Written by LOGAN FORBES
In an age of many endangered and declining species, all rightly deserving of our concern and protection, it’s difficult to know where my contribution will have the greatest impact.
Like everyone, there’s a limit to the funds I can set aside for charitable giving, and because of that, I need to choose wisely.
Today, I chose to donate to Chengeta Wildlife, and here’s why:
On a daily basis, there are reports of poaching events across Africa; endangered animals slaughtered, sickening images of elephant and rhino left for dead, heartbreaking photos of their orphaned calves, and the irretrievable damage done to our environment, and for what? Greed, status and adherence to medicinal remedies with no basis in fact.
Added to that, the results of the pan African elephant census are starting to come in and the news is, as predicted — bleak.
An elephant is a unique creature.They’re a keystone species and hold great importance to our environment.
They have been proven to be sentient beings; they celebrate births and reunions, comfort one another, grieve over lost friends and family and have shown altruistic tendencies towards each other as well as other species.
Elephants know they’re in a war with man; a war they had no part in starting. They know the “who”, “what” and the “where”. What they don’t know is “why?”.
Elephants can’t fight back. They have no chance to win this unjust battle raging against them. Their horror at seeing their fellow species slaughtered must surely be compounded by the empathy they feel toward one another.
Rory Young is the co-creator of an anti-poaching doctrine that works. I know it works from field reports and multiple published articles describing the ranger’s unprecedented success.
Even a layperson like me can rejoice in a headline proclaiming “81 arrests in 12 days“. At the very least, I know 81 possible poaching events were prevented; due directly to the Chengeta Wildlife funded training program.
During that particular training session, no humans and no animals were injured or killed. The rangers learned invaluable skills to prevent poaching and protect their citizens and natural resources from criminals. And, they’re now equipped to instruct others to do the same.
Chengeta Wildlife is funding these training sessions through private donations from individuals like me. I know my money is going to an organization that doesn’t funnel donations into administrative costs.
Every donation, regardless of amount, directly benefits an endangered animal’s life. Existing personnel will be trained to tackle poaching in a manner proven to be effective.
I can’t ask for more than that.
Here is the link to the current fundraising campaign. http://chengetawildlife.o
If you can, please make a contribution.
*When you make a donation of any amount (from $1.00 up to $10,000), it will be matched, tripling your donation.
Ellen Vrana has pledged to match the next $10,000 in donations to Chengeta Wildlife
An Anonymous donor will also match the next $10,000 and,
William Mccleary will match the next $2,000!
For example: If you donate $50, Ellen, William and Anonymous will each contribute $50 increasing your total donation to $200.00!
Please take a moment to contribute to this worthy cause and let’s all do what we can to stop the scourge of poaching that’s destroying our cherished and irreplaceable wildlife and natural environment!
