From India to Entabeni
SUMITRA SENAPATY
Water audit...how pure is it?
Nabmallika Joardar from Delhi says, "I'm looking forward to spending nine days in nature's lap. And the fact that I get to share this experience with kids from all over the world is an added bonus." Rupal Kulkarni and S. Harini, the Mumbai teenagers, are equally charged up and excited at the thought of meeting people from different countries and getting an international perspective on environmental issues.
After participating in intensive workshops and competitions, the three girls are the privileged winners of the International Wilderness Experience Program (IWEP) and were flown to South Africa in July 2004. Held by Cathay Pacific Airways, in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society and World Wide Fund for Nature-India, more than 400 students have taken part, since it was started in 1994 by this Hong Kong based airline.
More than 50 students from Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Saudi Arabia joined the Indian winners at the Ubungani School at the Entabeni Game Reserve in South Africa. The Indian girls have great plans for the future — "I plan to use my first hand experience to spread awareness, so that I can reach a wider audience and make them conscious of the needs of nature," says Nabamalika. Rupal is already a member of the Rotary Club and wants to "organise a few activities to sensitise people about the environment," while Harini wants to complete her studies before taking up work with a Non Governmental Organisation.
Eco Warriors
"We accept our responsibility towards the environment, hence our reason in selecting young people to take an unforgettable journey of discovery to an African wilderness area, in order that they might learn more about the environment and the impact we have made on the ecological process," says David Turnbull, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways. There is a definite message for the participants of IWEP — "You Are The Future" where like-minded people from diverse cultures and countries stand together as "Eco Warriors" for the Earth, showing consideration for the earth and for all living creatures.
The Wilderness Experience means different things to the youth participants. "We see the same sky, moon and stars in India and in Africa. Yet they seem so different. That explains why people seem so different when seen from different perspectives. Is our impression of people all a matter of perspectives?" asks Shilpa Ruby Simon from India. "One wonders why there are so many hostile interactions between countries when it is so easy to get along with people by just listening," says Alfonso Tomas Aruallo from Philippines. Poncho Ardanto from Indonesia feels that, "Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I saw how perfect God has created nature and there is the mental promise to my own nature when I am back home."
Into Waterberg
The Ubungani School at the Entabeni Game Reserve in South Africa conducts the programme. Situated in the Limpopo Province some 280 km from Johannesburg, "The Place of the Mountain" is best described by Eugene Marais, famous South African author in his book, The Road to the Waterberg — "For the first time in my life I entered the Waterberg, the mystery region of my boyhood. I was caught by a sense of vastness which held me breathless for a moment." The Waterberg consists of vast mountain ranges, forming one of South Africa's great wilderness regions.
While travelling up the breathtaking Yellowwood Gorge, the road, an everlasting tribute to the scores of local women who helped build it, twists up between cliffs, waterfalls and forests to finally reach the top where one finds vast Savannah plains and gorges that play host to a different ecological system. The IWEP participants enter this pristine environment to spend nine days learning that man is an integral part of the biosphere, irrespective of the country that they may call home. Being dependent on the biosphere for survival and prosperity ensures that these ecosystems are not progressively harmed or destroyed.
Towards the far horizons is the Waterberg range. Formed from sediment deposited in an inland lake millions of years ago, it has peaks and plateaus. But this campsite has no electricity, no television, and no computers.
Outdoor classrooms
The Experience is a lot about people's cultures and more about the environment. As all the delegates huddle around the fire, the realities of a new environment start being felt. Because they come from different countries the idea is to get to know each other. There are no formal lectures, the outdoors take the place of a classroom. Topics range from water conservation in India to urban development in Malaysia and pollution in Taiwan. Discussions and debates on environmental issues take place with refreshingly proactive solutions being thrown up by the eco warriors. Field Director, Hanneke van der Merwe, developed this Wilderness programme and is the leader.
She has a clear idea of what she wants the eco warriors to achieve. She wants to give them the opportunity to know themselves with the strong belief that whatever they do at home is going to influence the world.
Teach your children
The Field Director of IWEP has a message for the eco warriors in the words of the Native American Chief, Seattle: "Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood, which unites one family. All things are connected."
Soon it will be 10 summers since the sun has set on the life changing IWEP experience, one can only hope that some day these eco warriors will become world leaders. And that a little that they have discovered will be taken back home. A different world away.
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