Earlier this week on Wednesday, I was granted the incredible opportunity to visit and volunteer at Pretoria Zoo, as apart of my Life Orientation curriculum to volunteer in my community.
I have always wanted to visit the zoo, as I pass it on a daily basis on my way to school but I always had a reason as not to visit. 'Too cold, too tired, too busy', the list is endless. It was when my classmates and I had failed to find a place to volunteer at, when my mom suggested that the zoo may be open to volunteers. So, my classmates and I went to go inquire if they were indeed open to us visiting.
It took so much effort as we were given the wrong number and wasted countless minutes, calling and calling to no avail. We did not give up, we were determined! So we called again and we were told that we had been given the wrong contact number and were instructed to go back and ask for a specific team leader. We were lucky enough to meet him in person and we were afforded a time and date to volunteer!
It was such an extraordinary experience because the zoo is huge! We meet with a lovely coordinator, who was so bubbly and hospitable, the zoo felt like a second home by the time I left. I felt so comfortable on the same turf as lions! Imagine!
I truly feel so blessed because as an African, I always felt so upset that as someone indigenous to this land, this continent I had never seen the big 5! 🦁 I have seen zebras before very close to where I live and I even wrote to the environmental department of my country but that is another story for another Sunday! The animals are so beautiful and I was constantly in awe of God's creation and how huge they are really are in person.
I specifically performed the task of top dressing. I helped separate elephant manure from trash, so that the manure can be raked onto the grass. This is a task that the zoo performs in winter, to help the grass remain green and fresh. It was an exhausting task and I am in awe of the women who work so hard to do this task! It is quite noble and difficult, I just wish that they were more proud of themselves and of the incredible task that they are doing. Another thing that I realized was that the elephant manure came straight from the elephant so why was it mixed with trash? I asked this question and the answer I received was that, the people who collect the elephant manure put it with trash. That is such an oxymoron because it's not environmentally friendly or conscious because there will still be some fragments of trash left. I wish and hope that the zoo can change this in future. 💚
There is so much to write about, such as how the strike in town has affected and polluted the river that runs through the zoo. It goes to show just how much everything that we do has such a ripple effect.
All-in-all, it was such an amazing trip, as I spoke to some of my colleagues who are studying the same course that I don't usually talk to. I was a lot more outgoing and it put my leadership, time management and people skills to the test. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the zoo and will most definitely be returning to volunteer soon!❤️
I will would love to leave you with food for thought this week instead of a quote of the week: I would like to challenge you to see the importance in the good that you do no matter how small it may be. Even if it's not glamorous or conventionally seen as normal, embrace it and be proud! All the good that you do truly does come back to you ten fold.
All my love
Ruthy
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