of its effort to support the Otjiwarongo-based organisation whose Bush project has been chosen as one of the finalists in the BBC’s World Challenge 2009, a global competition aimed at projects showing enterprise and innovation at grassroots levels. The Cheetahs and the Cubs will play in the up-coming Windhoek International Sports Tournament, November 27 – 29th.

Dr Marker said that she was pleased that the International School was adding its support to the Cheetah Conservation Fund. “We have an international reach and cheetah projects in Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Iran, but our base is in Namibia so we are pleased to partner with the Windhoek International School. Educating youngsters about Cheetah conservation is part of our mission and an integral part of the survival of the species.”

Secondary Principal and acting Director, Maureen Rainey, stated that she was delighted that the school was able to try to help such a worthy foundation, “Cheetahs are such beautiful animals and as Namibians we have a duty to try to preserve both our natural and cultural heritage. I hope that by calling our teams Cheetahs and Cubs we can help to raise the profile of the work done by the Cheetah Conservation Fund and, you never know, maybe some of their predatory instincts will rub off on our players in front of goal!”