A Successful Daktari Delivery Derby
Who would push a Toyota Hilux 11 km up
hills in the blistering sun? We would, of course, for charity that is! On May 30th , the Daktari Delivery
Derby finally took place - And it turned out to be a great success with lots of
fun along the way. Dressed in outrageous
and silly gear, we began our odyssey at 6:45 a.m. and made it to Daktari by 11
a.m. Quite a feat! The staff and
volunteers at Daktari took bets as when we would arrive, and none were even
close to the mark! One person even thought we’d have to cheat and start the
car! Obviously, they don’t know GVI.
To be fair, the whole ordeal was not a walk
in the park. The numerous steep steep hills, the heat and the long
distance made our efforts quite heroic.
We were encouraged all along the way with our speaker system rigged to
the car and a dedicated number of friends helping and cheering us on. Needless to say, “Eye of the Tiger” was
played multiple times that day.
For our last 2 km, the team at Daktari
joined us, making our final push seamless.
We stopped just 100m shy of Daktari itself so that the local school kids
currently at Daktari could help us cross the finish line. Afterwards, the kids gave us a beautiful
performance of a few songs they put together and we presented them with our
educational items that had been donated by local shops in Hoedspruit. The kids
were overjoyed with their new ID books, coloring pencils and pens, ID posters,
coloring paper, scrap paper and even a small pair of binoculars.
To date, GVI Charitable Trust has raised £2280.52. But it doesn’t stop here. This DDD was only the beginning of our
fundraising for Daktari. Our ultimate
goal is £6000, all which will go to the Daktari Outreach program. The program intends to engage with students
in local schools, particularly those that have previously attended Daktari Bush
School, to assist and facilitate establishing Eco-clubs and provide guidance
for running environmental activities and educational programs. Activities such
as litter clean-ups, educational bush-walks, day trips to learn about
Eco-Tourism and wildlife sanctuaries will be organised along with assistance in
achieving eco-school status, and much more.
We think it’s £6000 well spent. Please don’t shy away from giving a donation,
or maybe even another one, for this worthy cause. We will continue to update the blog and
facebook page with information about where the money will be going, once
Daktari begin spending.
Highlights of the day, you ask? Peter
Bradford, Country Director, in short running shorts and his wife’s pink pyjama
top, Daktari’s goofy and sparky outfits, Zuri, our base dog’s (Canis
lupus domesticus),
enthusiasm throughout the day, friends helping to come push and cheer us on,
the kids helping us cross the finish line… There are just too many to
count! Overall, I don’t think we could
have expected anything better! We now
get to sit back, relax our sore muscles, and start concocting the next Charity
Challenge!
Once again, thank you all for your support,
without which this would not have been possible!
Kaggie Orrick
Mountain Project Leader
GVI Karongwe
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