“Nature has been given to us for free. It is precious and it is our responsibility and duty to care for it. Everything in the wilderness is interconnected and it forms our ecosystem. If we lose the rhinos now, tomorrow it will be the elephants, and the next day, the leopards. Then, we will not have much of our beautiful nature left. It is not tomorrow that we must act, but it is today. Tomorrow will be too late already.” These are words of Nguyen Ha Chi (Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador) and Sophie Hoang from the Canadian International School in Ho Chi Minh City.
On September 21, 2017, the Wilderness Foundation Africa team in Vietnam, along with 8 of the Wild Rhino Youth Ambassadors and various local NGOs came together to raise awareness of World Rhino Day, with support from the American Center of the U.S Consulate Ho Chi Minh City.
The event, attended by the U.S Consulate representative, representatives and volunteers from participating NGOs, and students and teachers from the Wild Rhino Competition’s participating international schools, educated those present on rhinos, the poaching crisis as well as the issue of the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.
The event began with the welcome and brief introduction from Mr. Sean Lindstone, the Economics Officer from the U.S Consulates HCMC. Right after the warm welcome, the Wild Rhino Youth Ambassadors started their presentation by playing a short video made by Peter Phan – Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador of The American School, named “Breath”.
The video was filmed by Peter when he was on a wilderness trail in South Africa in July. It not only tells the audience about the amazing experience that he and his fellow ambassadors all had in South Africa, but also the inspiring lesson they all learned from the trip that every animal on the planet, including humans and rhino, all shares the same breath.
The video was a great way to introduce the presentations of the Wild Rhino Youth Ambassadors. To start off, they shared their stories about how they first engaged in the issue to join the Wild Rhino Competition. Each of them had their own unique stories but all these stories inspired them and brought them together to have the most meaningful experience in South Africa.
They told the audience of their experience, their feelings, what they had seen, what they had learned and the connection they felt during the 5 days in the wilderness. There was so much to learn and to see. After everything they’ve been through together and the moments they shared with one another, they came back to Vietnam and brought back 4 main take-home lessons that have inspired them to make the changes.
In closing their presentation, they wanted to inspire the audience in Vietnam with these lessons they had learned.
The first lesson is the horrifying truths of rhino poaching, presented by Chan Choi and Brian Yang from Renaissance International School. They talked about the statistic of killings in the past few years. They also spoke for the rhinos how vulnerable they are to humans and the pain and loss they continue to suffer from the massacre caused by humans.
The second lesson is what they learned about human nature, namely ignorance, selfishness and vulnerability, presented by Jay Chang from the ABC International School and Duc Nguyen from the Asian International School. Duc talked about the ignorance of human nature as humans tend to “hide in the crowd” and pretend there is nothing wrong with the world as long as they are not affected. But this should not be how everyone believe. As Duc said, after all “[…] the real criminals are not only the one that are doing the bad things, but are also the one that seeing bad things, but do nothing.”
They also mentioned that their time in the wilderness has made them realize how small and vulnerable humans actually are compared to nature. Yet, as Jay mentioned, “for so long we have been sheltered and protected in the comfort of cities that we’ve built”, we humans “have lost our own sense of vulnerability” which leads to the disconnection and the disrespect to nature and wildlife. Jay also shared his team’s story of an elephant that visited his camp. Instead of attacking them which an elephant has all the power and capability to do, “it just simply chose to walk away.” At the moment, he realized that “how selfish we are as a species, they welcome us into their habitat with open arms. But we forcefully remove them from their shelters” with violence. What we need to do is find that “lost connection with the environment once more.”
The third lesson they shared with the audience is the connection that they have felt toward animals, nature, others and themselves. These connections are born within us and have never been lost. We have been forgetting about them as we have never lived for the moment when we can “reflect upon your own self as an individual. Your own identity” said Peter Phan. The wilderness has taught them to feel empathy for everything and everyone surrounding us. After all, we “all share the same air, the same earth, and the same soul” said An Hoang from the American International School.
Finally, the last lesson they wanted to deliver to everyone is that the poaching issue is not exclusively any nation’s problem. It’s the global issue! No matter what color we are or what identity we have, we have to work together to save the rhinos, the planet and our future.
After the presentation, the 8 Wild Rhino Youth Ambassadors and others joined the panel discussion with three guest speakers from the local NGO organisation ENV and CHANGE. The discussion raised a lot of questions of how we can work to protect the rhinos and stop the demand for the horns in Vietnam. In the end, as the speakers agreed, we cannot only educate the young generation, but we have to raise awareness and change the mindset of the adults as well.
This event successfully created a voice for rhinos and everyone who loves this gentle creature on World Rhino Day.
THU HUYNH
Wilderness Foundation Africa Representative
Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative Project Office
Newly appointed Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador, Phan le Ha Long from The American School (TAS), recently took part in a wilderness trail in the iMfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. On returning home, Peter produced a video in which he shares his emotional journey. Peter not only tells the audience about the amazing experience that he and his fellow scholars had in South Africa, but also the inspiring lesson they all learned : that every animal on the planet, including humans and rhino, all share the same breath. Below is the link to Peter’s video, entitled “Breath”
“The stories of the rhinos are ones that connect the past, the present, and the future. Let them be heard.” – Phan le Ha Long (Peter), Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador
In July 2017, 11 young people from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were brought to South Africa for a life-changing wilderness experience as part of the Wild Rhino Campaign. After the trail, the youth visited a rhino orphanage and also had the opportunity to learn more from leading wildlife crime, rhino veterinary and rhino protection experts during a full day workshop at the Wilderness Leadership School in Durban. The young people were deeply touched by what they saw and learnt, and have returned to Vietnam as Rhino Ambassadors – committed to making a difference in changing the hearts and minds of their communities.
In speaking to the youth recently, they shared that their families and friends were amazed at the stories they had to tell on their return to Vietnam, and absolutely horrified to learn about the violent manner in which rhino were being maimed and killed. Already, many of the rhino horn consumers that they have shared their new-found knowledge and insights with, have been inspired to stop this practice and support the protection of the rhino as an integral part of functioning ecosystems.
Realising the challenge that lies ahead for the next generation of Vietnamese in halting illegal rhino horn trade in their country, the Wild Rhino campaign reaches out to the country’s schools with initiatives that aim to educate, empower, awaken and inspire. This campaign is implemented by Wilderness Foundation Africa, in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation, Olsen Animal Trust, and Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy.
The next phase of the multi-faceted Wild Rhino Campaign will utilize these young rhino ambassadors’ new-found passion and knowledge as the foundation for peer-led rhino awareness campaigns implemented in 11 international schools throughout Ho Chi Minh City.
“Never doubt your ability to make positive changes for the crisis. It will only be too late when we give up.” – Chang Nam (Jay), Wild Rhino Youth Ambassador
The continued senseless killing of African rhino for their horn, is driven by the demand for horn in primary consumer countries in Asia, such as Vietnam and China. More than 90% of horn goes to or through Vietnam. With the older generations for the most part set in their ways, much hope lies with changing the hearts and minds of the 10-24 year olds who make up almost 25% of Vietnam’s 94 million population. The Wild Rhino demand reduction campaign focusses on tapping into these young minds and motivating change before it is too late.
Television. Websites. Magazines. These are the only places in which most of the young people living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, have ever seen African animals. Finding their way in the world as part of a bustling city that is home to approximately nine million people, very few of them have had the opportunity to even explore the natural beauty and come to understand the role of conservation in their own country – yet South Africa is placing hope for survival of its iconic rhino in these children’s innocent hands.
What does then happen when you place 11 of these city-dwelling teenagers in the middle of the South African wilderness, with no cell phones, no modern conveniences, and only the sun and the moon as timekeepers? At first, fear and apprehension… followed by amazement, rapture, quiet reflection, and then a sudden responsiveness to nature – a sensation so new, so powerful, and so immensely empowering.
Lying in their sleeping bags on a rocky ledge as darkness fell over their very first night in the bush, one of the young people pointed up to the sprawling stars lighting up the sky. “What is that?” he asked the guide keeping watch close by.
Slightly confused at the obvious answer, the guide replied: “Those are stars. And that is the Milky Way.”
Tears welled up in the guide’s eyes as he was met with a response: “We don’t see stars in our city. We don’t have a night sky. Even if we don’t see rhino this week, at least we can say we’ve seen the stars.”
As South Africans, we can only barely try to imagine a reality in which someone has never seen an animal in the wild, or never experienced a sunset or a sunrise because the sky is permanently disguised by smog. Our appreciation and respect for our natural environment comes almost naturally – because of our proximity and our constant exposure to the wondrous biodiversity of our country. But it is short-sighted to think that everyone in the world is blessed with the same opportunities for enlightened reverence.
Realising the challenge that lies ahead for the next generation of Vietnamese in halting illegal rhino horn trade in their country, the Wild Rhino campaign reaches out to schools in Ho Chi Minh City with initiatives that aim to educate, empower, awaken and inspire. This campaign is implemented in 11 international schools throughout the city by Wilderness Foundation Africa, in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation, Olsen Animal Trust, and Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy.
As one phase of the multi-faceted campaign, this year’s Wild Rhino competition invited junior students to enter by submitting a poem or a picture and senior students entered by submitting an essay on the topic of rhino horn consumption and demand reduction. Nearly 1,000 entries were received, with 22 junior winners and 11 senior winners announced. These 11 seniors just spent last week [16-22 July 2017] deep inside Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, KwaZulu-Natal.
The transformation of these driven and bright young people during the trail is undeniable. Sleeping out in nature, bathing in the river, cooking by an open fire, and even taking turns standing watch for wildlife in the darkness of night – there is no option but to entrench themselves in the wild world of the rhino. They enter the wilderness wanting to learn and help on an intellectual and moral basis, but they exit inspired to engage on an emotional and personal level.
It cannot be better explained than through the words of one of this year’s youth himself: “I have never felt so connected in my life. To the ground beneath my feet. To the air that I breathe. To all living things around me, big and small. Even to the other people around me. This is what life is all about.”
Coming from a generation that claims to be the most connected generation ever through their technological devices and advancements, this statement about the power of nature brings even the most detached of us right back down to earth.
After the trail, the youth visited a rhino orphanage and also had the opportunity to learn more from leading wildlife crime, rhino veterinary and rhino protection experts during a full day workshop at the Wilderness Leadership School in Durban. As part of this workshop the young people brainstormed ideas on how they – as Wild Rhino Youth Ambassadors – could help the campaign facilitate demand reduction initiatives in their schools and communities. The best of their ideas will be used to develop a peer-led awareness and education campaign in their schools next year.
This is the second time that the Wild Rhino campaign has brought a group of Vietnamese youth to South Africa for a wilderness experience. The first group visited in 2015 and went on to be true ambassadors for the cause in their home country. The Wild Rhino campaign aims to continue with this process over a period of eight years, thus empowering a whole generation of young people who are committed to conservation and rhino protection. Plans are also under way to extend this project to Hanoi in 2018.
When asked whether they think the youth of Vietnam can actually make a difference, one can only hope that the words, straight from the mouths of babes, rings true: “The thing about young people is that we are eager still to embrace our world. We are open to the truth. On this trail we have learnt the most beautiful word Ubuntu, which means ‘to help others without expecting anything in return’. We will show the rhino Ubuntu. Our people have driven the rhinos over the precipice of the cliff, and we are the ones who will bring them back.”
