The Protector
It was a cold and early morning and the sky was tinged with the pale pink hue of a promising sun on the horizon.
I had been out awhile already monitoring the cheetahs and other animals. I was looking forward to some sunshine so I could warm up a bit, the Karoo winter is harsh and bone chilling at times, but it contains a still, hushed and incredible beauty to it.
The cheetah mother I was checking up on came up out of the bush, a proud and fierce cheetah. She came closer to me, making sure I was not a danger to the cubs she had hidden in the bush. She accepted my presence as safe, and went back to her cubs and began to wash them, purring and chirping loudly.
Cheetahs are not the strongest animal by any means, but when one can observe the pure courage a cheetah mother shows when protecting her cubs, it can only be inspiring.
She is protecting them, even at the cost of her life, because she knows they need her. They cannot protect themselves. They need her guidance and support and protection so that they can one day become strong and capable cheetahs just like her.
When I think back on this image, I can feel an overwhelming drive to do just the same as this cheetah mother. There are children and animals who need to be protected at all costs. That is what we are trying to do with our work at Archangels Project. We want to prevent harm from happening to those who need to be protected, because they cannot protect themselves.
I believe there is a calling to most of us to protect the innocent. And I believe there is a calling to provide hope and aid to the most vulnerable. This is what drives Enslin and I to do the work we are doing.
Having worked in conservation, we know there is an unnatural darkness that seeks to destroy what we want to conserve. Poachers. Animal traffickers. Wildlife crime. True cruelty that goes beyond my understanding.
We need to prevent this.
But its not only our wildlife that is under attack and in dire need of rescue.
It is our children. And in particular, children who have no protection. Children who have no guardians. Its children who are leaving orphanages because they are too old to stay there, and now have to figure out a way to survive on their own.
These are the youth who are targeted by traffickers, by gangs, drugs, or even forced into poaching. If no one is there to prevent and protect these kids, their future is often bleak and they are lost and forgotten.
Very similar to the wildlife we are trying to protect, right?
This is where our work comes in.
We are focusing on the youth who need hope, who need an opportunity. We are getting them involved with wildlife conservation and lodge hospitality.
They are gaining skills and experience that will provide them with confidence in themselves as well as an ability to do something great with their lives.
When these children and teens are protected, and they have gained their own strength and hope through wildlife, then wildlife is protected through them.
That is why our project works. That is why we are pushing that THIS IS THE WAY.
To anyone reading this, please support us. Please consider donating to us. This is working. But we need help to keep it going.
