This page was created to raise funds to purchase a solar system and water tank to ensure the survival of our animal kids.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUbs129z6jE&t=1s
Why Do I Desperately Need These Things You Ask?
I live in South Africa which is facing an energy crisis with load shedding, meaning; we only have power for a few hours a day (if we are lucky) as the power grid has been severely under strain for years now and only seems to go downhill. Winter makes it beyond difficult to care for the reptiles with cold fronts bringing the temps down drastically and there are not a lot of means to warm them up. At this moment we use the gas stove to warm up water for their warm bottles every 2 hours and take them outside for sunlight each day to give them much-needed UVB. Unfortunately, if the power issues get too severe, gas runs out at stores and thus we have to revert completely to the Stone Age, by burning wood to warm up their water. Some days, even finding wood or coal has proven to be a challenge as everything is sold out or scavenged.
Not only do we bear the burden of no power, but also go without water to worsens conditions. (No power to run the water plants). The only viable solution to this is to purchase a solar system and water tank.
We cannot go without water and power for at least 8 hours a day for these reasons:
For the last 10 years, we have rescued and cared for Reptiles (Bearded dragons, geckos, and Iguanas). These animals are like children to me and my kids and through tough times, they make a bad day bearable. Due to continuous load shedding in the last few years, we already lost a few animals as they cannot go without heat or UVB lights, which take electricity to run. We explored different options like heating warm bottles by using gas, a generator that is simply too expensive to run, and so forth. None of which is a long-term solution to provide them with optimal care.
We work online as a means to provide for ourselves and the animals. Without sufficient electricity, this has become a total nightmare as we need at least 8 hours of work a day to cover all the basics that are needed to care for them. At this moment, we can only manage to work 2 hours a day as the little electricity that is available cannot only be dedicated to work but must carefully be managed to do all the chores that require power and water.
As a means to give the animals proper nutrition that is affordable, we have a vegetable garden to provide them with fresh greens and veggies. Due to the lack of water, obviously, this has become an almost impossible task to manage as we have to drive down to the river daily to collect enough water to keep the garden thriving. A Jo-Jo tank will make it possible to overcome this massive water problem as we can not only collect water when it rains but also collect and store it, the few times that the pumps do work.
We are no longer in a position to help animals due to the power crisis. The solar system and water tank would make this possible again. With the constant power failures, the need to help has increased since people can no longer keep their reptiles and these animals end up in horrible situations. We have everything in place to help them, EXCEPT for the most important part, electricity, and water. Solar is a long-term solution to this problem.
Help is needed now, more than ever! Just in the last year, we ended up with more bearded dragons to look after as people simply cannot cope with these animals under these circumstances and sadly, they dump them or give them away as there are no animal welfare centers around to take in exotic reptiles. Basically, they have nowhere to go but to die a horrid death. These animals usually suffer from severe cases of MBD and sadly we had to euthanize some of them because they were too far gone for help.
We do the best we can. All the bearded dragons and Iguana go outside every day and we do our best to give them at least 2 hours each to get UVB. We take shifts so we can get everyone outside. However, in the winter, not all days are sunny and warm, meaning they are stuck inside on their warm water bottles.
We do not want the ultimate best, just enough to make caring for our animals a tat bit easier. This will include the following:
- A solar system that will be big enough to run all the reptile cages 8 hours a day and also gives us the 8 hours on our computers to enable us again to do what is needed to provide for everyone.
- A 5000-liter water tank that will provide enough water for the veggie garden, to clean the reptile cages and for minimal household use.
Well, that is it. You took the time to read to the end and for that alone, we are beyond grateful! If you make a donation, you cannot even closely imagine the gratitude! If you cannot contribute, we appreciate you just as much, and a prayer, good thought, or even just a share to your network of friends would be beyond my means of expressing how grateful we are.
Have any questions that you want to ask or a suggestion? Please be so kind as to leave them in the comment section and we will get to them as soon as the power comes on.
Thank You
Have a Blessed, Awesome Day!
UPDATES:
It feels like our world is turned upside down and to be honest we are not even sure at this point how to go on. Harley was already 17 years old with health issues that needed extra care. Care that we could not provide or get under these circumstances. We feel bitter and angry, something that is going to take time to overcome. We will go on and not give up, we will cherish all the wonderful years we had with him. At some point, the sun WILL rise again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiWr9kRFOew
Hi. We are doing as well as can be. The summer heat is definitely helping quite a bit. The electricity is being switched off because the power plants are unable to work and generate the power load required to supply the country with the electricity that it needs. Lack of maintenance and a limited amount of fuel to burn for power has left the country with a shortage, thus load-shedding is implemented, where the switch of areas of the country for certain periods of time, usually at 2 or 4-hour intervals. On top of that is municipal load-shedding, Due to the municipality not paying the power bill to our supplier Eskom, and lack of maintenance at our sub-power station, an additional 4 hours of power is shut off a day, with certain areas go off while others stay on so as to prevent from overloading the power station. A lack of power to pump water through the plant has led to shortages, and again, lack of maintenance leaving the water plant unable to provide the necessary amount of water needed. There is as of yet no ongoing plan for fixing these issues, and plans that had been made, fell through. It is a very stressful situation, water and power are essential to life, and needed for cooking, heating, and so on. Reptiles take it especially hard.
Thank you for asking, I hope your questions were answered.
Kind Regards
Lee-Ann
Hi hope all is going well, So sorry to hear about all the problems you are facing in South-Africa. Please forgive me if you already answered these questions in this post but why does your country switch of your electricity that much every day, Do they have a ongoing plan to fix the problem with the electricity and water. I cant even imagine one day without those things so it must be very stressful to live like that every day especially if you have animals to look after
Hi. We are doing as well as can be. The summer heat is definitely helping quite a bit. The electricity is being switched off because the power plants are unable to work and generate the power load required to supply the country with the electricity that it needs. Lack of maintenance and a limited amount of fuel to burn for power has left the country with a shortage, thus load-shedding is implemented, where the switch of areas of the country for certain periods of time, usually at 2 or 4-hour intervals. On top of that is municipal load-shedding, Due to the municipality not paying the power bill to our supplier Eskom, and lack of maintenance at our sub-power station, an additional 4 hours of power is shut off a day, with certain areas go off while others stay on so as to prevent from overloading the power station. A lack of power to pump water through the plant has led to shortages, and again, lack of maintenance leaving the water plant unable to provide the necessary amount of water needed. There is as of yet no ongoing plan for fixing these issues, and plans that had been made, fell through. It is a very stressful situation, water and power are essential to life, and needed for cooking, heating, and so on. Reptiles take it especially hard.
Thank you for asking, I hope your questions were answered.
Kind Regards
Lee-Ann