It's been a very hectic week!
Practically every day, I've been talking about our One-Street CNRM project to someone.
In a nutshell, here's the deal:
Our local councillor is supportive of this project but we must produce some results.
The short-term results we are aiming for:
1. Get SJ residents to participate in doing CNRM.
2. In time, get people to stop complaining about the presence of stray animals.
The above are our short-term goals. We're working on No.1 now. No.2 will come as a natural consequence of the presence of less strays.
What's been happening so far:
a. My colleague at work will be organising a student-project where 15 students will attempt to catch the stray cats on a street near our college. I've arranged with our panel vets to get these cats spayed-neutered on that day (let's hope we can catch some, that is!). Ah Fatt will be helping out with this as I'll be in class during that time.
b. Some of my own students are against the project as they feel the cats are needed for biological control of the rats. They said it'll be interferring with the eco-system. Well, they have a point there, I suppose. They said they won't complain about the presence of the cats. In fact, they don't mind them at all as it keeps the rats at bay. So, can we, instead, catch the rats for spaying, they asked. Interesting, to know this viewpoint. I'm glad that they don't find the cats a nuisance and they appreciate the cats' role in biological control. I hope this stays with them for the rest of their lives.
c. I'm arranging for a third panel vet in Subang Jaya so that we will be better prepared should more SJ residents wish to participate in CNRM in the months/years to come. This is going to be a long-term project.
d. I've written in to the RA in SS19/1 with the proposal to introduce this project to its residents. The secretary says he needs to consult the committee members first. I'll wait for their reply.
e. My friend, Bro Chim, has very kindly spoken to a feeder on his road, SS18/5A, and this feeder, an elderly man, is keen to hear me out. I'm arranging for a convenient time to speak with him on this.
f. A coordinator of the Shah Alam Buddhist Society located in Bukit Rimau has written to me. He is interested in spear-heading our One-Street CNRM to its members. He'll be arranging a programme to do this.
g. Quite a number of people (from outside SJ) have responded indicating their interest to do CNRM on their street. Some have also offered help to help me set up something on facebook and twitter, but I think this blog is sufficient for now. Interested parties can always link their facebook to our blog. I honestly cannot manage so many social networking forums. This blog is all I can handle for now, with so many cases coming in every single day.
h. After the newspaper article came out, a British international school has indicated their interest to promote this idea to their students while one of my friends says she will talk with her mosque committee to see if they are interested too. Now, that's breaking into new grounds and I'm really excited about it.
i. I am reviving this little picture booklet (handbook) for children about how to take care of the community animals in their neighbourhood. The booklet was written two years ago, but the artist did not quite finish the job and since then, I have not been able to find an artist who was willing to continue the job. Jessie Yee has offered to help me out on this. If only I could draw, I would have done it myself!
j. The Cat Welfare Society (Singapore) has offered to let us use their educational materials (brochures, etc.) to promote CNRM. We're really thankful for this. I have also linked up their Vice President with our councillor should the latter wish to work on anything "bigger". The CWS is ever willing to help. They've achieved success in Spore.
k. We've been receiving more requests for help ever since the Star Two article was published. I'm glad that more people are interested in helping the stray animals. As always, we'll help as much as we can.
l. The radio channel BFM 89.9 has invited me for a live interview on 10th June, at 3pm. What fun...the last time I appeared on radio was for a singing programme when I was 10 years old! Rest assured I'm not going to sing this time, so if you are driving at that time, do tune in to BFM 89.9 and I hope I don't mess up! It's a live interview, so....come what may. May my guardian angels guide me well.
So........that's what has been happening so far, plus much more and hopefully, more to come!
Let's stay positive and focus on what we can do, shall we? Never mind those who say it's an impossible task. Even if you can help one cat or one dog, it's already a big help. Education is a life-long process. We need to start it off and stick with it.
Join us in CNRM-ing your street?
Have a good weekend, everyone.
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