Bokakhat, Assam, August 13, 2016: Vivek Menon, CEO of WTI and Senior Advisor to the President, IFAW, travelled yesterday to the Kuruwabahi Gaon Panchayat in Bokakhat to meet the schoolchildren that had sacrificed a mid-day meal in order to buy milk formula for 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.

As reported here last week, students of the Nepali Khuti Banuwa Prathamik Bidyalaya had decided on this course of action following a discussion on the Kaziranga floods during their extra-curricular ‘Saturday Club’ meeting. The decision was formally approved by the Block Elementary Education Officer, Bokakhat, and a packet of milk formula handed over to CWRC’s centre-in-charge Dr Rathin Barman on August 8.

Vivek Menon addressed the students briefly before handing over signed certificates of appreciation to the school’s 172 students, their teachers and governing body members on behalf of WTI and IFAW. “I was extremely touched when I learned what these students had done”, he said. “If you feel deeply about an issue, you will be ready to sacrifice something for it – this is a truly wonderful lesson they have taught us, especially in the context of wildlife conservation. I would like to congratulate the teachers and school administrators as well, since they are clearly looking beyond mere academics towards instilling important values in their students.”

“We are very happy that Mr Menon visited our school and expressed his appreciation for our students’ support for the flood-rescued rhino calves”, said Bubul Dutta, the headmaster of the school. Also present on the occasion were Bipin Rajkhowa, Chairman of the School Managing Committee, Dr Rathin Barman and Dr Panjit Basumatary of CWRC, Bokakhat journalists Pradyut Mahanta and Dibyajyoti Hazarika, and parents and well-wishers.