PROJECT UPDATES VOLUNTEER NEWS SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
ANTELOPE PARK COMMUNITY PROJECTS PROJECT NEWS: 0 This month, volunteers spent 493 hours working across all projects! 0 They have had a lot of fun teaching Maths and English to the Mkoba 4 Special Needs class, which included addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, number identification, alphabet recognition, spelling plus more! 0 Of course, they have also enjoyed colouring lessons at the Mickey Mouse Pre-School, developing the motor skills and coordination of the children. 0 At the clinic this month, the volunteers attended to 27 patients under general observations, 92 babies in the baby clinic and 56 mothers in the maternity ward. In addition, 51,834 pills were counted and packaged. 0 During home visits, the volunteers donated medical supplies to the Bunga family to assist with Charles who is a quadriplegic. 0 Construction has continued at Julena Primary School, with volunteers assisting the builder with brick laying, mixing cement and moving building material. 0 During Conservation Education, the children learnt about Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Holland and in turn, the kids taught the volunteers about Zimbabwe.
ANTELOPE PARK STABLES THIS MONTH:.0 Volunteers have been having show-jumping lessons from an instructor in Bulawayo, hosted both at Antelope Park and Bulawayo. These day excursions have been a lot of fun with the volunteers also visiting Healing with Horses whilst in Bulawayo and helping with horse therapy. 0 It has been a busy month caring for the stables family The volunteers have cared for Wave who damaged his ear, Shadow who developed an abscess on her side, Merc who was suffering from colic and required medication and docking manes for polocrosse. They also helped to create health cards for all the stables family! 0 This month, the volunteers have also finished preparing the stables office, refilled sand and mucked out the stables, swept and cleaned the tack room, stuffed hay nets, dipped and de-ticked horses, cleaned out water troughs, collected rubbish and wire from the polocrosse fields, made fly traps and sterilised equipment. to name a few! 0 And of course the fun stuff show jumping polocrosse, horse swims, carriage rides, sunset rides, round up, safari rides, lessons & cross country. When you're at AP you learn about the importance of lion conservation in Africa and you get to be hands on with the majestic animals and at the same time make a difference for the lion population in Zimbabwe. At the same time you get to spend time with the parks many horses which really makes the entire experience. You ride out in the bush and get to walk, trot and canter depending on your level. You see the wild animals up close in a way you can only do on horseback. At the same time the project includes a lot of riding lessons meaning I got to improve my riding skills a lot. I jumped, did school work, played polo crosse and even jumped one of the only crosse country courses in Zimbabwe! Overall a great experience and I'd do it all again Cecilie Madsen 19, Denmark
Lion rehabilitation & release into the wild program THIS MONTH: 0 Volunteers had a special Valentine s Day behaviour enrichment session, making elephant poo flower bouquets and love hearts for our lions! 0 Over 300 meters of new fencing was put up around the Antelope Park perimeter, helping to keep our animals inside and poachers out! 0 The LP cubs have continued with their Stage 1 Lion Walks this month, going out twice a day every day. Each of the cubs has a very distinctive personality that the volunteers are coming to learn. In addition, the remaining 5 cubs have begun short cub walks every afternoon, exposing them to new environments and preparing them for their Stage 1 Walks.
The most incredible 5 weeks. So much happening, so well organised and so much on offer. Rosa and Abbie were both brilliant and there was an amazing feel about the place. Came for 4 weeks and stayed an extra week, best decision. The option of Victoria Falls was fantastic and park life was so much fun. Lion walks and elephant herds were incredible and the setting of the place was beautiful. The only problem is once you go you will never want to leave Felicity Gratton 18, UK EXTRAS 0 This month, some of the volunteers observed 7 snakes being released back into the wild by our snake handler, Tom. This included 3 Puff Adders, 2 Pythons and 2 Cobras! Antelope park is the best thing I ve ever done. The experiences, the scenery, the friends you make and just being here is out of this world. If you were to stay here for a couple of days, it would probably be one of the best day of your life, just imagine being here for 2 months as I did! This should be on everybody s bucket list Oliver Rønne-Körberg 21, Sweden 0 We also had volunteer excursions to Victoria Falls and Free to be Wild Sanctuary, with the volunteers enjoying the scenery outside of Antelope Park! 0 A fundraiser for the local SPCA was held at the AP bar, following a visit to the shelter over the weekend. The volunteers were touched by the various kittens, puppies, cats and dogs at the shelter and wanted to do more for these animals.