Orangutan Awareness Week 2017 - A Volunteer Poem To Celebrate The Team At Samboja!

Posted by Michael Starbuck on 13th Nov 2017

We love it when our volunteers are creative in their ways to aid animal conservation, and this is most certainly the case with Tony, a volunteer who helped out at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project earlier this year. After his experience with the orangutans Tony sat down to pen his poem "Remember Me" which is all about the plight of these beautiful animals. To celebrate Orangutan Awareness Week 2017 we wanted to share the poem with you, alongside some of Tony's amazing pictures so we'll let Tony take it from here!

Remember Me - Tony Buckle

It was good to meet you, but now you’ve gone

I hope you’ll remember what went wrong

In my life, when I was snatched

From a caring Mum and then dispatched

To a horrible place and kept in a cage,

Where they called me a pet and ignored my rage.

I hope you’ll remember to tell everyone

How my days of misery were begun,

With a chain round my neck and little to eat

Unable to swing by my hands and my feet.

Beaten, deprived, starved of love and affection

Vulnerable to every infection.

There are many. of which I am one

Of my tribe, who could not run

When our World came crashing down.

Destroyed by humans from a nearby town.

Then one day my life improved

At Samboja to where I was moved.

In the nursery I could play all day

And when it got dark had a mum who would stay

To keep me company all night long.

I was well fed so I grew strong.

I made new friends of my own kind

But was sad for those whom I’d left behind.

When I started Forest School

Learning to climb trees was really cool.

All day long we would climb and swing

Until it got dusk and our mums would bring

Bananas and melons to bribe us back home,

But I long for the days when I’ll be free to roam.

I’ve come a long way since my mother was shot

But thanks to Samboja I’ve been helped a lot

By carers, vets and volunteers

Who’ve looked after me for several years.

So thank you for coming, but keep me in mind

 

By remembering me to all Mankind.

All credit for the images and poem goes to Tony Buckle.

---

Share this Article...

Share this article with your friends and followers by using the social media buttons below.

---

Leave a Comment...

Wanting to add something to this story or just let us know your thoughts? Just leave your comments below. Please be aware that all comments will be moderated: abusive behaviour or self-promotion will not be allowed.

Has this blog inspired you to volunteer? If so, why not enquire today? Simply fill out an enquiry form, and allow a member of our travel team to assist with your query! Please note that blog comments are not monitored by the travel team, so any questions related to bookings may be missed.

---