It is quite fitting that the first registered sponsor of the new Bali Zoo Sponsorship Program is Anada, owner of the Asia Dana forum, a website created in the spirit of helping those who live in poverty; concern for the environment; and animal protection in Asia.
Anada first became aware of Bali's need for sponsors when Kini, sponsorship co-ordinator for the Bali Zoo Project, posted information on Asia Dana regarding the new program. Being 'anti-zoo', Anada did not enter into sponsorship without first asking many questions of Tony Greenwood, owner of Peel Zoo in Western Australia and co-ordinator of Bali Zoo's massive upgrade project. Anada was convinced, after her discussions with Tony, that his major concern is the wellbeing of the animals. She feels confident that Tony has the necessary expertise, compassion and respect for the animals to manage a project of this scale.
As a gesture of her support for the program, Anada decided to sponsor an animal. Her choice was an owl, well known as a symbol of wisdom. When the opportunity arose to name the owl, Anada chose the name 'Rex', in honour of a good friend to many people, who recently passed away. Rex was a much loved and popular contributor to an online Bali forum, and Anada hopes that his spirit will continue to live on in his beloved Bali, in the form of this beautiful bird.
Anada describes the sponsorship process as "a piece of cake". She was able to pay for the sponsorship by credit card through the PayPal site without having to sign up for an account. This made the transaction easy and hassle-free.
Happy with the knowledge that her contribution will help fund a worthwhile project, Anada hopes that the Bali Zoo Sponsorship Program is something many more people will become involved in.