The efforts to help the elephants at Kuala Gandah on a sustainable and grand scale originated with two Canadians, Peter Bruckmann and Lianne Carley. In January 2000, Peter and Lianne arrived at the elephant centre as short-term volunteers. They had planned to stay for two weeks before returning to Canada. When they arrived at Kuala Gandah, they were deeply concerned by the conditions there. The elephants were kept on short chains virtually 24 hours a day. Though friendly and playful, the elephants were clearly distressed at being so immobilized. They would sway and rock back and forth and their legs bore wounds and multiple scars from the chains.
Peter and Lianne's first reaction to this disturbing situation was to want to leave. After some thought, however, they decided to stay and see what could be done to help create a better environment for the elephants. They met with the director of the centre who agreed that the construction of an enclosure would greatly improve the welfare of the elephants. The difficulty was that he did not have the financial or human resources required to design and build the enclosure or to provide extra training for his staff. Lianne and Peter decided to change their return plane tickets and to use their savings to stay on to make the elephant enclosure a reality.The first task was to research the use of enclosures with captive Asian elephants. Largely through the internet, they contacted many of the top elephant experts and elephant facilities around the world. Then with the assistance of the director of the centre and his staff, Lianne and Peter designed an enclosure and obtained approval for its construction from the Director General of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
To secure the funding to build the enclosure, Lianne and Peter teamed up with Hill and Associates, a company based in Kuala Lumpur who had expressed an interest in helping the elephants. With Hill and Associates on board, soon followed the interest of other corporations, most notably BOH Plantations who provided the majority of funding required to begin construction of the enclosure (see Partners and Links section). Meanwhile, Marc Davey of Hill and Associates, linked up with the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang to see if the club would like to join the elephant project. The Rotary Club members were very interested and were so committed to the cause that they went through the complex process of changing their constitution in order to be able to become involved in an animal welfare project (usually Rotary Clubs are restricted to helping humans only). The Rotary Club then set up a registered charitable fund, The Malaysian Elephant Appeal, to raise funds for projects for the elephants at Kuala Gandah.
The Malaysian Elephant Appeal has now grown to encompass not only animal welfare, but also environmental preservation. To this end, the vision is to transform Kuala Gandah into a conservation education facility where visitors can learn about the endangered Asian elephant, as well as about the importance of the protection of tropical rainforests.
After seven months of living at Kuala Gandah and after the majority of the enclosure had been completed, Lianne and Peter returned to Canada. They are still involved in the Appeal as consultants. The Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang managed the day to day operations of the elephant projects from 2000 to 2002 and then transferred this function to their partners in service, the Rotary Club of Temerloh. Since that time, the Rotary Club of Temerloh has continued to work on projects to improve Kuala Gandah and to raise awareness of the Asian elephant and environmental issues.
Peter Bruckmann and Lianne Carley
Trained as a social worker, Peter worked extensively with socially isolated communities in Toronto, Canada. He managed an emergency counseling and response program for the homeless and worked as a clinical counselor for street youth. He has also worked internationally and supervised an experiential education program for young people in East Africa, the Middle East and SE Asia. After returning from Malaysia to Canada, Peter directed youth programs for the Canadian Cooperatives Association in Vancouver before moving into a position as a Community Developer for a community trust fund at Vancouver Coastal Health. Peter holds a B.A. in Economics and a Masters in Social Work.Lianne has worked in community development for 15 years and has been involved in projects throughout the world. She was the director of a youth outreach program with the United Way in Toronto, Canada, and co-led the international youth program with Peter in Africa and Asia. Most recently, Lianne has been working as a Community Developer for Community Health Services in Vancouver. Lianne holds a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Comparative International Development.
Natt (photo: right) and Maggie (photo: far right) are two enthusiastic volunteers who have been with the Malaysian Elephant Appeal since early 2005. Natt is both a freelance writer and the director of media and communications at Julian W. Photography. Natt has a deep love of nature and is a true champion for the environment. Maggie works in the Singapore Zoo's education department, running various programs to engage the public in learning more about flora and fauna. Maggie is a good friend of Natt's and shares her love for nature. Maggie is trained in the art of video production and thus together with Natt's writing skills, they make for a powerful Communications team. The two of them support the Malaysian Elephant Appeal in a variety of ways, their biggest contribution thusfar being the production of a VCD of the elephant centre. Natt and Maggie live in Singapore.
Other Key Long-Term Volunteers
In 2000, the Rotary Club of Temerloh (RCT) joined the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang as Partners in Service for the Malaysian Elephant Appeal. In 2002, the RCT assumed full responsibility for the day to day management of the Fund and the Appeal projects. The RCT is located in Temerloh, a town close to Kuala Gandah, allowing the club to easily monitor the progress of on-site projects. As well, several RCT members have engineering backgrounds which continues to be a very helpful resource for the various construction activities. The club meets every Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. at the Resthouse in Temerloh, Pahang.