Every day is different here...

Every day here is so different, both from life back in the UK, but also from the day before. I think its this kind of untamed chaos I like.

"Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence." -Buddha 

After falling out with Peggy Sue - our warthog - for her throwing me into the cactus rather un-ceremoniously, we finally made up. A few weeks ago I was struggling with a bad neck and she came up behind me and gave me a back massage with her snout - this was enough for me to soften my dislike of her a little, especially when I saw her lovely long eyelashes - she looked just like Miss Piggy. Things may hit rocky ground for a while after that though as on several occasions I came in to a huge mess under my desk in the office and there can be only one culprit...

"Never eat more than you can lift." - Miss Piggy 

(not sure Peggy Sue agrees!)

In other warthog news, we have three tiny warthog babies all rescued from the veldt. When our director was away I was feeding them for a couple of weeks and they really are the cutest little things, grunting and snuffling around, one of them even fell asleep on me - so freaking cute, it doesn't matter what sort of baby something is, it's cute! (even a warthog)

"Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God."- Barretto

We have just had the Graduation Ceremony for the children at the school - this means that four of them will be going to school in the capital as of next year - they were so nervous when they went up to be congratulated and our teacher spoke very well about them and how proud she was. 

"I hope your dreams take you...to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known." - anon

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dream" - Eleanor Roosevelt

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go" - Dr. Suess

An eagle was recently brought to us with a wing problem- absolutely stunning creature. we tried to release him today, but his wing is still damaged, with the flight feathers at the tip of his wings unable to catch the air right. We passed him on to a bird specialist keep him for a couple of weeks until the feathers grown back and he could be released.

"Don't quack like a duck, soar like an eagle." - Ken Blanchard 

(sadly this one was quacking like a duck)

Our little baboon Sheela is getting stronger, more independent and more mischievous every day. She still gives the best cuddles though and after exhausting days in the baby camp I still sometimes get the pleasure of her falling fast asleep on me.

I measured Frankie a few weeks ago after noticing and a few people commenting that he had not grown in a couple of months, he was 38 inches high, he still seems to be 38 inches high! I am hopeful the rains will bring some nutrition to the grass and he will start to grow a little more, if not it is possible he is the first known dwarf zebra! 

" A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself." - Robert Burton

A couple of weeks ago we picked up two cheetah males to collar and release - they were the biggest boys any of us had ever seen- huge heads and massive bodies. The guys struggles to lift them!

"I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd street." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

When they were released, the first one ran out of the box and the second one decided he liked it in the shade in there and took root, it took some time to get it out!

Great to see two more cheetahs back where they belong - in the wild!

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle" - Paul Coelho

Inspiring times....

“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.” ― Yvonne Woon

As anniversaries of last year tick around, friends get married, have children, move out of London and life starts to shift and as planning for next year starts, I seem to have become more reflective on what has gone before and what I would like to go ahead of me.

 This time last year I was grieving, had a slipped disc for the third time and was about to be made redundant and lose several other family members and close family friends, not that I knew that then. 

Jeremy Kyle seemed to occupy a little too much of my day, sadly, and I wondered what was next and how on earth I would ever get there....

"Get off my stage"
"The DNA test says that.....   IS the childs biological Father"
"Get off your backside and get a job"
- Jeremy Kyle

...well, Namibia was next, and here I still am.



Somehow, you pick yourself up and move on. I'm not saying it's easy, but the alternative isn't either.



"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."-  Helen Keller 

So, a year on and a couple of things have happened recently that have made me much more reflective and realise what I have achieved in the last few years - both the ability to move on and get where I am today personally and professionally. 

At the start of my travels I committed to staying here for 10 months initially, as I had visas for oz and nz that would expire mid November (and due to age restrictions - yes I said it! - I wouldn't be able to get them again).

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. "- Robert Frost 

 My plan from oz/nz was to see the wider world, meeting old friends, making new ones and experiencing new cultures. 

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

After some soul searching about what I really want and what I have already achieved I came to the conclusion that whilst, yes, I do want to continue my travels at some point, for now I am very content right here, making a difference to our animals, research, clinic patients and school children. Of all the places I have ever worked, here I work with the most passionate people and really see the difference on a day to day basis, as you live and work on the project. I finally feel like I am in the right place, I feel I actually, really make a difference and that inspires me. 

"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. " - Abraham Lincoln 

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. "- Joseph Campbell 

In the last few days we have gotten a great grant in of around 50,000 Euros for our clinic, which made me so happy. In case any of you were wondering, we have also raised over N$623,000 in our emergency appeal for the burn victim / hero who I told you about a few months ago, and undoubtedly (between all the donors and supporters) saved his life, we have also recently won a couple of awards for the work we do, and our projects go from strength to strength.

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. " - Abraham Lincoln 
 
Aside from the 'should I stay or should I go?' question the other thing that has made me reflective is producing our strategy for 2013, here is not the place to share the details (yawn for you!), but with so many new projects and finally a nearly full team in place we will be able to achieve - and we all know how I like to make lists and tick things off! 

At a time when you are assessing things backwards (the past) and forwards (the future) and meeting a few other people who are doing the same, it can challenge your perception of yourself. Generally I never feel satisfied with my achievements and am always pushing to the next goal, however someone recently encouraged me to look back on the last few years and consider what I really have done and it's surprising - you really should try it sometime! Between several charity events, climbing the Great Wall of China (x2), completing the Yorkshire 3 peaks (that nearly killed me!), swimming across Windermere, moving to Africa (which was less scary that moving to London!), getting several jobs which I loved at the time, raising around 2.5million for charities through work and personal goals, completing an MA, seeing some amazing part of the world and picking myself up from tough times, there are a few things on that list. I have to say though, some of my most unusual experiences have to have come from where I am now - hand rearing two baby zebras and a baby donkey, being able to recognise their footprints anywhere on the farm and having an amazing bond with them...

My Benny-Bens, near the end

Franks - day one

Cuddles with Dons the feisty donkey

...saving a drowning sheep, filming with a certain welsh hottie from T4 ( and actually being more interested in the San culture and what they had to share!- well most of the time), bottle feeding warthogs, snuggles with a baby baboon (only one, the rest aren't so keen!), seeing cheetahs, leopards and hyenas (who without our intervention may have remained captive or would have been shot) released to be free again, 

seeing small children educated

 and needy patients treated, working with big names and seeing my pics, work (and my baby donkey) on the Nat Geo website, every day brings something new and the list (of which I am eternally grateful for) and that list goes on and on.....

....Your time on earth is limited, make the most of it, follow your dreams and your heart - even when you feel like there is no hope and you simply won't be able to achieve. Because if you are in the right place for you, you won't be able to do anything other than achieve. 

Live extraordinary.