A visit to Island Sanctuary

May 25 marked the end of this year's animal awareness campaign at Dr Godwin Ganado Primary School in Mtarfa. Year II pupils, together with their teachers Louise Chircop and Antonella Ferrante, paid a visit to the Island Sanctuary, Delimara.

Their able guide during this visit was their science teacher and voluntary at the sanctuary, Adrian Zerafa. The pupils had been well prepared for the visit as Mr Zerafa had showed them photos of dogs living at the sanctuary and told them all about their stories.

Moreover, he explained how dogs spend their days at the sanctuary. An important issue which the pupils and Mr Zerafa discussed was that of volunteers, who at the time of our visit were feeding the 180 residents.

The pupils were made aware that all the people who worked there did so without getting paid. Theirs was a labour of love, which should be appreciated by all.

Mr Zerafa and the class teachers also discussed with the pupils the importance of taking good care of pets and how these should never be thrown out of our homes. The pupils presented Mr Zerafa with canned dog food, dried food and toys for the dogs.

These things were collected by the whole school as a sign of solidarity with the dogs and volunteers at Island Sanctuary.

One must not forget to thank the pupils for their generosity, their parents for the ongoing collaboration and the administration for making this interesting outing possible.

Heartfelt thanks go to Mr Zerafa for preparing the pupils for this visit and for his well informed commentary throughout our stay at the sanctuary. As a concluding activity, pupils were asked to write letters to the editors of various newspapers about their experiences at the sanctuary, while urging the public to be more respectful and responsible towards animals and pets.