International Rhino Foundation Newsletter 

For me, one of the great joys of traveling to the many countries where the International Rhino Foundation works is meeting children. Regardless of their country’s political, social or economic environment, kids all over the world have so much in common. They skip for no reason, they laugh, they run, and they shyly smile and wave at complete strangers with no provocation. They dance when they’re no music, and never hesitate to crowd around a tourist for a photo, or just for a chance to visit. They may live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, or their family may live on less than 2 dollars a day, but they all find ways to play. This photo , one of my all-time favorites, was taken earlier this year in Sumatra, Indonesia, where village children were body-surfing with cast-off pieces of wood. When our group turned up on the beach, they crowded around us, giggling, delighted when we showed them their photos on our digital cameras. 

All the world’s children, no matter where they live or what resources they have at hand, have the potential to change our world.  I’m happy to share with you here some very special young people. Informally, we call them the “IRF Kids”. Each of these remarkable youngsters or groups, one-by-one and in very different ways, are improving the chances for rhinos to survive. And, make no mistake -- they will be our future conservation leaders.

Jake Wallack

“Jesekwe”

Jax Bittner

Eva Malone

Jakarta International School

Avery Williamson's poster

Drawing by Sam Glenn

Jake Wallack
I encountered Jake Wallack shortly after I joined IRF. Sparked by reading books on rhinos for an endangered species school project, Jake decided he wanted to take action. In January 2007, at his 6th birthday party, Jake asked for money for rhinos instead of gifts. Since that time, he has raised funds each year – to-date more than $650 to help us with our work. 

Mana Brightman
Mana Brightman lives in Zimbabwe, where her dad, Mark, works with us to protect rhinos in the Lowveld. Mana contacted IRF through our information line in early spring; one thing led to another and she soon began providing updates and photos from the field to help us raise awareness about the poaching crisis in Zimbabwe. Mana’s stories from the field have touched our hearts and more deeply confirmed our commitment to stop the poaching of these magnificent animals. This beautiful, proud, young bull rhino, “Jesekwe”, was one that Mana knew well. He was born in October 2000, but was poached in February 2009. Even though Mana’s family endures many hardships to keep Zimbabwe’s rhinos safe, she is committed to saving rhinos and other wildlife. In an early letter, she wrote, “Our family, and especially my Dad, likes to go by this saying, especially at a time like this for Zimbabwe, ‘For evil to succeed....it is enough to do nothing.’ " 

Jax Bittner
In June 2008, we introduced you to Jax Bittner, age 7, a second-grader at Elm Grove Elementary School in Buda, TX. With his parents' support, Jax has talked to relatives, family friends, church members and classmates about his passion for rhinos and has raised more than $600 to help IRF. (Jax also contributed $30 of his own money to adopt “Andalas”, the Cincinnati-born Sumatran rhino who now resides at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia.)  Jax’s love for rhinos began last year after he checked out a book on rhinos from the school library. “He was so eager and excited to read this book that he asked if we could sit down together and get started immediately, and so we did,” said Jax’s mom. After reading about the the plight of rhinos and their fight to survive, Jax looked at Jackie with tear-filled eyes and said, ‘Why are they doing this, Mommy?” He then grabbed a sheet of paper and a crayon, and wrote, ‘”Dear Rhino Keepers, what can I do to help?’” And that’s how our relationship began. Jax’s parents, Rob and Jackie, have helped him create business cards,a flyer  and a website to raise donations for the IRF.  In return, each of Jax’s donors receives a ‘”Jax original” drawing of a rhino. Last summer, one of IRF’s partners, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, TX, invited Jax and his family for an ‘up-close-and-personal’ rhino visit. He’s been invited to come back in 2011, when he’ll be old enough to attend the center’s summer conservation workshop. I still remember my first rhino encounter.  It also was at Fossil Rim. (Some of our readers weren’t born then.)  Jax’s fundraising target for 2009 is $1,000. For more information and inspiration, please visit www.rhino-jax.com.

Eva Malone
Eva Malone, age 9, first contacted IRF’s information line in September 2008 with a big question, “How can I help the rhinos to live?”  I wrote back, “Please visit IRF’s website to learn as much about rhinos as you can.  Then share it with your family, friends, school teachers, and other people – anyone who will listen.”  Eva has since taken the bull by the horns (pun intended).  Since that time, she has since raised $400 for rhinos, and we’ve been corresponding ever since.  In June this year, she wrote that she was visiting Oklahoma City, OK with her family.  Through our partners the International Rhino Keeper’s Association and the American Association of Zoo Keepers, we were able to arrange a behind-the-scenes tour with the Oklahoma City Zoo folks closest to the rhinos, their keepers. 

The Jakarta International School
In May, as part of their extended study program, 20 dedicated 8th graders from the Jakarta International School’s Rhino Club spent a week at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, visiting with keepers and learning all about the Sumatran rhino. As part of the program, teacher Cathy Craig divided the class into teams of four and made short documentary videos about their experience .  These passionate young people are using the videos to raise funds for our Adopt-a-Rhino program , and to date, they have raised more than US $2,000 for the SRS.

More Kids Committed to Conservation -- The Stories are Just So Great!!

Four-year-old Avery Williamson loves rhinos! For her pre-Kindergarten science project, Avery visited several rhinos at a conservation facility near her home in Jacksonville, Florida. She won first place with her poster showing the five different species of rhinos .

Sam Glenn, a budding artist from Bristol, England, has two passions – rhinos and dinosaurs! After learning that rhinos around the world are now facing extinction, Sam decided to educate his family, friends and neighbors while also raising money for rhino conservation. Sam began selling his drawings of prehistoric animals to raise money to help protect rhinos, and handing out information about rhinos along with his artwork .

After learning about rhinos and other endangered species in school, students at Glenn Stevens Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin, decided to hold a coin drive to raise money to help save rhinos. They handed out information from IRF to all 420 students at the school, and managed to collect more than $700 in spare change to help rhinos!

Kids aged 8 – 16 who were participating in the Erie Zoo’s Wildlife Action Team ZooVenture program spent a morning learning about the Erie Zoo’s white rhinos, and about IRF’s efforts to protect the five rhino species. The kids then spent the afternoon engaging zoo visitors in a “rhino ring toss” and “pin the tail on the rhino” games, as well as staffing rhino mask and hat crafts and an informational touch table at the rhino exhibit area. In addition to teaching zoo visitors about rhinos, the kids also raise nearly $100 in donations for black rhino conservation programs.

A Final Thought for Us Grown-Ups
Any of us who has children or grandchildren can relate to the beautiful Erma Bombeck poem, I See Children as Kites. The last line of the poem says “Only then do you know that you did your job.” Hats off to all of the parents, friends, relatives and colleagues reading this and to all the youngsters who are helping us to raise awareness and funds to help rhinos and the other animals and people who share their ecosystems. Thank you for doing such a great job. 

I’m so delighted to share a little bit here about some of our “IRF Kids”. Our generation must listen to these insightful youngsters. We must encourage this up-and-coming generation of environmental stewards. They represent hope for rhinos and for our planet. And, they are fighting for their future.  

 
Executive Director (Mom and Recent Grandmother)
International Rhino Foundation

P.S. – If these stories have left you feeling inspired, please visit http://www.rhinos-irf.org/fundraising/ for more ideas about how kids and grown-ups can raise money and awareness about protecting rhinos.