The mission of DAKTARI is to inspire, develop and educate underprivileged children to care for their environment through an immersive experience at a wildlife orphanage. All the animals at DAKTARI can not be reintroduced into the wild either due to injury or because they are too used to humans and could become a danger to local farms. The maintenance of the animals is crucial not only for their wellbeing but also because of the huge support they provide in teaching children about nature.
The goal of DAKTARI is to educate underprivileged children about the incredibly rich natural heritage of South Africa. Due to the non-profit nature of our project, we rely heavily on donations to keep the project running. The global focus of the organization is the children, yet the animals become essential in providing a wholesome educational experience. This makes it a key project to keep the animals in a healthy environment as well as provide a healthy diet for them.
By keeping the animals healthy through clean and spacious enclosures as well as a nutritious diet, it is both beneficial for the animals as well as the children as it allows them to interact or observe the animals in a positive environment. Moreover, by having the children participating in providing nutrition and care for the animals it acts as great educational experience for the children as they learn the importance of caring for the animals here as well as those in the wild.
A positive and clean environment with healthy and cared-for animals serves to push our impact on the children, and consequently on the community. Likewise, through the education of the future generations of the area, we aim to make a lasting impact on the local wildlife. In addition to this, we hope that the animals we have now, like the mongoose, dassies, a bush baby, or a family of meerkats amongst others, may be reintroduced into the wild when they are fully rehabilitated.
