YIKES: IT'S SNAKES ALIVE !

THRILLED SHANZU ORPHANS VISIT
BAMBURI'S EXCITING 'HALLER PARK'

Coastweek - - The eyes as big as saucers gave it away: struggling to control a mix of curiosity and fear, the 19 children from the Shanzu Orphans' Home inched forward towards the three metre-long python that lives in Haller Park.

The snake's head waved around the children's, its tongue flicking with its own curiosity.

Finally, Suzanna the Python slid around the young necks in a cool embrace, as the orphans overcame their fear and lined up to touch the friendly reptile.

The visit to the reptile park in a corner of Haller Park was just one highlight of many when the Orphanage came for the first time last January.

The children aged between two and fourteen met, for the first time, the giant Aldabran Tortoises; they giggled as giraffes lapped treats from their palms; and squealed in the Forest Trails playground.

"For children who's idea of a day out is a trip to the beach, and who's own play ground is nothing more than a dusty pit, this was a great trip," said Dr Paula Kahumbu, the General Manager of La-farge Eco Systems which runs Haller Park and who invited the orphans.

"I'm just so pleased that they seemed to get so much out of it. This is what Haller Park is all about, after all.

"It's a place for people to relax, to discover, and to escape for a while," she said.

Dr Kahumbu joined a team of volunteers from Lafarge Eco Systems to keep an eye on the energetic youngsters as they explored both Haller Park and the Forest Trails playground.

For the orphans' "father", John Owino Ounga, there was no doubt about the children's favourite:

"It's the play ground, absolutely.

"All they have at the home is a pile of sand that's waiting to be used in a construction project, so the chance to go and really play and climb and swing was just perfect for them."

"We have some balls and some small toys, but the children just love to run and play with the big things, so Forest Trails was perfect.

German pensioner Christa Wolf started the orphanage with Ounga three years ago.

"I saw how many children there were without families when I came as a tourist, and I wanted to do something for them," she said.

"Our original plan was to build something that could take about eight or nine children in Shanzu, but the government just kept bringing more and more, and we just couldn't say 'no'. Now we have 21."

The home is only partly completed.

There are two bedrooms, with children squeezed in two and three to a bed, but Bamburi Cement has offered to provide the materials necessary to finish the building; while Nairobi architectural firm "Planning Systems" has helped with advice.

"It's the least we could do," said Dr Kahumbu.

"They've made a good start to the home, but there is still a lot to do, and when we saw their living conditions, we realised that relatively small contributions would make a world of difference.

"Oh, and the children are welcome back to Haller Park and Forest Trails any time," she said.

Dr. Haller has always done well and we can proudly say that we also recieved compliments from him / his organisation with regards to bushdrums.
My brother used to help him and his sons weigh and check the crocodiles back in the 80's to see if they were healthy and doing well.
Haller Park is one of those places to bring a family to and has created a wonderful ecosystem out of a massive hole which was dug for cement by the factory.
Well done to all of them.

Mombasa visit no doubt is almost incomplete with a Haller Park itinerary. Its a charming setting; cool and ecologically rich and fresh. And it has something for everyone:mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, fish,custaceans, name it. Yes, a deserved "well done"

Ndungu:

The thing that is exciting about this is that they are giving the children a chance to see wildlife. This is what I have been trying to convince KWS to do - allow school buses of children to enter the parks free so that they can see and learn how magnificent their own wildlife is.

Wait a minute, how come no one is crying for the release of these animals and fighting to shut the park down? Aren't animals meant to be free and not in captivity? At least that is the impression I got by reading this forum.

bwanamich, generally speaking you are perfectly right! no one - no animal no human being - should be put behind bars just for others to have a look at them. humans would not think of putting aboriginals or yanomami into a zoo - by the way at the beginnning of the last century germans used to show off africans at market places - solely because they belong to an endangered species or culture.
on the other hand humans are just only able to appreciate something they have seen themselves. only be seeing, experiencing and education about declining numbers of wild life they are able to comprehend that animals have feelings and are precious our all life cicle!
but contrary to europe or the states they show animals almost in a natural environment to which they naturally belong to.
i myself don't agree with zoos at all doesn't matter where there are! we would never ever had taken our nephews to the zoo or circus! never!
and the animal orphanage in nairobi is just disgustingly keeping its inhabitants and KWS has offices next door!
and kws doesn't respond to complains about the orphanage's situation means i don't even trust kws.