The Team
Bright
Matjatji
Karabo
Magakane
Rifumo
Mathebula
Nothando
Mkhombo
Warren
Ngobeni
Rifumo Mathebula -
WSO Programme Director
Rifumo took the WSO course while a member of the Madiba Youth Organisation in Ludlow Village in 2016. He persuaded WSO to run a course at his school. Shortly after this, Rifumo began joining Mike Kendrick for photo assignments. Rifumo completed an internship at Waterside Lodge thanks to Thornybush Game Reserve. In 2021 Rifumo became Wild Shots Outreach's Media Team Leader with the responsibility of leading the delivery of Wild Shots Outreach programmes. Rifumo is a born teacher with a passion and an enthusiasm for passing on his knowledge of wildlife, conservation and his photography skills. In 2022 Rifumo won the international Young Environmentalist of the Year Award.
Karabo Magakane -
WSO Assistant Programme Leader
Karabo took the WSO course in Feb 2020. Since then, she has been assisting with photo assignments and with the delivery of Wild Shots Outreach programs in her community.
Her favourite photo assignment has been documenting the Ndlopfu Gogos project for Elephants Alive. This elephant conservation charity introduces Gogos (Grandmothers) from local communities to the elephants they study.
Karabo has recently been appointed an ambassador for the international “Girls who Click” wildlife photography programme. She has also been invited by C4 Photo Safaris to join their women-only photo safari at Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. Karabo is a qualified pilot and her dream is to support conservation organisations from the air.
Nothando Mkhombo -
WSO Assistant Programme Leader
Nothando took a stunning image of an elephant on her first ever game drive with WSO. Since then she has been part of the Conservation South Africa media team and later joined Rifumo as his assistant for WSO programmes in the areas around White City, Islington and Ludlow. Under Rifumo's mentorship, Nothando has developed into a fine teacher in her own right and now leads workshops and game drives.
Warren Ngobeni -
WSO Assistant Programme Leader
Warren Ngobeni was recruited to WSO by Neville Ngomane and attended a WSO course in January 2020 in his home town of Acornhoek. He began developing a very creative style which made his images stand out. WSO took Warren on assignment to cover a rhino dehorning later that year and one of Warren’s images was published on the front page of Beeld, a national newspaper. Warren was so moved by the rhino operation that he wrote about his experience and this was picked up by the New Big 5 project. Warren is passionate about conservation and about using his images to motivate, educate and uplift his community.
Bright Matjatji -
WSO Assistant Programme Leader
Mike Kendrick -
WSO Founder & Director
Mike is an experienced senior leader in education, a Life Sciences and Photography teacher, and for over 25 years has specialised in teaching students from disadvantaged communities. In the UK Mike was Assistant Head of an inner-city government school. On relocating to South Africa, he was Principal of a Second Chance Matric Centre on the Cape Flats, and Education Director with Taurus School Solutions, an NGO empowering government schools in the Cape Flats. He is a published photographer at international and national level, taking images for NGOs including Elephants Alive, Conservation Action Trust and Rhino Revolution and is a photographic tutor for guide training agencies.
Bright comes from Ludlow village which is also Rifumo's home. He took the WSO course in 2021 and was taught by Rifumo. Bright enjoys travel and has accompanied Rifumo as our teaching team in 3 locations in Botswana and at Lapalala Wildness School in Limpopo. He loves IT and he can fix almost any broken laptop or computer! He is a very useful addition to the team.