Newsletter January 2025

Newsletter January 2025

Dear Animalma family

I’m delighted to be writing the first newsletter of 2025 for you. It will be short but sweet, because this year has it all…

Anniversary celebration on 08 March

We are in the middle of preparations for our big jubilee party to celebrate our 10th anniversary with you on 8 March.

We will also be celebrating Sarah’s birthday at the same time.

All details and the sign-up form can be found here in the invitation.

Thank you for your registration by 14 February. I hope to be seeing many of you this evening and toasting with you.

Campaign update ‘Fighting wildfires with knowledge’

Our new campaign Fighting wildfires with knowledge went live with the last newsletter in October. Over the past three months, we have already collected an incredible CHF 7’045.- in donations thanks to 20 supporters.

At the same time, preparations for the forest firefighting courses in April / May are in full swing. You can find a detailed update here.

We are still in the middle of fundraising for this wonderfully sustainable project, which we are realising together with @fire Switzerland, and thank you for your donations via:

Every amount counts – every amount saves a piece of the Amazon.

I am looking forward to a new Animalma year full of adventure and with you by my side. Together, we will once again achieve great things on a small scale for nature and the wildlife of Bolivia.

Best wishes & hope to see you at the “Jubi-Fäscht” on 8 March,

Your Sarah

News “Fighting wildfires with knowledge”

News “Fighting wildfires with knowledge”

Project goal

In April and May 2025, Animalma is organising three two-day forest firefighting training courses for rangers and volunteer firefighters in northern Bolivia with the experts from @fire Switzerland and our local partner, the voluntary forest firefighters ‘Jaguares’.

The focus is on efficient tactics and the use of firefighting equipment, as well as topics such as crisis organisation, logistics and nutrition. The two weeks will also be used for a valuable knowledge exchange between the firefighters from Bolivia and Switzerland.

Click here for the campaign with the detailed project description.

Present status

The @fire specialists are currently in the middle of developing the course content and schedule, while Animalma is focusing on the funding and overall organisation of the mission.

Three months after the launch of our fundraising campaign Fighting wildfires with knowledge, we have already received an impressive CHF 7’045.- in donations. This amount will enable us to cover the costs of the roughly 60 participants and the organisation on site, as well as the logistics and accommodation of the Swiss team.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following donors for this significant milestone:

  • Nicolas Entrup
  • Jürg Stein
  • Christian Küpfer
  • Tanja Frei
  • Seifenkistenrennen Freienwil
  • All participants of the presentation 60+ in Oberentfelden
  • Fredi Keller
  • Raiffeisenbank Surbtal-Wehntal Genossenschaft
  • Andrea Spalinger
  • Helena Turienzo
  • Patrick Wigert
  • Alessio Gretz from the restaurant Weisser Wind in Freienwil
  • Christine Keller
  • Garage Louis Frey
  • Darleen Gloor
  • Daniel Müller with trigger it GmbH
  • all anonymous supporters

Next steps

Our next stopover target is CHF 9’000.- in donations to cover the catering for the experts during the two-week mission. Will you help us?

You can also support us by taking part in Animalma’s anniversary party on 8th of March 2025, with all funds raised going to this campaign.

The Final Stretch

The big final goal will be to finance the flights to Bolivia; first the @fire crew’s flights (CHF 8’500.-) and then Animalma’s (CHF 1’700.-).

All 6 people have offered to pay the travel costs to Bolivia themselves if the funding target is not reached. A wonderful gesture that emphasises the personal commitment of those involved in this project and deeply moves us at Animalma.

For the time being, we are sticking to the total funding amount of CHF 19’190.- and will continue to pursue this ambitious goal. Because from various past experiences, we believe in miracles and that together we can always achieve great things on a small scale.

Every amount matters – every amount saves a piece of the Amazon.

Update birthday campaign 2024

Update birthday campaign 2024

Small things are responsible for big changes. – Paulo Coelho

So many gifts…

…in the form of a donation were received for Sarah’s birthday in March 2024, so that we were able to count an incredible CHF 1’285.- in the donation pot.

Because we at Animalma wanted to increase the effect of this generosity and the joy of the voluntary forest fire fighters, we added unrestricted donations and were thus able to donate an impressive CHF 2’630.- to the Centro de formación de bomberos forestales voluntarios “Jaguares” (training centre for volunteer forest fire fighters “Jaguares”) project.

The result

The generous help from Switzerland was used for the following fire protection and training materials:

  • 3 firefighting backpacks with 20 litre capacity from Fireline
  • 10 protective helmets from Portwest, resistant to high temperatures
  • 6 Motorola radios with 32, 40 & 56 km range
  • 1 Pulaski axe
  • 1 forestry shovel & 1 hoe
  • 3 rakes
  • 4 machetes
  • 1 McLeod multifunctional tool (for drawing firebreaks)
  • 2 tents & petrol for logistics within the fire areas
  • 10 accident insurance policies for the volunteers
  • 1 first aid kit
  • 1 printer & writing materials
  • 3 training courses

They will be of enormous importance in the upcoming and many other fire seasons. Once again, we are deeply touched by how we achieve great things on a small scale!

Below are a few pictures of the materials and impressions from two courses; one for the EBB rangers, one for the population and students of a small community within the protected area:

Insurance for the rangers of Madidi National Park 2024

Insurance for the rangers of Madidi National Park 2024
3 of the 27 rangers, who now have an accident and whole life insurance thanks to our help from Switzerland.

We help the rangers of Madidi National Park for the second time 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.

Thanks to the Animalma anniversary in 2023, a donation from “Team Bolivia” and unrestricted donations, we were able to extend the accident and death insurance for the rangers of Madidi National Park for another year.

For the total amount of CHF 1’230, the 27 rangers are insured for a further 12 months from March 2024 in case anything should happen to them during their demanding 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 1st of March 2024 for one year.

The past year has shown that this form of support is of immense importance in an emergency. During the forest fires at the end of 2023, Ranger Alex Nay suffered serious lung poisoning during his missions and had to be transferred to a specialised clinic due to further symptoms. A cardiac arrhythmia (bradycardia) was diagnosed.

His basic insurance did not cover various investigations and medication, which was therefore covered by the accident insurance we took out.

Alex is now feeling better again and has been able to go on patrol again since February.

He would like to thank all Animalma donors for their help from afar during this difficult time. His story shows and confirms that our help is indeed effective.

We thank all guests from the Animalma anniversary ’23, the godmother of Janine Brechbühl 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!

Nature conservation in Bolivia

Nature conservation in Bolivia

Photo: Benjamin Altorfer, Team Bolivia 2023

Next to the existing animal welfare activities, Animalma also runs different nature conservation campaigns in Bolivia since 2021.

This is the site for this vital work, which informs about current actions & reached achievements in the hope of finding even more supporters.

#NatureConservation #Firefighting #TurtleAdoption

Nature conservation is a wide term – as wide are our efforts in this field. That is why this campaign contains various parts, which are presented next.

Our goal is to help quickly and flexibly in case of emergencies as well as setting up preventive meassures.

Fire prevention

Through the purpose of donation “Firefighting”, we help people and projects combating the yearly forest fires in Bolivia. Immediate emergency help mainly includes transportation, food and materials of all kinds for firefighting-crews and vets, while preventative meassures are implemented by capacitating volunteers and profesionals with courses and safety equipment.

Whatever and whenever – our help goes where it is needed the most.

Training professionals and volunteers and providing the necessary safety materials may make the difference between life and death – for humans and nature alike.

Our emergency aid sends firefighting-crews and vets into affected areas to provide first aid. We helped La Chiquitania in 2019, Otuquis in 2021 and Noel Kempff Mercado in 2022.

In 2021 we sent a team into the protected area Otuquis, where they cared for insured wildlife and built water points for the survivors.

Nature conservation

The general fund called “Nature conservation” raises funds for a variety of causes, which we bring right to the front thanks to our wide network in Bolivia.

The park rangers of protected areas as well as activists fighting illegal gold mining in the Amazon have a special place in our heart.

Our highlight in 2023: an accident and whole life insurance for the 27 park rangers working in the Madidi National Park.

More highlights from our conservation efforts are found in the blog further below.

Turtle Adoption

The turtle adoption program in the Beni area is also part of this campaign and helps the species survival of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) and the rangers on-site.

You can simbolically adopt a river turtle for CHF 10.- and get an adoption certificate for yourself or as a meaningful gift for someone else.

Campaign updates / Conservation blog

-> This blog is still in the making <-

We’ve been active in nature conservation for the past two years. Here we share current topics and reached goals.

News “Fighting wildfires with knowledge”

“What counts most in life are the helpers – and the helpers of the helpers”...

Read more

Update birthday campaign 2024

Small things are responsible for big changes. – Paulo Coelho So many gifts in the...

Read more

Insurance for the rangers of Madidi National Park 2024

We help the rangers of Madidi National Park for the second time with an accident...

Read more

Sarah’s birthday campaign 2024

After “to love”, “to help” is the most beautiful verb in the world. Like every...

Read more

Safety for the rangers of Madidi National Park

We help the green heroes, the rangers of protected areas in Bolivia – for example...

Read more

Light for the Madidi

We help the green heroes, the rangers of the protected areas, in Bolivia – for...

Read more

Mission Matafuego: Fire extinguishing and protection material for park rangers

We help the green heroes, the rangers of the protected areas, in Bolivia – for...

Read more

All those miracles are made possible by our donors and the activists on the ground. Thank you all so much for your commitment!

Animalma makes a big difference in small steps for Bolivia’s nature – help us keep on going.

Safety for the rangers of Madidi National Park

Safety for the rangers of Madidi National Park

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!

Jungle magic

Impressions of our very first trip to Madidi National Park

Light for the Madidi

Light for the Madidi

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 miracle as a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADWc26Y4Xl4

The mircale in pictures

The miracle on social media

Mission Matafuego: Fire extinguishing and protection material for park rangers

Mission Matafuego: Fire extinguishing and protection material for park rangers

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.

Our visit to the rangers as gallery

We are happy to share a few impressions of the Beni protected area and of the ceremonial handover of the donations below.

News

News

Photo by Kristi Odom

All Animalma news about our animal welfare activities fly in here…

Animalma-News

All newsletters, travel reports and association work

Newsletter January 2025

“And off I go into the forest to lose my mind and find my soul.” John Muir Dear Animalma family I’m delighted to be writing the first newsletter of 2025...

Read more

Anniversary newsletter

The secret of life lies in seeking and finding the light. Albert Schweitzer 10 years Animalma Dear Animalma family Our organisation was founded 10 years ago today – a fantastic...

Read more

Summer newsletter 2024

“Look deeply into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” Albert Einstein Dear Animalma-Family In a month’s time, I will finally be travelling to Bolivia again. I’m really looking...

Read more

Newsletter January 2024

“Trees are poems that the earth writes in the sky.” Khalil Gibran For 10 years with heart & soul in animal welfare – that’s Animalma in 2024. Dear Animalma family...

Read more

Current campaigns

Updates from on-going projects – currently #SOSSendaVerde & Nature conservation in Bolivia

News “Fighting wildfires with knowledge”

“What counts most in life are the helpers – and the helpers of the helpers”. Project goal In April and May 2025, Animalma is organising three two-day forest firefighting training...

Read more

Update birthday campaign 2024

Small things are responsible for big changes. – Paulo Coelho So many gifts in the form of a donation were received for Sarah’s birthday in March 2024, so that we...

Read more

Insurance for the rangers of Madidi National Park 2024

We help the rangers of Madidi National Park for the second time with an accident and whole life insurance. The Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon is the most...

Read more

Sarah’s birthday campaign 2024

After “to love”, “to help” is the most beautiful verb in the world. Like every year… Sarah is sponsoring her birthday to do something good – in Bolivia of course...

Read more

Little animal welfarists going big

Even freezing winter temperatures of 0 degrees did not stop the little acitivists with their sales booth “I learned that you are never too small to make a difference.” Greta...

Read more

Safety for the rangers of Madidi National Park

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...

Read more

Light for the Madidi

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...

Read more

Mission Matafuego: Fire extinguishing and protection material for park rangers

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...

Read more