In-home lessons to end wildlife consumption

Despite not achieving our fundraising goal under this Microproject campaign, with your support and that of other grants, the Kouprey Express (KE) still managed to exceed its goals of bringing awareness and environmental education during these challenging and restrictive times. During the Microproject period of September 7-December 7, 2020, the KE reached 6,337 (3,383 female) students, 1,735 villagers members (1,010 female) in the provinces of Kandal, Takeo, Kompong Chhnang, Siem Reap, Koh Kong, and Mondulkiri, and the capital of Phnom Penh. The KE also distributed 17,225 wildlife notebooks and pens, 13,525 wildlife rescue hotline stickers and posters, and 190 wildlife t-shirts and backpacks to youth and adults across the country.

Our new door-to-door approach has been integral in bringing our KE’s wildlife conservation messaging to the masses in times of social distancing, school closures, and ban on public gatherings. The KE is well received in people’s homes and this creates an important personal connection - between the KE team and their beneficiaries as well as between the villagers and their environment. Feedback has been very positive that our door-to-door outreach is not only easy to understand but it is inspiring people to take individual actions in their own neighborhoods. One such example comes from the director of Krang Lvea secondary school in Kompong Chhnang Province (see video), who said the having a team that focus on outreach and wildlife protection like the KE visiting her house and neighbors really inspired her because humans depend on the nature for survival, regardless of whether you live in a big city or the countryside. As she said, the KE really inspires youth to be conscious of protecting nature, and that "our world will look gorgeous if we could protect wildlife and forests." This kind of feedback really motivates the KE to keep doing working to make a positive impact, one province, one village, one household, one child at a time. Thank you so much for your support. This timeframe shows that the KE can achieve big things with a small budget in a short period. We look forward to keeping you updated in the coming months through reports for our main project Raise Awareness to Protect Wildlife in Cambodia!

Links:

• School director on benefits of KE