MATCHING FUNDS Up to $15,000 by OUR GENEROUS donorS, THE VITALE FOUNDATION, through JUNE!
Our extremely generous donors, the Vitale Family Foundation, are matching your donations up to $15,000 - for the next two months! This means every dollar you give, doubles in value!
The rehabilitation wildlife centre is coming together! Two of our modules make the mammoth drive to the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa for placement!
Over and Above Africa V.P. of Project Management, Celeste Collins, and myself (Founder and CEO, Kerry David) just returned from visiting out friends from Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Deirdre & Arno Joubert, and Dereck Milburn and Wiki West from Wild and Free -- all of whom are fully invested with us to create this vital, state of the art Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Nelspruit, South Africa!
This is Over and Above Africa’s largest (if you don’t count us translocating a herd of elephants as large!), and definitely most ambitious project to date. We couldn’t be more excited for it. The process has been exciting and challenging as you might imagine with so many logistics and complicated by this year’s inclement African weather patterns! However, we are weeks away from completion when it will open and Deirdre, Doc Peete and their team of volunteers will be treating injured wildlife, many from in and around the Kruger National Park; rehabilitating them for a successful and safe release back into the wild.
Highlights from our visit with Wild and Free Rehabilitation Center and We Wild Africa - photos by Wiki West, Kerry David and Celeste Collins. Locations: #KrugerNationalPark, #CapeTown, #Nelspruit, #Wild&FreeWildlifeCenter
Currently, veterinarians in the region have to drive hundreds of km’s to access equipment like X-Ray machines and MRIs, which will now be available for use in our wildlife center - saving countless lives that could otherwise be lost.
This will be the only approved rehabilitation centre endorsed to treat animals in both the red and white zones. The red zone refers to wildlife infected with Tuberculosis (TB) and the white zone to animals not infected, that traverse Kruger National Park.
Our long term goals for the rehabilitation center are for it to become an educational and learning hub for students wanting to work in all aspects of wildlife care. We’ll encourage visiting veterinarians to come and teach their skills, and learn new procedures in caring for the kind of wildlife only seen in Africa! There will be visiting lecturers to share topics on a variety of wildlife, protecting the ecosystem, the importance of the canopy and keynote species in Africa.
We will also facilitate multiple programs for the surrounding communities to participate in and learn via ‘hands on’ experience. Under Deirdre’s expert tutelage, we also hope to attract global volunteers and veterinary medical interns to come and study here - to learn about the many challenges Africa’s wildlife are challenged with today - promoting global awareness of all issues.
Need: Intensive care and ultimate rehabilitation and monitored release of injured or abandoned animals in and around Kruger National Park and the greater Mpumalanga Province.
Plan: After treatment, once animals are strong enough, they will be placed in the enclosures at the rehabilitation centre to prepare them for a monitored release.
Completions: Once approved for release, the wildlife will be moved to a soft release enclosures in various reserves throughout the country or abroad. All releases will be professionally performed and/or monitored by, We Wild Africa, our partners on the ground and led by conservationist, Dereck Milburn.
Background of Wild and Free Rehabilitation Centre
Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, embodies a commitment to the ethical rehabilitation of indigenous wildlife. Founded by the passionate Deidre Joubert, this unique centre operates as a self-funded, registered non-profit organization, dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of South African wildlife facing injury or displacement.
In the captivating landscape of the Lowveld, where the delicate balance between humans and wildlife is often challenged, Wild and Free serves as a refuge for creatures caught in the complexities of human-wildlife conflicts.
Their 24/7 open door policy, is a testament to the unwavering commitment they show to the well-being of Africa’s diverse wildlife. Deidre Joubert, fueled by a profound passion for wildlife, leads her team in rescuing animals from all corners of Mpumalanga.
The unique biodiversity of the Lowveld often transforms it into a hotspot for human-wildlife conflicts. Drivers speeding is a major contributor to the wildlife that Wild and Free treat. There is a pressing need for a rehabilitation facility in this region, countering the unfortunate reality of insufficient facilities to treat casualties. This results in injured animals left unattended, or in the care of a caring, but untrained public - which can lead to public health risks and the inappropriate raising of habituated wildlife.
Wild and Free is capable of handling all species of animals, ensuring they receive the expert care and attention they deserve. With a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, this centre will provide a much needed sanctuary for injured wildlife but also serve as a consultative resource and learning facility for the community.
In addition to the life saving operations performed, the clinic will ultimately become a training facility for future veterinarians, and volunteers visiting from wthin Africa and from overseas and appropriate students visiting to complete internships.
Become a part of this exciting project by donating and sharing this fundraiser!
The center has been designed for growth and for maneuverability. Fundraising to purchase new modules that will be put in place as the center grows and needs arise. They are also mobile with global warming in mind, so should a disaster befall the area (like a fire or a flood) something epic that would put the animals and staff at risk, we have the ability to move everyone from wildlife, staff, volunteers and the modules themselves, to safety.
The center has been designed for growth and for maneuverability. Fundraising to purchase new modules that will be put in place as the center grows and needs arise. They are also mobile with global warming in mind, so should a disaster befall the area (like a fire or a flood) something epic that would put the animals and staff at risk, we have the capability to move everyone to safety.