Here’s an opportunity to be part of an amazing project that will make a huge difference, indeed the difference between life and death, for Asian elephants disabled by land mine explosions.
Oh, you didn’t know that elephants could step on land mines? It happens in former battle zones in Southeast Asia. Cheap land mines that were once intended for enemy armies still lie abandoned by the thousands. All it takes in one wrong step in the jungle and… the loss of a foot or even an entire leg.
Elephants are very resilient creatures, but even they can’t hobble around in pain on shredded limbs. Of course, its not possible to make them whole again… but it is possible to give them the closest thing possible to the mobility they enjoyed before the accident. Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand has pioneered a process to create prosthetic legs that can take the weight and stresses of movement of massive elephants. They work much the same as artificial legs for humans, but built sturdier. Two land mine victims, Mosha and Motala have worn theirs for years. The only problem is how do you get one-of-a-kind custom fit elephant legs repaired when they break and how can you quickly make more when new patients arrive at the hospital?
Wh
at FAE hospital has decided to do is create a workshop “factory” to fabricate, adjust and repair prosthetic limbs for elephants on-site. This will make it possible to help disabled elephants almost in real-time compared to the weeks and months the process takes now.The one snag is… it’s not cheap to build such a facility. The cost is estimated at 400,000 THB equi
valent to over $11,300 USD. Even so, can you think of a more valuable asset to help these ailing eles.
Here’s where we come in. I’ve launched a CrowdRise fundraiser to Help Build The Elephant Leg Factory. We’re going to raise the money needed to build and stock this new workshop with the tools and supplies to serve Mosha, Motala, and any other elephants in need. Will you help us raise the $11,500 we’ve set as our goal as soon as possible? You can donate quickly and easily through our CrowdRise fundraising page.
Do you think that maybe you’ve seen this Gemmy Sparkle ornament on display at Lowe’s? You might of last year, but they are not offering an elephant display this year. In fact, I couldn’t find her or anything similar even on the Gemmy site. That makes Sparkle and her sisters rare, indeed, and getting rarer and they are adopted into good homes. Really, who’s going to let go of this precious elephant once she moves into their home?