By Risette de Haas | Outreach Manager Daktari Bush School
I would like to thank everyone that has donated so far and for following our project. Without your support we would be unable to help all these students like we do. We were able to register at with WESSA/WWF for the schools, more information will follow in the next reports. Thank you for that, it's a great step into the future of the project and into the education of these kids.
We have had a busy past few months with guest speakers at the club, lessons planned by volunteers, charitable events from other organizations and much, much more. All of the guest speakers and events has given our students confidence in themselves and hopefully will inspire them to work towards a better future.
In previous reports we mentioned Kutullo and that he got his dream placement at Khamai Reptile Park. Well he is still there volunteering and has been there nearly two months now and is still really enjoying it. Every week he phones and tells me all the amazing things he has been able to do, from holding dangerous snakes to going out on calls to remove and release animals from peoples homes. Unfortunately Khamai will not be able to employ him as full time staff due to already having a full team, but the experience and his willingness to learn will give him a better chance of getting employed in the future.
In the future we are planning to try and place as many students as we can in higher education and work placements. Usually interviews, accommodation and travel costs are a factor in where we can send the students. Hopefully with you’re continued support we shall be able to place all the students in areas they are interested in.
In May Global Vision International (GVI) held an event to raise funds for the Daktari Outreach Programme. Staff and volunteers from GVI pushed a Toyota Hilux from a gate on Karongwe Game Reserve all the way to Daktari. They delivered materials and stationary to us and raised money through sponsorship and donations. This huge feat included; 11km of dirt road with 5 hills and to the surprise of everyone at Daktari this was managed in less than 5 hours (some of our volunteers thought it would take over 9). Over £2000 and a huge amount of materials was given to us and every member of the Eco Club was ecstatic that so many people cared about them and there future. All the students and everyone that helps with the Outreach Programme would like to say thank you again and we hope that more organizations will hold similar events in the future.
The last story I want to tell you about happened a few weeks ago. Willington the president of an Eco Club we are not yet involved with contacted me 2 weeks ago. He heard two boys talking about a cattle egret they had found, which was attacked by a dog. The discussion was about taking the egret to a Sangoma (traditional healer) and selling it. This is where Willington stepped in and told the boys to give him it, and this is where he called me. We went to get the egret from the local village and brought it to Daktari where we cared and fed it. Unfortunately the injuries he received were too severe and died soon after. This is a fantastic story of the impact we have made to the community and we hope in the future this will be a more frequent occurrence.
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