First aid Course

First aid Course

On the 23 - 24 of February Sondela arranged for all the first year students to do a First aid course so that we can use it in the work place when needed. This was almost like a refresher course on Biology because most of the things we learned was about the human body and I did have Biology in High school. The information we learned was a lot, but not so difficult to take in. The pictures we were shown was really disgusting, it was people who were in serious accidents and there was blood every were!!I am so glad that I did this course because now I can help the people who are in real life threatening situations!

We had to do a practical test with a dummy and resuscitate it by giving 2 breaths and 30 chest pumps and then reaped it. I did great and the Paramedics found that I am compatible. The theory test was easy and I got an average of 68% in the test! I am now a qualified level one First aider!!

Beer night at Sondela

Beer night at Sondela!!

All the first years of Sondela had a Beer night at Brown Hyena on the 17 of February.Even though I like beer i didn't have much knowledge about it's origins or how its made. I certainly learned allot more about beer and could more or less speak to a tourist about it and give a little more information...

We also had a special guest who visited us. Norman was a guest that was staying at the Guesthouse who is a beer specialist and also a brewer. He was our guest for the night and we had to prepare slide shows ans advertisements for him.

Norman was very impressed with the girls Power Point Presentation because it was short and sweet! The girls recorded their advert and it was shown on the laptop. The boys advert was very funny and we had a good laugh.

After all the serious stuff we had some chicken and chops on the fire and Norman answerd a few of our questions about beer. We had a delicious dinner and I think every one learned a lot more about beer and brewing. I definitely didn't know that Hops are apart of the Marawanna Family... The evening was a great success, I have defenatley gaind alot more knowledge after this!!

Red Billed Qeuleas extermination.

Pest control....

Extermination of the Red billed Quelea

The objective of this operation is to exterminate the red billed Queleas so that food security is ensured for local farmer's crops. Although this is a beautiful bird of nature it is considered as a pest. when the chicks are small they feed on insects like earthworms and locusts, this is a good thing because it is good for pest control, however when the Quelea fully matures it's diet changes to grains ands seeds. This bird specie is highly over populated and therefore wipes out hectares of crops consisting of precious food for the human race. We at Sondela are protectors of nature but this is just one of those thing that had to be done...

Planning of operation

The operation had to be planned very carefully to prevent any mishaps. The department of agriculture was mainly involved in the structure of the operation and every detail had to be discussed with them. All the farmers around the area lend a helping hand as well as the staff of Sondela. Every body had to be fully briefed on the situation.

Chasing away non target species

At noon all the helpers had to chase away the non target species. Sondela only wanted to get rid of the Queleas not other species. Everyone started at one point end moved to another and chased of other species like antelope, owls and jackals also a few shots were fired to chase them away.

Demarcate and spray the area

The area where the Queleas were nesting had to be marked. A total of 48 hectares were marked off with cans with diesel in it. These lights were there to guide the airplane and so that it only sprays the poison inside of the marked area. The plain flew up and down the marked areas were the birds nests were located.

The poison

the poison that were used is called Falcolan, this is a Organophosphate based poison only for the use of killing Red Billed Queleas and the poison must only be used under the surveillance of the Department of Agriculture. Approximately 4-5 liters for every hectare is used wile releasing in the air when the birds are in flight. The Queleas inhale and the poison spreads throughout the blood system and kills it. There is a special smell in the poison that other animals don't like, so they stay far away and also don't eat the dead animals or grass contaminated with poison. Some safety precautions for humans are that u should wear gloves and wile standing near the poison u must wear a mask. The only problem is that the poison, once in a animal doesn't work out of the system and therefor its an on going chain. The only antidote is Artopine sulphate for non target species.

Picking up the birds

The next morning everyone woke up very early to pick up the dead birds and also the poisoned non target species and save them. Two White Faced owls and one cat egret were rescued and sent to the wildlife rehabilitation centre. This whole operation was a very emotional and gruesome experience for some of the students and although I wasn't there I have surely learnt that what humans broke they must fix in the end...