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TEO's Essay Contest Winner Returns from Eco Safari!
by Barbara Wiseman
Mariah visiting the Zulu nursery and handing out toys and supplies.
Mariah's family and friends ready to paint the nursery walls.
Mariah Fisher stunned our panel of judges at TEO’s Southern California Environmental Essay Contest for 2009 with her passion for the importance of actively caring for and preserving the natural world; so, it was no surprise when she won the Grand Prize of an Eco Safari to South Africa for herself and her parents, Patrice Fisher and Maurice Kendrick of Los Angeles. But she and her parents didn’t stop there - over the next few months they worked with TEO to get 6 more of their friends and family to come with them on the safari! The excited group of travelers arrived in Durban, South Africa to begin their adventure on the 28th of December, 2009.
Their first couple of days were filled with shopping, catching up on sleep, enjoying some great food, and a spectacular 3-hour zip line canopy tour high above the subtropical jungle with a tour guide pointing out key aspects of the ecosystem and waterways as much as 100 feet below them.
But the excitement bubbled over on their two-hour drive out to Thula Thula game reserve where they arrived just in time to go on their first game drive, and then joined the New Years Eve festivities with Lawrence and Francoise Anthony and the staff of Thula Thula, learning Zulu dance steps from the locals and celebrating late into the night.
A brand new orphaned baby girl rhino had just arrived a few days before, brought in to be a companion for Thabo, the baby boy rhino they had acquired just a few weeks earlier. Imagine the thrill of being able to spend time with the two youngsters as they boisterously play around the lodge grounds, acclimating to their new home while staying close to their handlers who are now their “mothers.”
With an abundance of wildlife, each one of the game drives were interesting and unique, but the last one, where a bull elephant mock charged, certainly got the blood pumping for everyone. That’s something they will never forget!
Several of the attendees have said that the highlight of their trip was the fulfillment of getting to do something for the local people. TEO staff arranged for the group to paint a room in a local Zulu nursery school for extremely disadvantaged children, many of whom are orphans or whose parents are their older, teenage siblings. At the end of the day, several young children from the local village came to thank them for making their school a better place to be.
TEO’s international Executive Director introduced the Mistress of the nursery school to the technology of EM - Effective Microorganisms for helping to enhance the health of the environment in and around the school, as well as its use in helping to stop the spread of disease; information for which she was extremely grateful.
We’re looking forward to Mariah’s participation in TEO activities over the next year as an ambassador and spokesperson for us. Her passion and care for the environment and endangered species will undoubtedly be very inspiring to others.
The following Gallery is associated with this article:
Eco Safaris
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