Zedonk zebra donkey
Zedonk zebra donkey
- Down Syndrome Society af Kenya har i dag adopteret et unik dyr Zedonk hvis forældre er zebra og æsel, på Nairobi Animal Orphanage. Den 10-årige zedonk blev bragt til børnehjemmet fra Maralal den 3. oktober 2010 efter at være frigivet af det lokale samfund til Kenya Wildlife Service. Prime Bank og Devki Steel Mills gav sponsoratet til Down Syndrome Society af Kenya.
I Kenya er der anslået 45.000 mennesker med Downs Syndrom, og antallet er stigende med det nationale gennemsnit er en ud af hver 800 fødsler. Down Syndrom er en genetisk forårsaget sygdom, der fører til forsinkelser i udviklingen, indlæringsvanskeligheder og fysiske defekter, herunder hørehandicap, tale og hjertelidelser.
Andre virksomheder, der har adopteret dyr omfatter Kenya Tourist Board og sygesikring udbyder Resolution Health mens berømtheder omfatte jamaicanske sprinter Usain Bolt, den tidligere verdensmester 110 meter forhindring mester Colin Jackson og premierminister Raila Odinga.
The Animal Adoption Programme gives individuals and corporates a chance to sponsor and consequently adopt an animal at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage with 50 per cent of the sponsorship going to the conservation fund and the rest catering for the animal’s yearly upkeep. Each animal is divided into shares based on the cost of its yearly upkeep.
Nairobi Animal Orphanage is famous for its world-renowned efforts to care for abducted, abandoned, old and injured wild animals. With animals from as far as West and North Africa, the facility has wild animals of all kinds and species. The animals are used for educational and research purposes.
Jamaican sprinter and 100m world record holder Usain St Leo Bolt anamed a three-month Kenyan cheetah cub ‘Lightning Bolt’ at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage and adopted it. This marked the official launch of the Animal Wildlife Adoption Programme by the Kenyan Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, who also named an eight-month lion ‘Agwambo’, his political nickname and adopted it as well. The Prime Minister’s daughter Rosemary also named a lioness ‘Safi’ and adopted it. Former 110m world hurdling record holder Colin Jackson named a four-year eland ‘Colin’ and adopted it during the function. The eland is known for its leaping agility in the wild was rescued in Naivsha after its mother was killed by poachers.
The Animal Wildlife Adoption Programme is one of the activities KWS is rolling out in the build up to the launch of an endowment fund to support Kenya’s wildlife heritage.
The fund seeks to raise Sh7.5 billion (US$100 million) over 10 years to facilitate conservation of Kenya’s wildlife through challenges of climate change, drought, changing land use and high population growth. The fund is also meant to cushion wildlife conservation from over-reliance on volatile tourism trends. The kitty will support wildlife and community conservation efforts for generations to come, and will be used for security operations, research and monitoring, translocations, infrastructure, conservation education and other conservation requirements. So far Sh22, 000,000 (US$ 293,000) has been raised for the fund. This includes Sh20 million set aside by the Kenya Wildlife Service, Sh380,000 from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Sh496,750 from the Cycle with the Rhino, Dr Scott Rogers Sh12,500. And 1,074,000 raised by KWS staff.
Expected contributors to the fund include the Kenyan government, bilateral donors, visitors, foundations, private companies and concerned Kenyans. A new dynamic website to be launched soon has a provision for online donations.