Life with the Elephants in Botswana
Andrea Mcdonald spent several years living with the wilderness in Botswana. During that time, she lived with and took care of three African Elephants named Jabu, Thembi, and Morula. This experience really pushed her out of her comfort zone and taught her the importance of education. The reason why she was in Botswana was that she was working with an NGO called the Elephant Outreach Program. This NGO educates children from nearby villages about elephants and their significance. These children are raised with the knowledge that elephants are a threat to their crops, which causes a conflict between the animal and the people. In Botswana, the regulations on animal conservation are very strict and there are many growing species in the area. This is why this NGO works on teaching these children about the animals and how to respect their space in order to protect the species. As well as working with the NGO, Andrea Mcdonald had encountered many other creatures. The place which she had been staying had been out in the wild, she had been able to get very close to animals such as rhinos, lions, hippos etc… From her experience in Botswana, her passion for protecting wildlife had grown.
Learning to swim for the 1/2 Ironman
A year ago, Mirelle Couture didn’t know how to swim. Now, she participates in triathlons. This is the story of her journey to complete the 1/2 Ironman triathlon. Growing up, Mirelle Couture had been relatively active, played several sports and continued to stay active. However, the one thing she couldn’t do was swimming. In order to push herself, she decided to set a goal to finish the 1/2 ironman. As a teacher, she had to organise her time to make time for both responsibilities. Over 8 months of training, she was finally able to swim the 1.9km for the triathlon. Although she didn’t win the triathlon, she felt as the whole experience was a win for her. The fact that she hadn’t known how to swim a year ago, and now she was swimming almost 2km was the achievement for her. So what had pushed her to do this? The whole experience was a way for her to understand a students perspective, as well as for her to just push her limits. Throughout the process, she had many challenges but she stayed resilient and pushed through. This is the message she wants to spread with this experience. To be resilient and to make goals which are going to push yourself, and giving yourself time to do so.
A Lifechanging Accident
Growing up, she knew that she wanted her future to be different from other girls. While most girls at her age would grow up to become a secretary, Liz Jackson wanted to become an electrical engineer or to be a part of the army. So that was exactly what she did. She became the first female in the engineering industry. But a change like this doesn’t come so easily, in the workplace, Liz was constantly discriminated for her gender. One day, she got into a fight with her boyfriend, and riding her bike home she got hit by a car. This accident resulted in her breaking almost every single bone in her knee and had to be in a cast for 3 months. Even after the 3 months she had to be put into a different cast and had to dedicate a lot of time to physiotherapy. The doctors had told her that she would be in a wheelchair by the age of 30 and should not be working as an engineer or anything that requires power. Liz was shocked to hear this and felt as if the world was telling her to stop. So she went on to being a secretary and tried different jobs which women were stereotypically meant to do but she knew those jobs weren’t fit for her. She went to college and met a friend who had been working as an engineer and was in the army. She had told him about her dreams and how much she wished she could be doing what he was doing. His response was “You never know until you try” and Liz decided that she was going to try to get into the army, and got accepted. However, she regretted that decision. Being in the army was a struggle, and although she had met many wonderful people and learnt valuable lessons, she left. After that, she realised that she wanted to work as a teacher, and that’s what she does now. Although she still has issues with her knee, she says, “I’m not in a wheelchair so who cares.”
Life as an Underwater Photographer
Al Hornsby is a wildlife photographer. From a young age, he’s been interested in nature and loved being in the water. As soon as he discovered diving, he wanted it to be a part of his life and career. When he saw that photographers were one of the first people to bring awareness about wildlife and its conservation, he knew that he was going to become a photographer. His father had been a woodworker and had Native American roots, therefore he grew up with a respect for nature and the mindset to protect it. Al Hornsby has gone diving with sharks, whales and even crocodiles. Even with all these encounters with predatorial animals, he has never had a moment where the animal had injured him or nearly attacked him. The only time he was in danger was when a boat had hit his head. With his experience with animals, he wants to spread the message about respecting mother nature. The reason why he has never had a negative experience with these creatures is that he never gave them a reason to charge. He wants people to understand that and to be more careful about our affects on the Earth.