ENP Rings in New Year with Power of One

New Year’s Day is a special day, filled with hope. We hope for a happy and healthy year ahead for the elephants and all other animals and humans in the care of Elephant Nature Park. We hope to continue to understand each other and work towards better communication and cooperation. We hope to become better people. We hope to inspire others to care more about animals, the environment and our mother Earth.

For the past eight years,  ENP has been fortunate to start each year with a special volunteer group known as the “Power of One.” They arrive on January first, bringing with them their own special blend of peace, love, happiness, inspiration and HOPE. Their visit is a perfect start for the New Year!

The Power of One strike a pose during their show.

Americans Juelle and Donovan, founders of the non-profit Blue Star of Hope, believe in inspiring young people. They achieve this through volunteer experiences, cross-cultural immersion, story telling, discussion, hard work, laughter, crying, singing and dancing. The end result is amazing and beautiful.

A main focus of the Power of One is promoting the idea of the global village, where people from many cultures can come together, share their experiences and work towards saving the world’s animals, the environment that sustains all of us and promoting peace and unity. This project is designed for young people aged 14 and older who are the next generation of caretakers of not only the Asian elephant, but our fragile planet as well. It is important that they become inspired and aware.

Volunteering at ENP can be a life-changing experience and positively influence a teenager.
This year’s group hailed from Thailand, USA, Australia, South Africa and England. During their week-long stay they worked very hard preparing ele-food in the elephant kitchen, scooping ele poo and collecting stones to build pillars that will protect the trees in the park. Besides the normal volunteer jobs they had a few special activities of their own. One of these is to help protect the forests that surround ENP. They do this by tying scarves blessed by Buddhist monks around trees so that they are made sacred and cannot be cut down. The venerable Arjarn from Wat Kao Mai Rueak Buddhist temple in Baan Krud, who is a dear friend and mentor of Juelle and Donovan, comes each year to join in the tree blessing event that has become a Power of One tradition.

Other activities that are a tradition since their first visit are: giving Power of One T-shirts to all of the mahouts, bringing donations for hilltribe and refugee people AND the main event …entertaining ENP staff and other guests with !SHOWTIME! comprised of various skits, magic, Thai dance, African dance and western dance/comedy, on their last night at the park. Hosted by Power of One emcee Sylvia, this gala glitzy evening is filled with fun, festivity and laughter.

Juelle and Dono fundraise to be able to sponsor the kids and mentors from South Africa and Thailand. The South Africans come from the Botshabelo orphanage, another project that the Blue Star of Hope supports. The wonderful melting pot of cultures and personalities that the Power of One bring together make for an uplifting and inspiring week. All things seem possible and it is evident how each of us, in our own way can really make a difference and show the strength in the power of ONE.

A big THANK YOU to Lek and Darrick for creating a place where all this is possible, to Juelle and Dono for their amazing vision, to Chet the fabulous volunteer coordinator who keeps everything running smoothly for the week and, of course, to all of the Power of One participants for giving their all. The biggest thanks of all goes to the ELEPHANTS … who continue to bring us all together.
To learn more about the Power of One and Blue Star of Hope visit their website: www.bluestarofhope.org