Borsheims: Building Community Above All

Featuring 2021 Update Below

The villages of Malwelwe and Ngware are located in the beautiful Kweneng District of Botswana.
Home to over 300,000 people, the District boasts the Khutse Game Reserve and is known as the gateway for exploring the Kalahari Desert.

It is also a major hub for sourcing, cutting and polishing some of the world’s most beautiful diamonds,including the Kalahari Dream™ Diamond  – a new brand inspired by the Kalahari Desert’s infinite wonders. Factories in nearby Molepolole employ local men and women who take pride in creating stunning beauty from the diamonds found in their homeland while providing a living for their families.

But life for villagers in this area is demanding due to the local savannah climate. The Kweneng District is hot and arid, experiencing very little rainfall throughout the year. Sharing a borehole, access to water in Malwelwe and Ngware is both limited and inconsistent, making everyday tasks like cooking and cleaning a challenge.

 

 Unearth a Diamond. Uplift a Community

Omaha-based Borsheims Fine Jewelry & Gifts, in its commitment to corporate responsibility, has partnered with Leo Schachter’s Kalahari Dream Diamond in the hopes of bettering the areas in which the diamond industry does business. The Kalahari Dream Diamond was curated with the goal of giving back to the lands and communities that so generously provide these beautiful stones.

Borsheims has committed to funding the creation of a direct, consistent, and sustainable water delivery system to the drought-impacted Malwelwe and Ngware villages through a set sales goal from their Kalahari Dream Diamonds. The project involves setting up a new pump at a booster station of the national water carrier, while also installing a new pipeline connecting the booster station to the villages, allowing quick and direct access to a larger water supply.

As of today, Borsheims is proud to report that it has reached 99% of the sales goal towards funding this project and will likely attain the remaining funds in the next few months.

A Continued Impact

Borsheims’ commitment to do good does not just end when its goal for Malwelwe and Ngware is reached. In a continued effort to give back to the African continent, Borsheims also supports the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, whose mission is to rescue, heal, and provide a secure environment for orphaned rhinos where they can grow, roam free, and breed in an effort to ensure these beautiful creatures will always remain in Africa.

Inspired by the volunteer sanctuary work of Borsheims diamond buyer Heather Ingraham, the RhinoPendant is set in 18K white, yellow, or rose gold and features a 0.10ct rough Kalahari Dream Diamond mined in Botswana. Due to the nature of rough diamonds, each rhino pendant is unique and one-of–a kind. But what makes the pendants truly special is the impact they make, with a percentage of proceeds from all sales going directly to the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary. You can purchase your Rhino pendant on Borsheims\’ website here.

2021 Update

The Water System that was implemented thanks to the Kalahari Dream Diamond

From the sales of the Kalahari Dream Diamond, Borsheims was able to construct a direct water delivery system to the villages of Malwewe and Ngware, benefiting nearly 4,000 people.

Borsheims employee Heather Ingraham had the opportunity to visit the villages in Botswana where the water system was placed.

“It was an incredible feeling to stand in the village of Malwelwe during the water dedication ceremony,” Heather Ingraham said of the water-dedication ceremony. “When the ceremony was complete, I pressed the start button to the power booster station and water began to flow. It was such an amazing experience and I felt in my heart that this was just the beginning.”

Heather was able to visit an orphanage in Botswana impacted the Kalahari Dream Initiatives

While the proceeds of the Kalahari Dream Diamond met the needs to create a water system, Borsheims continues their commitment to do good. Borsheims further committed to help make an impact on the lives of women and children in the area. In partnership with diamond manufacturer Leo Schachter, proceeds from the Kalahari Dream Diamond sales support childcare for orphans whose mothers have died from the HIV/AIDS virus before they reach school age, along with providing healthcare and lifesaving HIV/AIDS medicine.

Borsheims’ Rhino Pendant has also continued to raise money for the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in South Africa, which supports orphaned rhinos left to care for themselves due to the negative impacts of poaching. During Heather’s time at the sanctuary, she was able

to see the direct impact that the Sanctuary has on rhinos as she became the surrogate mother to a baby rhino named Zac, who was just three months old when he lost his mother to poaching. Other baby rhinos are given this second chance due to the support of the sanctuary, and once they are able to, are safely returned to the wild.

Heather & Zac

“It’s truly incredible for Borsheims customers and employees to think about the difference they are making from half-a-world away,” Heather Ingraham said.

The Kalahari Dream Diamond initiatives continue to make an impact.  Borsheims is excited to announce that they are 87% of reaching their goal to fund a second water project, the exact villages and construction plans will be determined as they reach their goal.

Borsheims and the Kalahari Dream Diamond continue to prove that Diamonds Do Good.

View the ceremony held for the completed project and how both villages have benefited!

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