Interacting with wildlife for the first time in their lives
We take a look at some of our projects in South Africa back in September 2009, where the children from a special needs school who our volunteers are supporting, visit a wildlife sanctuary to meet African animals for the first time in their lives:
Interacting with wildlife for the first time in their lives
September 2009
Yesterday we took 11 of the children of Letaba special needs school to Daktari animal orphange. Supported by the 
teachers this outing was to give just a few of the children from the school an opportunity to see animals they had never seen or did not know existed before.
Many of the children have never been out of their school like this as it is a boarding school, and many of them are orphans or have families that struggle to cope with their high physical and behavioural needs.
The children expressed so much excitement when getting onto the bus and when we arrived their faces said it all. When being told they could stroke a squirrel, a bush deer and even a dog, their faces lit up with amazement. Some of them have never even seen these animals before. Several of the children just wanted to look as they found it a bit daunting and looked a bit unsure when a dog approached them, having never met one before, but they soon seemed to relax.
They were lucky enough to also see a giraffe, a baby orynx, ostridges, mongoose and many more rescued wild animals, which if possible will eventually be released back into the wild. Some of the children got to hold a tortoise, which they were fascinated by. They were taught all about the animals, how they live, where they live, what they eat, how long they live and what care they need while they are in the animal orphanage. The children got told about several of the animals that have disabilities such as the blind donkey and eagles who have lost their legs which the children appeared to relate to due to their disabilities. They asked questions about how the animals became disabled like this.
The children went home to their school with some birds feathers given to them by Daktari. The staff of Da
ktari were very welcoming and kind. The teachers were very appreciative of the day and expressed that this is a once in a life time opportunity for these children. They also said they were going to be stopping off at a shop on the way back as none of the children know what a shop is.
The aim of the future of Yebo will be to give as many children as possible opportunities like this, to learn about wildlife, understand they are not alone with their feelings and disabilities and to give them a therapeutic and educational experience.
