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Another busy few months have passed and xmas has been and gone!
Dave and myself recently tied the knot and got married on November 20th in Kleinemonde near Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape with the perfect scenery
by a picturesque beach.
So to all those who know me I am now officially Mrs Du Toit and proud of it!
Photo - Dave & Josie on their wedding day in Kleinemonde.
Fun was had by all at Christmas time with the volunteers tucking in to nut roast, stuffing and veggies whilst pulling their xmas crackers, drinking their bucksfizz, eating mince pies and opening their secret santa gifts. Craig was particularly excited by the popping candy elves and Michelle has to be the most festive volunteer of the season! We also received pressies for the monkeys and the foundation from Eileen and a couple of other
volunteers which were greatly apreciated.
To finish it all off - Bre & Aubrey presented Dave and myself with a wonderful framed caracature picture of a vervet monkey which was drawn by one of their teachers before they came out to the foundation.
Photo - Volunteers tuck in to Christmas Lunch!
In this issue there are lots of fundraising ideas for people to become more involved back home and for those who wish to help raise more funds so we can get nearer to buying vervet forest everyday. We will also be making a fundraising page on our website with projects that you can contribute to so look out for that in the next few weeks on www.vervet.za.org.
I would firstly like to say goodbye to Heather (aka ‘Beaver’ to all that know her) who has helped with the on site co-ordinating over the last 6 months and has been here in total
for over a year. Heather initially came to the centre for a month in September 2006 but returned in December only planning to stay for 3 months but kept extending her stay (much to the confusion of the visa office) as she couldn’t bare to leave. Heather has helped with everything from the rota to preparing tents for new volunteers as well as helping with the babies, Goliath and daily tasks. Sadly, her stay has finally come to an
end and the time has come for her to return to her family in England for xmas time but
no doubt she’ll be back in the future to see the progress and vervet forest sometime!
Heather changed from someone who we thought of as quiet to her now (sometimes) loud, excitable self. She has gained much confidence from having the extra responsibilities which I’m sure will help her in whatever she pursues.
She will surely be missed not only by the volunteers, monkeys and myself but also by Rubin who Heather accompanied on his daily swims in the dam!
Photo of Heather
This month we saw the return of Eileen Goersdorf for her first baby season. She enjoyed
it so much, she got carried away with taking some extra special xmas pics of the babies and has been the star baby mum! The same day Eileen left, Robyn returned who has
now taken over the baby night shifts along with Arthur to ensure continuity of care.
Eileen returns for babyseason
Happy New Year from all at the VMF!
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Jonty & Sabi - taken by Eileen
Madam - one of this year's orphans
Nap time for the babies with Tiffany!
We have a few extra residents at the VMF!!!
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Sickbay progress - By Lisa Mallins |
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So it’s been yet another busy month in Sickbay which seems to be extending out of sickbay and around the foundation! We are now building up a group of monkeys in SAAV enclosure which became open for integration after damage from the fire. Joining Taggita, Whitey, Phoenix and Saavivor is Buttercup who is now fully integrated out there. It has been great to see her finally climb a tree and play with other monkeys. We are currently integrating Chico who some of you may know from sickbay and Bobby from Goliath enclosure. Although Vicky, Debbie and Heather spent a lot of time with Bobby integrating her into Goliath enclosure it was decided after a small injury to Bobby’s tail that she would join us in SAAV. She is doing very well and is also helping us with our orphans this year. Sabi has been our first baby out into SAAV who is loved by Bobby, Chico and Whitey. Plans to introduce as many babies as possible to surrogate mothers around the foundation this year are now falling into place as we are busy building introduction cages for Skunkey, Goliath and SAAV to allow us to do this. Anne Meike and Sylvana kindly helped us raise some money to pay for 2 introduction cages on SAAV which are very nearly finished. The juniors from Disneyland are now also being integrated into various places around the foundation. Carlito, Karools, Ampie, Marula, Vibrance, Nandini, Munchkin and Acorn are all spending time out in SAAV and there are plans to get the others out there and at Skunkey and Goliath once the introduction cages are finished.
The monkeys in smaller cages in sickbay were all moved outside this month where they are now being grouped into different categories of handling sections. This will make it easy for us to get targets for all of their new cages that we are planning to build for them. Keep a look out for our monthly projects on our website www.vervet.za.org where you
can really help make a difference to the quality of their lives by donating money to help build them new cages. You can also get involved in fundraising, to help with the new fundraising team email info@vervet.za.org.
We would like to thank all the volunteers for their continued hard work and support, this months top workers of sickbay being Helen, Cleo, Kristina (otherwise known as Cha Cha and her delightful dressing up as a ‘sexy Arthur’ for the fancy dress on Halloween!) Jodie, Finnoula, and Kyra. They all did great work with the Juniors, SAAV and the blind enclosure. We couldn’t do it without them. We also have 8 baby orphans so far all doing very well.
The latest being Lionel Ritchie (named by Arthur)! I would also like to thank Indy for her dedicated support and hard work down in sickbay, we have a lot of work to do and a
lot
of monkeys to integrate. So for the festive season we would like to wish you a very
monkey Christmas from everyone at sickbay, and yes, we are playing Christmas tunes
on the
new keyboard which was kindly donated to the monkeys by Naomi Brimacombe.
The Holly
and the Ivy being the monkeys favourite!
A big thank you to Lisa who has been doing a great job looking after all areas
down by Sickbay aswell as Skunkey with Arthur whilst Indy and Lorna are in
England renewing their visas.
Kyra with the juniors
Indy & Lisa have a big clean up in sickbay now that the monkeys have been moved
Bobby & Sabi
Whitey & Sabi
The bandit twins are doing well |
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Help James get a new cage - By Arthur Hunt
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James is a very high ranked monkey that was a pet for many years and then went to a rehab holding facility before coming to the VMF. When he arrived he was not happy and
the separation from his human family caused him to pine for them, I had seen this before and I knew that he would have to make friends with him and get him to trust me so that
we could work together because if we did not bond would make it difficult to work with
him, however he was a strong and fit monkey and he soon discovered that it was not too bad
to be taken away from his human family and to be here. He was then introduced to Koko An introduction cage with Cas, a placid adult male and Chakeeta a female. They all got
on well, and it looked good for James. However as we broke the human contact with him he became aggressive towards his handlers and he only allowed two handlers to work with him.
We also noticed that he was getting ill so he was moved to the sickbay so that he could
be in contact with humans all the time and soon he recovered and allowed us to groom him and we treated him like a king. It is going to be a challenge but I would like
to see James back in a more natural state so that he can be in trees again because he
grew
up in a house and then later in a cage so he never really experience a bit of wild.
To help him we need a project to raise the money to build him a facility where he can experience living back in a more natural environment other than a cage. So I plan to build him a special enclosure linked to an electrified yard that is natural so he can live a life of
a monkey, once he has settled he can be introduced to a female and even later a troop can be built around him. What he needs is his own cage where we will be able to work with him, and this will take form of an intro cage attached to an electrified area of around 1,350 cubic metres that will be more than adequate to give him a good home until we
can introduce other monkeys. [1350 cubic metres is an area of 30 metres by 15 metres with a 3 metre high fence and is a natural area with trees, shrubbery, grass all very
natural that we fence in with a 3metre high electric fencing.]
James came to the centre in March 2001 and is now 12 years old.
Help us make a difference in James’s life by helping with fundraising projects
or
donating money for James' cage by visiting our website www.vervet.za.org.
Please remember to inform us by e-mail if you have made a donation.
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Skunkey Baby Boom! - By Lorna wilkie |
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There has been a lot going on in Skunkey recently, we have had a lot of births and some monkeys have made the next step in their rehabilitation.
On 18th October, Spike, one of the 4 year old girls in the troop, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, we have named him Lee. He is doing very, very well, Spike is a great mum and all the troop love him! He is allowed to get away with murder at the moment… I am sure once he gets out of his cute baby stage, this wont always be the case, but at the moment, he is loving being the doted upon baby. This is the first baby that has ever been born into the troop, and it is fantastic seeing the next generation developing.
Valley has also had a baby, born on 14th November that we have named Vista. She is also being a great mum and the baby is doing very well, she is starting to get off Valley and I am sure it isn’t going to be long until she is old enough to play with Lee. Squirrel had a baby on 21st November, called Shaka, Medusa has taken a liking to the baby and has been helping her look after the baby when Squirrel needs a break. The baby is still on Squirrel the majority of the time, but it will just be a matter of time until she is also playing with Lee and Vista. On 2nd December, Paradise gave birth to a beautiful baby, I haven’t been able to see whether it is a boy or a girl yet as Paradise is being such a good mum, and keeping the baby close to her at all times.
The integration has been moving forward very fast as well, I want to say a special thank you to Aoife and Hellen who were both a great help in the enclosure…and encouraged me to push ahead with the integration. We now have 5 new members of the troop! Elf, Simon and Leroy have been living in the troop for 2 months now and doing very well. It came as no surprise that Simon was immediately loved by everyone, he has introduced himself into F cage and Niamh loves him! Elf and Leroy are doing very well too. Armstrong and Daniel have been living in the enclosure for a month now and both settling in very well, they are starting to make friends with the troop. Even though the girls have become much more protective, understandably, since the births of the babies, they are being very welcoming to them and helping them settle into troop life. |
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Paradise & her baby.
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The 28th & 29th October was ‘VMF Wheels Weekend’ where lots of fundraising took place.
Last year, the funds went towards building the new sickbay area which was officially opened on 8th Sept 2007. This year the funds will be going towards a deposit for Vervet Forest.
The main event 4 x 4 obstacle course was held at the hub, George’s Valley where 32 entrants took part. There were 30 participants in the bicycle races at Unicorn School, 16 quads ran by Quad Mania at Tzaneen showgrounds and 16 motorbikes left Sunday morning from the hub.
Arthur gave a speech about what the raised funds will be used for, thanked and named
all the sponsors and handed out certificates to the people who helped during the day.
This was shortly followed by prize giving and evening entertainment.
The first prize for the 4x4 winner was R10,000 cash!
In addition to the events, all volunteers were involved manning the bouncy castle, selling soft toys, t-shirts, face painting, raffle tickets so fun was had by all!
The total amount raised was approx R10,000 which will be going towards the Vervet Forest project.. In addition to all those thanked in the last newsletter, we would also like
to thank Nika who helped before the event and all those who were there on the day as
well as a special thank you to Debbie and Daleen who helped organise the whole event. We have listed the sponsors of the event on our website.
4x4 obstacle course.
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Fundraising -
Become a pro-active volunteer, we need your help! |
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Fundraising:
Hilde Olbrechts raised 700 Euros selling soft toys and sending an e-mail to everyone she knows asking for donations for Vervet Forest. She was also interviewed for a newspaper in Belgium. You can read her article on this link (the article is in Belgium). Some of you may remember Hilde from volunteering with us, she will also be returning for a year in January and we look forward to her becoming part of our team.
Hilde Olbrechts in the press!
Soft toys - The profits from the soft toys we have sold so far equal to more than R6000. We still have some more money to come in from them.
Christmas monkey name competition - a name the monkey competition was held which raised R200 on Christmas day. Arthur pulled the winning name out of the hat and the winners were Kelly & Ann who chose the festive name of 'Holly' for the new baby (much to the disappointment of Tiffany & Eileen who put in 6 names for the name Nala!)
New xmas baby - Holly with Isabelle
People who have donated via our website click to donate button this month:
Suzy Harrison
Carmin Lepitzki raised 500 dollars for the monkeys at xmas as she was unable to return to the centre this year.
Sadie Humble gave 20 pounds to the monkeys (instead of a xmas present to her sister Josie)
Has anyone else done any fundraising lately? – If you do decide to take part in a fundraising event for the VMF, please e-mail Josie with amounts, description of the event and then pay the money into the click to donate button on our website.
Fundraising Ideas:
- Organise a Quiz night at your local pub
- Hold a Talent contest at your university / college
- Use a collection box as a swear box or for those who are trying to give up smoking or New Year's resolutions etc.
- Sponsored events – please e-mail Josie for a sponsor form if you would like one.
- Buy Natemba book for childrens gifts online www.abcbooks.co.au
- Teachers – hold a no school uniform day in aid of the Vervet Monkey Foundation.
- Forward this newsletter on to friends and family so they can read how they can help make a difference.
- Hold a car boot sale, ask friends and family to donate items that they would have otherwise thrown away (unwanted xmas gifts etc)
- New Year's Eve driver - be the designated driver for New Year's Eve and ask all your friends to pay a contribution for you staying sober!
- Raffle - ask local businesses to donate items and hold a raffle at your workplace / club / school etc.
Kristina dresses as 'a sexy Arthur' for fundraising at the Half Human
You could always raise money by having a arm wrestling night
(as Michelle and Jack are demonstrating above!)
- VMF Collection boxes - we will shortly be having VMF collection boxes to
distribute in the UK. Once ready, Jo Turner will be sending them out to people
in the UK. If you are able to display a cardboard collection box please e-mail me josie@vervet.za.org so I can arrange to send one to you. If you are from another country and would like one please e-mail me so we can organise depending on postage costs etc. Volunteers who will be coming out next year may also wish
to display one in their offices / workplace and inform everyone what they will be
doing here. The coinstar machines as below can be used to convert the loose change once it is full. Thanks to Louise Birchall (who will hopefully be
volunteering with us sometime next year) and her Dad - Martin who has
kindly offered ot help us with the artwork and project co-ordinating.
- Loose change – if you have loose change just lying in a jar gathering dust somewhere, many supermarkets in UK and US have a big green coinstar machine where you can just throw all your loose change in, it will count it for you and give you a printout of the amount. All you need to do then is collect it in note form from a cashier and voila you keep the notes and click on our click to donate button on our website to donate all or some of the cash to us. To locate your nearest coinstar machine you can click on www.coinstar.com or call 0800 328 2274
- Xmas stall 2008 – please e-mail me if you would like to get involved in the planning and ideas for a xmas stall in England for December 2008.
- In country fundraising teams needed - we are looking for volunteers in each country to start up teams who can help with various fundraising projects. If you would like to become involved in this, please e-mail info@vervet.za.org
Here is one example below of how 2 volunteers have helped make a difference. |
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Sylvana & Anne Mieke's mission to help the VMF - by Sylvana |
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I knew from my first time at the foundation that they are in need of a lot
of items such as babymilk and babybottles. I had an idea to make some
collecting cans and distributed them at some local shops. I made a note on it
that it was to help the monkeys and would be spent on babymilk as well as
medical supplies. Then we had the idea to visit our pharmacist and they
offered me a discount on everything we would need. So Anne Mieke thought that
she can do the same in her village.
The pharmacist there was very
enthusiastic and said he would contact some of his colleagues and would phone Anne
Mieke if he heard anything. We were very surprised when he phoned her and
said that she could come and choose some medical supplies. There were so many things that we needed 4 big boxes which we had to send by mail, because there
was no way we could take that much stuff with us in our suitcases!
We also got some
other companies interested. However, I have to say that they all were friends and
family of us but they contributed a lot of money. Also our friends started to
collect things like babybottles and bandages.
We also got a company that would pay for the cost of sending the boxes to
Tzaneen. It was Sylvana’s birthday on 15 October. She said to her friends: ‘Give me no presents but help us to do something for the Vervet Monkeys’. She was given baby bottles and also money for her birthday.
All of this made it possible to buy a lot of babymilk also sponsored
by Spar in Tzaneen. Dave made the arrangements for this very big discount with the manager at Spar.
We also bought 50 new bowls and had enough money left for 3 release
enclosures to be built around SAAV enclosure.
List of people / companies that donated:
Rijnwoude Apotheek - Rinse Bazen. Driebergen Driebergen - Peter de Boer. MTM - Leon Simons. Albert Heijn - Piet Smit. Drogisterij Margriet. Dutch Cool Service -
Raymond v.d. Heijden. Christa Buiter. Manja en Jerome. Timo en Marlies. Heer en mevr. Rollingswier. Fam. Smit. Fam Verweij. Erno Rosaria. Bianca Rosaria. Fam. Vlaanderen. Adri en Rick. DA Drogisterij Starrenburg, Gerard Starrenburg.
Sylvana & Anne Mieke started up a web site by going to a site called www.waarbenjij.nu where you can make a holiday website. There you can write stories and set up pictures from your trip or experience. This way you can inform everyone about what you will be doing. Sylvana & Anne’s website address is www.monkeybusiness.waarbenjij.nu (all in Dutch) so that people could contribute money, could follow their story and also give feedback.
A huge thank you must go to Sylvana, Anne Mieke and everyone who donated any item or money no matter how small. This is an encouragement to us all about how we can make things happen. We can't thank people enough who go above and beyond to make a difference to these monkeys lives.
Sylvana's birthday present
Sylvana, Spar Manager & Freddy with the Babymilk purchased with funds raised
Just one of the boxes of many items Sylvana & Anne Mieke had donated.
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Afternoon trip to Debengeni waterfalls
Trip to the tea gardens
Photo of the month at the VMF - taken by Tobin
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Welcome
to our new arrivals:
Makeisha Ledbetter, Michelle Cox, Joshua Vaughan, Jack Rambaldi, Tobin Krieg, Tiffany Myers, Wendy Van der poel, Craig Freedman, Michelle Nodeau, Isabelle Doquette, Katie Hobbs.
Welcome back:
Robyn Stoward
Goodbye and thanks for the last few months: Luke Miller, Jennifer Salisbury, Sophie Tallis, Cassy Gagnon, June Pieterson, Laura Finger, Dave Biffen, Deborah Evans, Arnaud Maendly, Michaela Roberts, Kristina Johnson, Kyra Walsh, Ian Kottke, Helen Hutchinson, Bekki Harrington, Dan Ferris, Nicci Hatzkilson, Bryna Belisle, Gavin Downie, Ingrid Downie, Tory Geisselmann, Ellie Heyworth, Cleo Peacock, Emily Kurz, Sue Trotter, Heather Pearce, Eileen Goersdorf (return), Kelly Mansbridge, Ann Mahoney, Aubrey Terallba, Breanne Amen, Sarah Westie, Shirley Mullins, Kelly Frick.
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