Spearheaded by SJIS’s Interact Club students, the adopt a hornbill Programme was an initiative to introduce school students to our national and state bird of Sarawak.
“We also wanted to raise awareness of the fragile state of our birdlife, especially the hornbill that is now close to being on the endangered list,” according to a Zoo Negara spokesperson,” said SJIS Principal, Mr. Suresh Dass.
The SJIS students who initially started the fund raising at the SJIS school carnival were keen to discover why the rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) was under threat and among themselves began to persuade each other about the vulnerable state of local wildlife.
“At first we did not realise that many of our natural icons were under threat such as the tiger among others and now the hornbill. We felt responsible and wanted to do something to raise awareness among ourselves, ” said Year 11 student, Satveer Singh, who is also the Interact Club President 2018.
The SJIS Interact club undertakes a significant CSR programme every year, and the SJIS adopt a hornbill for a year is landmark event for the students. Among the activities planned for the year is an awareness programme that includes exhibits and talks organized by SJIS and Zoo Negara’s Education Department.
“We managed to raise RM10,500 to adopt the hornbill. Funds raised will go towards the upkeep and maintenance of Kiki at Zoo Negara,” said Mr Meby Ignatius, Registrar of SJIS who is responsible for club activities.
“We find such initiatives from schools to be useful especially when school children learn the value of appreciating endangered wildlife,” says Cik Linda binti Salim, Zoo Negara’s Director of Marketing and Education Department.
Issued by SJIS Communications and Public Relations. For more details contact Mr Meby Ignatius at 010-2032086 or Miss Ling Fang at 019-6141296.