Help Carly get well and continue her work in Sumatra

Carly in unwell.

Carly needs help to continue her volunteer work with animals and people in Sumatra. After visiting Sumatra several times as part of her job working with the primates at Auckland Zoo, she fell in love with the country and 18 months ago sold up everything she owned in NZ and left family and friends to move there permanently.

She is involved with several organisations, all of them working to better the lives of the animals both domestic and wild in Indonesia. As a volunteer she works with the Sumatran Dog Health programme organising visits to jungle villages where clinics are run to de-sex cats and dogs and to treat them for ailments like scabies and worms. Carly’s background as a vet nurse has been very useful. Villagers are educated in the care of their animals and the organisation, set up by Jess McKelson of RAW Wildlife Encounters has become well respected by the local people.

She is also involved with organisations working to upgrade conditions in Indonesian zoos, and causes such as encouraging locals to move away from elephant riding and instead introducing a new tourist activity of walking with elephants. She is also working alongside organisations trying to get government support to make the trading of dog meat illegal. She travels to relieve in animal refuges when staff need assistance – she speaks to environmental groups about the work being done locally. And of course the battle against palm oil plantations encroaching on habitat is another cause close to her heart.

People in her village, Tangkahan, have asked her to assist in promoting the area as an eco-tourism destination. The aim is to protect the habitat of endangered species and provide jobs for the locals. The village have adopted her as one of their own. Indonesian law prevents her working in Indonesia.

All the organisations she supports rely on donations to assist them in carrying out their work.

Carly has fallen ill. She has spent a week in hospital in Medan undergoing tests to try to pinpoint the infection that is making her ill. It may have been triggered by a jungle bug or maybe from the animals she helps. She let her travel insurance lapse in order to make her savings last longer. She has been supplementing her savings by doing on-line transcribing and writing when internet connections allow – this gives her a small income to subsist on but not enough to pay the hospital bills which so far have totalled over $3000. She has been receiving good hospital care to the relief of family trying to help her long distance.

We are not used to asking for help but we (her parents) survive on superannuation which is limiting our ability to support her. Any money raised will pay for her journey back to full health and will allow her to continue her work. She may have to return to NZ for a short period if her health problems are not resolved. I can assure donors that any money in excess of her treatment costs will go towards the various causes close to Carly’s heart. She would help anyone, or any animal she could, and now she needs to ask (reluctantly) for help.