Tree Of Life For Animals

Our Project Raja Volunteer Scheme is going from strength to strength and the month of April saw us welcome our first group volunteers. A lucky handful of Animal Management students from Chichester College got the chance to come and see what we do - and got some hands on practical experience.

They all had a wonderful time and learned a lot during their time. They also had their encounter published in the college magazine.

Animal Management students from Chichester College visit TOLFA April 2009

In Their Words

At the beginning of the autumn term at Chichester College, Brinsbury Campus an idea for an educational trip was brought forward to all Animal Management students by lecturer Katie Wing. Eight students in total took part from different Animal Management courses; Anna Psiris, Charlotte Williams, Anne-Marie Armiger, Sam White, Sarah Malcolm, Jess Guscott, Laura Deakin, Rebecca Setchell, and tutor supervisors for the trip Liz Proctor and Katie Wing.

We flew to India on the 4th of April for 10 days of what proved to be a very challenging and rewarding experience for animal care students and tutors.

It was our responsibility to make sure the dogs were walked and given specific treatment. The treatments we carried out included vaccinations of vitamins and penicillin, wound washing and care, mange baths and physiotherapy for paralysed dogs. We also had the opportunity to work with some of the large animals at the centre which mostly included cows.

Volunteers providing physiotherapy for this paralysed dog

When we were not at the centre, we spent our time shopping in the town, sampling local food and absorbing the culture. We even had an overnight trip in the desert and slept under the stars with our camels that we rode on!

In the 6 days that we worked at the centre we became attached to many of the dogs and saw a lot of improvement in individual cases and it was rewarding for everyone to see these improvements happening through our help. I believe that as a group we gained a lot from our experience at TOLFA and I would say that the whole trip was a great success in every way.

Volunteers making a difference to the lives of these animals

In fact they had such a great time, there may be plans for another trip next year!

Katie Wing who organised the expedition will be running the Great South Run on 25th October 2009 and will be donating any proceeds to TOLFA.

You can sponsor Katie Wing on her JustGiving.com page: http://www.justgiving.com/katiewing

Come back soon girls!