Where I live in Singapore, majority of us seldom spend time being at peace with oneself in Mother Nature. We dwell in concrete jungles and spend most of our time behind computers/tv/mobile phones with distractions ranging from ads telling us the latest "things" we need to buy, propagandas spreading hate and intolerance and last but not least cute cat videos .
That's why I've decided to bring my new batch of Year 2 students from Lasalle out of the classroom to open their minds & hearts and experience a paradise on earth known as Noah's Ark Nature Animal Sanctuary in JB, Malaysia. A rare Shangri-la where happy free-roaming animals outnumbered humans; where interacting with 400+ cats is better than watching cute cat videos on Youtube. Everyone of us, from different walks of life, nationalities, cultures, religions and ages are all smiles and laughters as we arrive in our bus greeted by dogs running excitedly towards us.
The 600+ dogs, 400+ cats, 11 horses here have all underwent trauma and abandonment before finding their second chance through Noah's Ark. Even though through the fault of their humans that they were strays, they still welcome us and trust us new humans with their little hearts.
It was a brand new experience for many of my students. A few told me it's the first time they have touch a cat, for some it's the first time they've touched a dog and for others the first time they've touch a horse. We may all have different new experiences but their smiles are the same. The pictures speaks a thousand words. It truly warms my heart.
I'm proud to say that we have donated a sum of money which goes towards buying approx 300 cans of cat food for the wonderful cats we've got to spend our time with in the cat hut during the 2 hours of torrent rain.
The trip back to Singapore was filled with laughters and singing. One of the song "Colors of the Wind" they sang really sums up our experience at Noah's Ark Nature Animal Sanctuary.
"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends"
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By C.S Ling Photography
Nikon Singapore Professional Photographer
SanDisk Extreme Team
Gitzo Ambassador (Singapore)
Singapore Women's Weekly
Winner of Great Women of our Time (Arts & Media) 2011
Grand Prize Winner of Nature's Best Photography Winner of Great Women of our Time (Arts & Media) 2011
Windland Smith Rice Award 2012
Winning work now exhibited at Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington, USA
Websites:
http://pets.cslingphotography.com (Pets & Family)
http://wildlife.cslingphotography.com (Wildlife)
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