Nov

Kaziranga Flood Update: Schoolchildren Forgo Mid-day Meal, Buy Milk Formula for Rhino Calves

_{CWRC’s Dr Rathin Barman receives a package of milk formula from the students, teachers and administrators of}_{the Nepali Khuti Banuwa Prathamik Bidyalaya}

Bokakhat, Assam, August 8, 2016: In one of the most touching displays of support for flood-affected wildlife, students of the Nepali Khuti Banuwa Prathamik Bidyalaya, a remote school in Golaghat, Assam, decided to sacrifice one mid-day meal in order to buy milk formula for the eight orphaned rhino calves under care at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility run by IFAW-WTI and the Assam Forest Department.

Established in 1971, the school is located in the Kuruwabahi Gaon Panchayat, Bokakhat sub-division, Golaghat district; it has 172 students (pre-primary to Class V) of which 137 are enrolled for the government’s mid-day meal programme. Teachers informed the children about the rescued rhino calves, and the devastation caused in Kaziranga National Park by this year’s floods, during a conservation awareness session during their weekly extra-curricular ‘Saturday Club’.

The discussion led the students to a spontaneous decision: sacrifice one mid-day meal to buy milk formula for the calves. And so it was done.

“I feel proud that my students felt deeply for the baby rhinos and made a sacrifice in support of conservation. It shows a true nobility of spirit”, said Bubul Dutta, the school headmaster. CWRC centre-in-charge Dr Rathin Barman concurred: “We’ve received overwhelming local support for the flood-affected wildlife housed at the centre. I have to say, however, that this is the most heart warming contribution of all. I am deeply touched and thank the children for this wonderful gesture.”

Appreciating the school’s efforts, Bipin Rajkhowa, chairman of the school managing committee acknowledged the contribution of Uma Acharjee, Charumani Bora and Madhurima Das, the teachers who organised the Saturday Club session and have taken an active interest in the all-around development of the children.

Note: CWRC has received extraordinary support from people around the country for wildlife rescued from the Kaziranga floods. The centre’s requirement for milk formula has been met for the short-term since there are issues of storage and expiry. Rehabilitating wildlife back to the wild is, however, a long-term endeavour. Funds are still required for the construction of shelters for these animals, large enclosures where they learn to roam and browse as they grow older, and of course, the costs associated with medicines and our tireless veterinarians and animal keepers. If you wish to make a contribution, visit our crowdfunding campaign here.