Marlice van Vuuren
Encyclopedia
Marlice Elretha Jansen van Vuuren born 14 May 1976 as Marlice Elrethra van der Merwe, is a popular Namibia
n conservationist
who grew up surrounded by animals on her parents' farm in Namibia where for more than 30 years injured or orphaned animals have found refuge. Marlice also grew up closely with the San Bushmen community and is one of only a handful of white people who can speak their language.
Marlice has been working with animals in film productions since the age of 13 and has worked on a number of well known movies with various celebrities including Angelina Jolie
(see Marlice’s portfolio). Marlice starred in a documentary about her life "Marlice - A Vision for Africa: A film by Philip Selkirk" in 2008.
Marlice and her three legged cheetah
Lucky, featured in an advert for a Volkswagen Golf
, shown on South African TV in May 2009.
in December 2000 and in December 2006 their little boy Zacheo was born. Together, Marlice and Rudie run Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary and Lodge.
and the culture
of Namibia's original inhabitants (The San community).
In 2003, Marlice and Rudie, along with their pharmacist
friend, Chris Heunis and Jan Verburg opened the N/a’an ku sê (Naankuse) Lifeline Clinic at Epukiro
, Namibia where the San Bushmen
community can be treated free of charge. The Lifeline Clinic is entirely funded by voluntary donations and provides primary healthcare to over 3,500 patients a year in this remote area.
In 2004, Marlice and Rudie bought a 10,000 hectare piece of farmland, 42 km outside of Windhoek
to establish their own animal reserve. The Bushman word N/a’an ku sê means 'God will protect us'. They opened N/a’an ku sê's Charity Lodge & Wildlife Sanctuary in 2007. The Sanctuary accommodates mostly orphaned and injured animals that cannot be released safely back into the wild. N/a’an ku sê lodge is an article 21 organisation which donates any profits back into the conservation projects and work with the San Bushman community.
Marlice and Rudie started N/a’an ku sê's Carnivore Research Project to help conserve big cat
s in early 2008 and the Clever Cubs School, funded by the Clabile Trust, for the San Bushmen children was opened at N/a’an ku sê in November 2009.
N/a’an ku sê works to improve the lives of the marginalised Bushmen community through education
, employment
, healthcare and improved living conditions.
Commercials featuring Marlice van Vuuren and the animals at Naankuse:
Films featuring the animals at Naankuse:
Wildlife photographers whose work includes the San Bushman and animals at Naankuse:
Video clips
Other websites
Articles
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
n conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
who grew up surrounded by animals on her parents' farm in Namibia where for more than 30 years injured or orphaned animals have found refuge. Marlice also grew up closely with the San Bushmen community and is one of only a handful of white people who can speak their language.
Marlice has been working with animals in film productions since the age of 13 and has worked on a number of well known movies with various celebrities including Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
(see Marlice’s portfolio). Marlice starred in a documentary about her life "Marlice - A Vision for Africa: A film by Philip Selkirk" in 2008.
Marlice and her three legged cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
Lucky, featured in an advert for a Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
, shown on South African TV in May 2009.
Family
Marlice married Dr. Rudie Van VuurenRudi van Vuuren
Dr Rudolph Jansen van Vuuren is a Physician by trade, former Namibian sportsman and committed conservationist....
in December 2000 and in December 2006 their little boy Zacheo was born. Together, Marlice and Rudie run Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary and Lodge.
Conservation achievements
Together, Marlice and her husband work to preserve both African wildlifeWildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
and the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of Namibia's original inhabitants (The San community).
In 2003, Marlice and Rudie, along with their pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
friend, Chris Heunis and Jan Verburg opened the N/a’an ku sê (Naankuse) Lifeline Clinic at Epukiro
Epukiro Constituency
Epukiro Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Omaheke Region of Namibia. Its district capital is the settlement of Epukiro, it further contains the settlements of Otjinoko, Otjijarua, Omauezonjanda, and Otjimanangombe....
, Namibia where the San Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
community can be treated free of charge. The Lifeline Clinic is entirely funded by voluntary donations and provides primary healthcare to over 3,500 patients a year in this remote area.
In 2004, Marlice and Rudie bought a 10,000 hectare piece of farmland, 42 km outside of Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
to establish their own animal reserve. The Bushman word N/a’an ku sê means 'God will protect us'. They opened N/a’an ku sê's Charity Lodge & Wildlife Sanctuary in 2007. The Sanctuary accommodates mostly orphaned and injured animals that cannot be released safely back into the wild. N/a’an ku sê lodge is an article 21 organisation which donates any profits back into the conservation projects and work with the San Bushman community.
Marlice and Rudie started N/a’an ku sê's Carnivore Research Project to help conserve big cat
Big cat
The term big cat – which is not a biological classification – is used informally to distinguish the larger felid species from smaller ones. One definition of "big cat" includes the four members of the genus Panthera: the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard. Members of this genus are the only cats able...
s in early 2008 and the Clever Cubs School, funded by the Clabile Trust, for the San Bushmen children was opened at N/a’an ku sê in November 2009.
N/a’an ku sê works to improve the lives of the marginalised Bushmen community through education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
, healthcare and improved living conditions.
Filming portfolio
Documentaries featuring Marlice van Vuuren:- Marlice - A Vision for Africa A film by Philip Selkirk (2008)
- My Life with Bushman
- Run with Lions (Aired in Animal Planet channel Owned by Discovery Networks)
- My Dream for My Predators
- Documentaries featuring Marlice van Vuuren have appeared on Sunday NightSunday Night (Australian TV program)Sunday Night is an Australian news and current affairs program produced and broadcast by the Seven Network. The program airs on Sunday nights at 6:30 pm, and is presented by Seven News Sydney presenter Chris Bath.-Overview:...
on Australian Channel 7, Carte BlancheCarte Blanche (TV series)Carte Blanche, produced by Combined Artists, is the flagship magazine and actuality programme on M-Net, a pay-TV channel broadcasting in Southern Africa. Carte Blanche was launched in 1989 and broadcasts during prime time viewing on Sunday evenings....
, National Geographic, New Zealand, Animal PlanetAnimal PlanetAnimal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
and Tippi's Live, Extinction on French TV
Commercials featuring Marlice van Vuuren and the animals at Naankuse:
- Volkswagen Golf Advert (filmed at and around Naankuse featuring Marlice, Lucky the cheetah, cheetahs, baboonBaboonBaboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s) - Toyota Grand Vitara (filmed in RSA featuring cheetah)
- Vodacom (filmed at RSA featuring lions)
- Landrover (filmed at Windhoek featuring cheetah)
- Chinese internet connection (filmed at Sossusvlei featuring cheetah)
Films featuring the animals at Naankuse:
- Beyond BordersBeyond BordersBeyond Borders is a 2003 drama film about aid workers, directed by Martin Campbell and starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. The original music score was composed by James Horner....
- Angelina Jolie (vultures) - Flight of the PhoenixFlight of the Phoenix (2004 film)Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 remake of a 1965 film, both based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix, by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive a plane crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new plane out of the old one to escape. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Tyrese...
- Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi - Mr BonesMr BonesMr. Bones is a 2001 slapstick comedy film made and set in South Africa. Leon Schuster, well-known figure in the South African film industry, starred in the title role. He also created the story and co-wrote the screenplay...
- Leon Shoester - Saltering Desert (Bushman translating)
- Hoofbeats (baboons, a cheetah and Bushman translating)
- No 1. Ladies Detective Agency (baboons in Botswana)
- The Magic Journey to Africa 3D (lion, cheetahs, caracals and baboons)
- Bonny and Clyde (cheetah)
- Black stallion (cheetah)
Wildlife photographers whose work includes the San Bushman and animals at Naankuse:
- Gregory ColbertGregory ColbertGregory Colbert is a Canadian film-maker and photographer best known as the creator of Ashes and Snow, an exhibition of photographic artworks and films housed in the Nomadic Museum.-Career:...
Ashes and Snow ExhibitionAshes and SnowAshes and Snow by Canadian artist Gregory Colbert is an installation of photographic artworks, films, and a novel in letters that travels in the Nomadic Museum, a temporary structure built exclusively to house the exhibition. The work explores the shared poetic sensibilities of human beings and... - Martin Harvey
- Winni Wisniwskhy
- Julian Andrews
- Werner Bauer
- John Bonovige
- Petra Mette
External links
- Naankuse website Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia run by Marlice and Rudie van Vuuren
Video clips
- Marlice - The Film
- VW Golf ad featuring Marlice van Vuuren, May 2009
- Short documentary made by VW of Marlice van Vuuren & Naankuse wildlife sanctuary, May 2009
- Sunday Night Documentary about Marlice van Vuuren and Naankuse June 2009, Australian Channel 7 TV
- Marlice van Vuuren hugging a lion video
- Marlice van Vuuren drinking with lions video
- Marlice van Vuuren playing with lions video
Other websites
- VW website page Background on Marlice van Vuuren and Lucky the cheetah VW ad
- Gregory Colbert Ashes & Snow featuring animals and people at Marlice's wildlife sanctuary
- Martin Harvey photographs featuring pictures of Marlice van Vuuren
- Fantom Film Links to Beyond Borders, Flight of the Phoenix - films featuring animals from Naankuse
Articles
- Travel News Namibia, page 26 featuring Marlice van Vuuren and Naankuse, Dec 09/Jan 10
- VW Golf magazine featuring Marlice van Vuuren and Naankuse following Golf ad filmed at Naankuse, Winter 2009
- VW Golf Magazine second article, Winter 2009
- The Namibian newspaper article, 20 Nov 2009 Naankuse Clever Cubs School opens
- The Namibian newspaper article, 9 June 09 Marlice, Lucky and the VW Golf advert
- Die Burger newspaper article, 22 May 09 Marlice, Lucky and the VW Golf advert
- Republikein newspaper article, 20 May 09 Marlice, Lucky and the VW Golf advert
- The Namibian newspaper article, 27 Feb 09 Naankuse release leopard
- Animal Voice article Marlice and her wild dogs, 11 Dec 07
- Carte Blanche feature 13 Aug 2006
- The Namibian newspaper article, October 05 Marlice van Vuuren starts up new Lifeline clinic at Epukiro