Animal Rescue

In a previous post  http://shikshikamomma.blogspot.in/2012/11/the-healing-power-of-pets.html   I talked about R's love for animals, in particular her dog Biba.
Since then we have acquired one more rescue dog, 'Twilight'.
Where we live, in Goa there are many stray dogs and almost every trip out results in the girls spotting a particularly skinny dog, injured dog or dog infested with ticks, fleas or mange. These dogs are largely ignored by the locals or driven away by hurling stones.
Many times we have felt compelled to stop and and help an animal but its often difficult to know just what is the best thing to do.
This is why we decided to become volunteers for a local charity which works to improve the life of street dogs in Goa.
 WAG  'Welfare for Animals in Goa' (https://www.facebook.com/groups/goapetlife/)(http://www.wagoa.com/index.html ) aim to provide health care for the homeless dogs in Goa by providing sterilization,vaccination,de worming,first aid and re homing when necessary. The girls and I have intially signed up for one of the biggest and most important jobs that WAG volunteers do and that is the feeding and monitoring of beach dogs during monsoon.
Every year Goa receives an influx of tourists from October through to May. During this time the beaches of Goa are lined with beach shack restaurants and the stray beach dogs live the good life with regular food from the shack kitchens and tourists.In May the tourists leave and the shacks come down ready for the onset of the monsoon. What happens to the dogs? They are left to fend for themselves for the next few months and many die of starvation or illness before the new season arrives.
This is where the 'WAG Monsoon Angels' step in. Volunteers work on a rota system to cook and deliver food to identified packs along the coast daily. The dogs which come for food regularly are collared and tagged with a WAG tags and their health is monitored by the WAG team.
We have been three times now to feed four packs on North Goa beaches. R has made notes on the location of each pack, names and health details for each dog. I was amazed how quickly she learned all the dogs names and how to recognize them. Both my girls have helped to feed, administer worming tablets and collar and tag the dogs. The great thing about children helping with this kind of work is that not only do they learn about animal care but they are more willing than adults to give something which is equally important to the dogs as food and health care and that is, time and attention. The beach dogs have had tourists fussing over them all season and now suddenly whole days go by without seeing a soul. Having a tummy rub and a cuddle  makes the dogs day and my girls are never in a hurry to leave.

Having some fuss.

Dinner ladies!

A tasty meal for a hungry friend.

 Along with the feeding program WAG have also rehabilitated and rehomed countless puppies and provide continuing support for new owners.
One of WAG's recent success stories is of a mother cow and calf. The mother cow, Daisy, had eaten from rubbish containing battery acid and had burned her full mouth. Unable to eat she could not produce milk for her new calf, Guddi, so they were both starving to death until Atul Sarin, founder member of WAG, took them in. Along with help from his staff and other volunteers Daisy has been treated and given liquid food while Guddi  has been bottle fed three times daily with fresh milk.
Volunteer Jill has been liquidizing watermelon for Daisy and helping daily with the bottlefeeding of Guddi.The dedication has paid off as both mother and baby are now doing well.

Daisy and Guddi

Dry feed before cooking

Medication kit

WAG are not the only charity making a difference in Goa. We recently attended a workshop held by Rani of Goa Dog Trust (http://goadogtrust.com/Our_Story.html  ) (https://www.facebook.com/ILoveGoaDogs?fref=ts) to learn about animal care. Rani has devoted her life to helping animals in Goa and has saved thousands of lives. Like WAG she has set up feeding programs along the northern coastline of Goa and re homed countless dogs and cats.
At this workshop she brought along her friend Lama who had rescued a 3 week old kitten that needed foster care before going to a permanent home. R volunteered herself and now has the responsibilty of being mama for the next few weeks to this lucky kitty.
                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Kitty

Rani with the kitten

                                                           











Once kitty is strong enough R will have to say goodbye as he goes to his new home.

So, now let me tell you what I think are some of the things my girls have learned so far.

They now know that for every person who ignores a problem there is someone willing to take action to solve it and that they can be that person.
No matter who you are you can make a difference.
 All animals deserve love and respect.
Animals give us unconditional love which we can also return.
Working as a team gets the job done.
Hard work can be rewarding.
If we learn for ourselves we can teach and help others.
There is love all around us if we are just willing to see....

We are proud to be playing our part in this noble cause. The teams of volunteers involved with WAG and Goa Dog Trust really are amazing and deserve support.
The dogs of Goa are so special. If you ever come for a beach holiday in Goa you will undoubtedly find a furry friend or two on your travels. Before you say goodbye please remember that a donation to a charity such as WAG or GDT could help save your new friends life after you leave.

http://www.wagoa.com/index.html

http://goadogtrust.com/Our_Story.html

Greenfingers

For some time now R has been interested in gardening. She loves to plant seeds and gets very excited about fields of crops and gardens that she sees when we are out and about. Lately she has been watching many Youtube videos on growing vegetables, making compost, wormerys etc.... Of course it goes hand in hand with her interest in nature, cooking and nutrition so its only natural that her next step would be to have her own kitchen garden.

When a friend told me about Darryl Pereira I knew we had to go and meet him and see his work.

 Darryl is a local goan who is passionate about organic gardening and devoted to teaching his skills to those who are interested, especially children.

He kindly invited us to his home along with a small group of friends to take part in a workshop on vermicomposting.

Darryl's assistant, Clinton explained to us how to go about making a wormery, asking the children to get their hands dirty and help by adding the cow dung and dried leaves. They handled the earthworms and R remarked on what a lovely feeling it was to feel them squirming in her hand. Everyone also got to hold some of the compost which was ready to be used to get a feel for the correct consistency and texture.

Then the kids all used their hands to mix the fresh compost into some soil ready to use for planting.

Darryl went on to explain to us how to make a wicking bottle to ensure our plants always have enough water.

Next each child had the chance to pot their own plant to take home.

Darryl's garden is full of useful plants and trees. For instance he introduced us to his cinnamon tree, nutmeg tree, curry plant, lemongrass, loveapple tree and many more beautiful plants and trees all thriving thanks to his ingenious pond irrigation system.

                                     

Clinton brought along a snake for us to see and handle and explained how important snakes such as the rat snake are for farmers and gardeners to keep the rat populations under control.

Along with his wonderful organic garden Darryl has initiated many other projects such as rain water harvesting, irrigation and waste management.



A true ambassador for a sustainable living, Darryl is the kind of role model we need for our children. As a  teacher, he leads by example encouraging his students to not only listen, but to engage themselves in the process and make a connection with nature.

I can't thank Darryl and his team enough for todays unforgetable experience.

Before we had even left the property R was asking me when would we be able to return?
On the way home the girls insisted that we stop off at a garden centre. They both just love walking through the maze of plants and trees.

 R bought a miniature lime tree and K chose some lemon grass. Added to the plants they potted at Darryl's they arrived home inspired and ready to create their own terrace garden.

We look forward in the near future to making our own wormery and helping Darryl with his new aquaponics project so watch this space for more greenfingered adventures!

Have to go now...R has just made me a cup of lemongrass tea...mmmm.

                                               http://unschoolingblogcarnival.blogspot.in/

Art gallery

Both my girls enjoy drawing, colouring and generally being creative.

Most schools have walls devoted to exhibiting their students art work. Here is ours....


Remember the trip to the sawmill?

 Heres what the girls did with the wood they brought back along with a collection of things gathered from a nature walk.

 




R (age 9) loves pencil sketching. Here are some of her drawings of plants...
       

 and some Mr Men doodles...                                 

and some paintings by K (age 5)



Hope you enjoyed.

To end here are some interesting quotes...


 "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment." -MaryAnn F. Kohl

"The world is but a canvas to the imagination." - Henry David Thoreau

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

"Art takes nature as its model." - Aristotle

1 + 1 = 2

Well its the school summer holidays here in Goa and that means K is at home with us and I had better get used to it because I've pretty much decided that she will not be returning to school next term. She has graduated from KG1 with a glowing report but it just doesn't make sense to drive her back and forth to school everyday when she can stay at home with R and I learning the same stuff (and more!).
 So R + K = two kids at home!
School is out for everyone else but for us, this is how its going to be from now on. So hows it looking?
Well we are enjoying our time together in many different ways and with the same approach as always - no pressure to study- Im finding that there is no stopping the learning!

  

Sprouting beans, cooking pancakes for breakfast and making ice tea.

 
 A visit to the saw mill where we watched the men at work, learned how to tell the age of a tree and got our hands on some really interesting pieces of wood.


Ill let you know what we did with these pieces of wood in my next post.

 The girls have just bought a recorder each and are busy learning their notes.

 

There is always time for some quiet reading.

We celebrated the hindu festival of Holi with lots of colour!

 We celebrated Easter too.
 Dont forget the egg painting!

 A trip to the beach in dads jeep.

 I know my big alphabet!

Planning a party requires careful planning....money counting skills and ....oh lots of fun!

Lets build a den!











 Watching some men re-roof a neighbours house.

 Appreciating art on a visit to the Central Library and taking a nature walk in the Forest Park. 

Learning science the fun way at the Science centre

  

These are just a few of the things we have been doing along with lots of swimming, cricket and football in the garden, visiting friends, and just relaxing at home and on the beach.

R is devouring books at a fast rate and K is bombarding me with questions all the time. Both girls are fit and active and enjoying the no pressure learning.

We've had Maths days, History days, Science days ,Cooking days, Music days, Reading days, Sporty days,  Lazy days, all have been Happy days!

I hope everyone has a great summer...I know we will!