Eight First Ladies on Sunday extended a rare gesture of love to orphaned baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT), whom they simultaneously bottle-fed as they marveled at their friendliness.
The First Ladies from Japan, Central Africa Republic, Mauritius, Mali, Somalia, Lesotho and Cote d’ Ivoire braved a cold morning weather to visit the DSWT inside the Nairobi National Park as they rounded off their tour of duty in Kenya where they attended a TICAD health symposium.
They were received and hosted at the Trust by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Environment Cabinet Secretary Prof Judy Wakhungu, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) Director Mr Kitili Mbathi, leading wildlife conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu and the Trust’s officials.
The First Ladies later heard from Prof Wakhungu and Dr Kahumbu on the efforts made to conserve Kenya’s wildlife and the benefits to the eco-system accruing from the protection of the elephants.
The orphaned baby elephants being rehabilitated at the Trust are usually left destitute by poachers who butcher their mothers leaving the babies at the mercy of nature.
Once the orphaned elephants are weaned and are able to feed themselves, they are rehabilitated back to the wildlife, mainly to Tsavo East and West National Parks.
Besides the elephants, the visitors were also able to witness the friendliness of other animals including the rhino, warthogs and the ostrich.
The visit to the DSWT by the visiting first ladies reinforced the strong message by their host for Kenyans to ensure the protection of their wildlife both as a treasured national heritage, the financial gains generated through tourism and the other benefits to the general environment associated with animals.
The First Lady is the patron of the “Hands off our Elephants” initiative.
The DSWT is a charitable organization which re-integrates orphaned baby elephants and those rescued from poachers back to the National parks once they mature or heal (those injured by poachers).
The charity founded in 1977 in memory of conservationist David Sheldrick also assists and advices the KWS over the management and aerial surveillance of the threatened elephants and rhinos.
Later, the First Ladies also visited Kazuri Beads factory in Karen to witness the impact of socially empowered single mothers and their positive role in society.
Kazuri (Kiswahili for “small and beautiful” manufactures ceramic beads using special clay sourced from the base of mount Kenya and through special heat processing, transforms the raw material into an export commodity.
According to Kazuri’s senior supervisor John Kung’u who briefed the First Ladies about all the operations at Kazuri, the factor has employed 300 single mothers whose work of manufacturing the beads supports thousands of other dependants.
He said 70 per cent of the beads are for the export market in Europe, America and parts of Asia especially Japan.
By PSCU.