Rifumo Mathebula
2026-2027 Obama Foundation Africa Leader
Program Director, Wild Shots Outreach
South Africa
Rifumo Mathebula is the program director of Wild Shots Outreach, a grassroots organization that works with young people from communities near protected areas in Africa. The program helps them connect with their heritage and build job skills through wildlife photography. The organization has trained 728 young people, more than half of them women, and supported 23 scholarship students into professional roles such as safari guides, environmental educators, and anti-poaching rangers. Rifumo has already scaled his model across South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, and he knows that meaningful exposure to wildlife leads to protection and appreciation. Rifumo evolved from a former goatherder into an internationally recognized conservation leader.
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