3 of the 27 rangers, who now have an accident and whole life insurance thanks to our help from Switzerland.
We help the green heroes, the rangers of protected areas in Bolivia – for example with an accident and whole life insurance.
The Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon is the most biodiverse conservation area worldwide.
It is protected by 27 rangers; they are in the crossfire of illegal wildlife trade, exploitation (especially gold and wood) and slash-and-burn for meet and cocaine production.
It is a dangerous, hard job in the middle of nowhere, too often outnumbered.
The Madidi, its’ preservation and thus its’ rangers have become a strong part in our mission since first visiting this natural wonder.
A big donation made possible due to the Animalma anniversary was waiting to be spent meaningfully and sustainably in the beginning of 2023. The rangers lack all kinds of equipment to do their work well prepared and safely. Unfortunately, it does happen that donations in kind disappear without a trace.
This is why we decided to invest in an accident and whole life insurance for the 27 rangers of Madidi National Park. For many of them, it is the very first time to fall back on an insurance, if something happens to them while doing their vital work.
The insurance covers
Accidental death USD 10’000.-
Permanent partial or full invalidity USD 10’000.-
Reimbursement for medications USD 1’000.-
and has cost USD 51.72 per person.
The coverage started on 15th of March 2023 for one year.
We thank all guests from the Animalma anniversary as well as other anonymous donors, who gave us financial aid without a special purpose. You made this help possible.
It is thanks to you, that the rangers and their families can feel saver this year!
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Animalma was founded on the 22nd of October 2014 – so high time to finally celebrate our annivesary. A huge part of the Animalma family found their way to the youth club in Effretikon on the 29th of October 2022 for the birthday bash.
We’ve cheered at the bar, tasted delicious Bolivian and international meals, shopped for a good cause at the sales booth and throughout the location one could discover big and small milestones of our associations’ history.
The “party room” was packed when Sarah held her presentation. She took the 50 people – longtime and new donors, friends & family, animal welfare buddies, Bolivians and Swiss all mixed up – on a journey. A very personal journey of all the people, who have been part of her way, who have inspired and strengthened her. As a highlight, Sarah sang her new song “From the woods” – a call for humanity to protect the forest of this world – for the very first time publicly.
It was an amazing evening filled with inspiring and touching conversations and encounters. And it turned into just another milestone in the history of Animalma. The buffet, bar, sales booth and donation box & online presence all added up to a staggering amount of CHF 3’000.- in donations. They will be used one third each for Senda Verde, nature conservation effort in Bolivia and the growth of Animalma as an association. THANK YOU all so much!
A very special THANKS goes to
Ximena for her handicraft efforts and managing the sales booth
Andrea, Chanti, Rahel, Je und Mirj for helping with the setup, behind the bar and taking care of the dog
Fany and Alba for the Bolivian dishes
& of course everyone else cooking and baking in for the buffet
We at Animalma are filled with joy, pride and love looking back to this event and therefore finish this article with a gallery filled with the most beautiful moments of our anniversary.
Making a big difference in small steps – this is Animalma.
Dear Animalma-Family
I am so happy to finally write this newsletter for you. It is full of pictures of my Bolivia trip from February / March and will show you what your help has achieved on site and what we have made possible during this year. We also have a peek what the future holds and I have fantastic news! But let’s take it step by step…
La Senda Verde
Our heart project is now home to 950 animals – every week, new victims of wildlife trafficking arrive at the shelter. Tourism is only recuperating slowly, international visitors and volunteers are still scarce. All the more reason to be happy and proud, that I arrived with CHF 1’000.- in donations to help out our wildlife family and that another CHF 350.- came in during my stay. Vicky’s words “You’ve saved us” symbolize the harsh situation Senda Verde is still facing.
The enclosure for the howler monkeys is finished and the youngsters are enjoying this save space and especially its’ height. The caretakers are also very happy about the easier and safer management.
A huge THANK YOU to all the supporters of both campaigns; the following video is for you:
PS: For once the shelter was busy as a bee hive when I arrived in February. The famous photographer Nick Brandt and his massive crew were at Senda Verde for a whole month. The results are absolutely stunning and the big hope of Vicky and Marcelo to spread their message internationally and receive more support. You can check out his amazing work here.
My first conclusion: Our emergency fund is still vital – we keep on pushing it!
Help the animal shelter Senda Verde through the Corona crisis. The emergency fund helps to feed the over 950 wild animals of the refuge and gives them medical care.
Ranger style
I travelled on to visit the rangers of the Beni nature reserve.
They proudly showed me the petrol they’ve purchased thanks to our turtle adoption program from last year. We enabled them to patrol within their protected area for two whole months.
There was a small donation in my bag pack from another turtle donation, but I was wondering what we could acutally achieve with CHF 40.-… Do you know what? Quiet a lot – like fixing two motorbikes and treat the 7 horses of the camp El Porvenir against parasites and with vitamine B!
Conclusion #2: No donation is too small to spark a miracle!
Before I left, an anonymous birthday donation refilled the petrol reserve of the Beni rangers. There are no words which would truly do justice to describe the greatfulness of the people on-site. All I can say is, that I’m completely enchanted every time I can help directly, specifically and exactly when it is needed.
Thank you for your trust, thank you all for your valuable support!
In love with Madidi
I did it – I’ve realized my dream of going into the Bolivian Amazon! It was magical, adventurous, wild, enchanting… and unsettling.
I was standing under trees that are more than 300 years old – mighty beings full of wisdom, which put us humans back in our place and make our megalomania disappear for a moment. Seeing my first howler monkey in the wild made me tear up; on one hand out of pure happiness and humility. On the other hand because I knew during this whole trip that illegal gold mining further up the river is destroying all the stunning nature around me.
The Madidi National Park is the protected area with the highest biodiversity worldwide and it is getting destructed right now in front of our eyes out of greed for money. This disaster accompanied me during my whole stay in Bolivia and hit me hard. So I posted about it, I wrote to let the grief out, I gave a little interview within my beloved Madidi and I was able to push this topic through my journalist friend Edwin… but I honestly still stand puzzled in front of this massive disaster.
Thanks from the heart to everyone who donated to my guerilla campaign for the Madidi. Part of your help supported people fighting at the forefront, the rest is still waiting to hit the miners where it hurts the most.
I got to know the Madidi rangers during my trip and am pleased that we could bring back light and power to the checkpoint “El Bala”, thanks to another donation. Three new batteries put the existing solar panels back up and running and provide electricity for the rangers, making their vital work a whole lot easier for the next two years. Thank you Fabian!
So what’s the main conclusion of my journey?
Small good deeds can have a massive impact, especially when carried out right on the spot. As valuable as the monetary worth and their effects is the moral support for the animal rights activists and nature conservationists on the forefront receiving our help.
They are moved profoundly that there are people in faraway Switzerland caring about Bolivia and engaging in their mission. Knowing this gives them willpower, hope and new courage to continue their fight.
What happened since
Even though it was quiet around Animalma on the outside, a lot of stuff has happened since I’m back in Switzerland:
We sent another donation through the Emergency fund to Senda Verde and are continuously supporting the primary care of the wildlife shelter.
Thanks to the purchase of the firefighting equipment last year, we set the base to connect the company KPN with the Beni rangers. Together they organised a course in preventing & controling forest fires for the park rangers of different protected areas, voluntary firefighters & indigenous communities in June.
We’ve received a generous donation and already used part of it for more firefighting equipment for the rangers. The rest of the money is ready immediately, if the situation literally gets heated up and emergency relief to combat wildfires is needed. We are in the middle of the dry season in Bolivia and dry season means slash-and-burn season…
Become part of our story / Forecast
If you have read until this very line (sorry my newsletter always get longer as expected), you are probably feeling a certain fascination for Bolivia and / or Animalma’s work. Become part of our story…
Volunteer trip 2023
What started as a crazy idea back in 2020 and was on hold during Corona now becomes reality! From end of February until mid March I am organising the very first volunteer journey to Bolivia. Get to know Senda Verde, the rangers and the stunning Bolivian nature. Let yourself get charmed, inspired and maybe even healed… 😉
I will be your tourguide and together we are going to travel through my spirit home, help out in different projects and also just enjoy the South American vibe and adventure. If you want to join, write me an e-mail to info@animalma.org.
It’s Animalma’s birthday
Animalma turns 8 years old in October and I want to use this opportunity to celebrate with all of you and finally bring the Animalma-family together again. Location and program are still wide open, but please already book Saturday 29th of October 2022.
Ideas / Inputs needed
Of course you can actively support me and Animalma from Switzerland aswell. Right now I’m looking for:
Someone who loves research and would check a little list of laws so I can import the famous Madidi coffee and wild bee honey from Bolivia.
Creative hands crafting goods with donated materials to be sold before Christmas.
People who want to support the bday bash (location hint, behind the bar, with food or a stunt for everyone…)
Cool ideas for merchandising products. An association-bound donation is waiting for a while now to be put to use for sustainable goodies. Let me know your inputs in the comment section below or via info@animalma.org.
I always appreciate feedback and ideas from the Animalma family on how we can spread our message even further and increase our impact.
Nevertheless, I want to finish this newsletter with the insight sticking with me the most from my last journey:
In small steps we are making a big difference for the animals, people and nature on the ground. Thank you to each and every donor – you make all of this possible!
We help the green heroes, the rangers of the protected areas, in Bolivia – for example with batteries for the solar system of a checkpoint.
The checkpoint “El Bala” is located about one hour upstream in the Madidi National Park. A simple hut serves as both workplace and accommodation for the park rangers. They control the boats going in and out of the nature reserve and guard the national park.
For more than a year, the checkpoint had no electricity because the batteries of the solar system stopped working. As a result, the rangers had no light during their 20-day missions. They used power banks to charge their GPS devices.
Thanks to a donation from a zookeeper-friend and a contribution from Sarah, we were able to fund three batteries and their transport to El Bala. The checkpoint and its rangers now have power for the next two years.
Thank you dear Fabian for your renewed support – it effectuated a small big miracle in Bolivia!
The green mountains of the Yungas region – down in the valley lays the refuge.The bridge leads into the shelter…Capi das CapybaraSilala, a heavily traumatised spider monkey, who could not have been integrated into the existing monkey troop so far.View towards the capuchin area…Without Carla, “Project Dron”…
Senda Verde from aboveCubaiScared by wildlife trafficking……but at least with a partner.Carla: veterinary, animal activist and wonderful friend.…would not have been finished so quickly and nicely!
The Emergency fund…
…is filling the food prep room……and feeds the animals of Senda Verde.
The Emergency fund was triggered by policital tensions in 2019 and just kept going feeding the 900+ animals of Senda Verde during the Corona crisis.
Animalma keeps fundraising for food supplies until tourism in Bolivia is back to normal.
We help the green heroes, the rangers of the protected areas, in Bolivia – for example with fire fighting materials.
What started with a spontaneous call for donations for firefighting causes just before a trip to Bolivia in 2021, triggered the initial spark for our conservation efforts and established the contact to the rangers of the protected areas, which is so valuable for us.
Thanks to a large donation, we were able to buy three firefighting backpacks, four breathing masks and two fire extinguishers worth CHF 1’850.- and hand them over to the protected area “Reserva de la Biosfera Estación Biologica del Beni”.
These materials are very expensive, but the quality ultimately determines the effectiveness and safety during the operation and also the sustainability of the purchases.
The rangers are the people who know their protected area best and go out in case of fire; unfortunately often without the necessary protective equipment and extinguishing materials to effectively fight the fires and protect themselves in the process.
Therefore, we are especially happy about this first great success of the “Mission Matafuego” and thank from the bottom of our hearts…
……our longtime major donor, who makes such miracles possible again & again
& the company KPN for the materials including a conservation discount as well as
Benjamin Altofer & Marcos Uzquiano for the expert advice.
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