On the morning of 27th October we received another donated shipment of SMA milk formula delivered to the Nairobi orphanage.  This arrived not a moment too soon as 15 nursery elephant orphans consume milk at an alarming rate, and our stocks were becoming alarmingly low.

The DSWT has enjoyed a supportive relationship with the manufacturers of the SMA Milk Formula, formerly Wyeth and now Pfizer for many years.  Dame Daphne Sheldrick's pioneering efforts in identifying the correct milk formula and husbandry needed to successfully hand-rear milk dependent baby elephants were formed around SMA, a milk formula replacement for human infants.

3 elephant sized bags of powdered milk was flown air freight courtesy of British Airways, and like Pfizer, BA have been long-time supporters of our Orphan's Project, with BA crew very often helping to bring out tins of SMA milk, old blankets and more when they visit the orphanage when working the Nairobi- London route.  We would like to thank the BA Cargo Team for helping make the whole process as seamless as it could possibly be.

Then there is Finlays Fresh Produce who help facilitate the paperwork required to get the milk cleared through customs and delivered to the elephants at the Nursery.  We can say with experience that this is no easy task, however the Finlays team work effortlessly to get the milk cleared as fast as possible and they've done it yet again for this shipment.

So on the afternoon of the 27th October, the welcomed sight of 2,000 kgs of milk powder for our infant charges arrived on palettes in the back of the Finlay's Canter lorry.  The 3 huge bags were extremely heavy so the Kenya Wildlife Service came to the rescue by allowing us to use their forklift truck to unload the milk from the lorry and replace the milk in the milk store container.

We are deeply indebted to Pfizer, British Airways and Finlays for their continued commitment towards the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Orphans' Project. 

A special mention and thanks to Natasha Sweeney and Gill Markham of Pfizer, Mick Goss, Bimal Shah, Mary Barry, Mary Brew and Laura Phillips of British Airways, and James Bartington, John Adams, Mary Muthara, Bernard Muindi and Francis of Finlays Fresh Produce, for the parts each and every one of them played in getting this lifesaving donation of milk to the orphans.