Wildlife Conservation India Project #36385

Gentle Giant Summit for Stakeholders in Kerala

by Voices for Asian Elephants

Gentle Giant Summit for Stakeholders in Kerala

Project Report | Nov 19, 2019
A Massive Success With Tremendous Media Coverage

By Sangita Iyer | Project Leader

This news coverage in The Hindu

The Gentle Giant Summit was a huge success with at least 75 people attending the event!

People from Kerala State Electricity Board, Police department, Forest, and Veterinary Care & Animal Husbandry participated in the event. The media coverage was quite significant ... Please find below some clippings, and here are some links to the media coverage, which pretty much also summarizes the outcome of the summit.

We've created a steering committee called - Mathanga (elephant) Maanava (people) Maithiri (Harmony) - the name is regional and it was created by the native people. I only facilitated the event! The line of speakers was phenomenal, find attached. Also find attached some images from the event!

But it hasn't been without challenges... For almost a month, since we provided a training program to mahouts at the Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Center the elephant lobby group has been trolling.

They're cyber-bullying me ... they want to silence me, so they can continue to torture elephants. They're trying to distort the facts... they will continue to do whatever they can. They've filed a public interest litigation against me for speaking out the truth. But what an opportunity for the truth to shine in the High Court of Kerala!! It will only strengthen our case to end elephant slavery! CLICK HERE TO READ the article in India's popular daily, The New Indian Express

And here's the detailed outcome of the Gentle Giant Summit in yet another popular Daily, The Times of India:

CLICK HERE TO READ about the steering committee.

Please check the images and news articles below!

NONE OF THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT!! WE DID IT COLLECTIVELY!!

Despite the cyber-bullying and the mafias who tried to prevent the GGS, the program was a huge success, and many people were asking for us to conduct more such programs!! We also have positive feedback from the attendees in a survey we conducted.

Will be in touch with you soon, as we get set for the Holiday Season! Have a wonderful week ahead!

Sincerely,

Sangita

Kerala State Electricity Board & Electrocution

Action Plan to Preserve Wildlife

Part 2 - Action plan

The Hindu Article

Links:

Permalink

Oct 14, 2019
Just over a Month to go and here's an Update!

By Sangita Iyer | Project Leader

Sep 3, 2019
It's a Wrap!!

By Sangita Iyer | Project Leader

Gentle Giant Summit Invitation

Thank YOU so very much from the depth of my soul for your support!! Because of your immense generosity we've met our goal. All of us at the VFAES are truly grateful for your thoughtfulness on so many levels --- sharing on FB, emailing friends, and even donating over and over again. Wow!

Here are the speakers:

Project Elephant Director
The Chief Wildlife Warden
Dr. Raman Sukumar - world renowned elephant scientist
Kerala Police Chief (this is huge because he never accepts invitations!)
Kerala's animal husbandry chief
A high ranking railway authority to address railway track deaths of elephants
A high ranking authority from the energy ministry
Kerala's fire chief

And more ... Frankly, I'm a bit nervous because this is our first time. But we're very excited because we're implementing ecological principles and symbiotic relationships to bring people together.

So the dates are confirmed ... Please find attached the graphic (Invitation we'll be printing). It was created by Yansi, one of our sweet volunteers (Indeed I'm also a volunteer)...

Next up... Today is my Birthday --- I was born on Ganesh Chaturti - Lord Ganesha's Birthday. People say I'm the chose one, and I feel that way too. And ... I received MY BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER !! It's now official!! We're partnering with the Kerala Forest Department to PURCHASE LAND AND CREATE CORRIDORS FOR WILD ELEPHANTS!! The project just got approved by the Global Giving Foundation.

As we all know, elephant habitats are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate in India. And wild elephants are being CAPTURED due to human elephant conflict. We can AVERT CAPTIVITY ... So, my Birthday Wish is to RETURN THEIR LOST LAND!! Negotiations with the owners to sell a 58-acre plot of land inside one of the pristine forests has been completed! I invite you to become part of the legacy. YOU CAN ADOPT A PATCH OF LAND for our elephants. This has taken a couple of years of trust building.

Please CLICK HERE for THE KERALA CORRIDOR PROJECT 4 WILD ELEPHANTS

FYI ... If you scrolled down the campaign you'll have the option to create your own fundraiser, if you're inspired to do so. Collectively, we can make a huge difference in the lives of elephants!!

Rest assured, I'll be sending you the photos at the Gentle Giant Summit, as and when it unfolds, and keep you posted every step of the way!! So although we're closing the donations for this campaign, I can still send you updates :)

If you have any questions please email at support@vfaes.org

INFINITE LOVE AND GRATITUDE FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!! We really look forward to creating peaceful coexistence for elephants with your support. It will be a win-win situation.

Sincerely,

Sangita

Permalink

1 2 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.