PERREAULT Magazine September 2014 | Page 30

Perreault Magazine - 30 -

THE SHELDRICKS

AN INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA SHELDRICK

BP:How old were you when you decided to make the Trust your life’s work? Did you know from the time you were a child growing up or did the interest come at a later point?

How is it to raise a family in the environment of the Trust?

AS: THE OPPORTUNITY CAME AT A LATER POINT WHEN I WAS IN MY THIRTIES, AS I WAS STILL AT SCHOOL WHEN THE TRUST WAS FIRST FORMED. I PURSUED MY PATH FIRST BY GOING TO SCHOOL IN SOUTH AFRICA, UNIVERSITY IN CAPE TOWN, TRAVELLING THE WORLD EXPERIENCING NEW PLACES, AND THEN I BECAME A MAKE UP ARTIST IN THE FILM AND FASHION INDUSTRY, SO A FAR CRY FROM WHAT I AM DOING TODAY. AFTER TEN YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY I MET MY FURTURE HUSBAND ROBERT CARR-HARTLEY WHO LIKE ME IS FOURTH GENERATION KENYAN, AND RETURNED TO KENYA TO LIVE PERMANENTLY. HE IS IN THE SAFARI INDUSTRY, AND LIKE MYSELF HAD A VERY SIMILAR UPBRINGING.

BEFORE THAT I WAS LIVING IN CAPE TOWN RETURNING TO KENYA FOR HOLIDAYS. WITH MY MOTHER GROWING OLDER AND REQUIRING HELP, COUPLED WITH MY SISTER IMMIGRATING TO FRANCE, ROBERT AND I TOOK OVER THE RUNNING OF THIS INCREDIBLE LEGACY, OF COURSE WITH MY MOTHER DAPHNE REMAINING VERY INVOLVED.

ONE OF THE THINGS I AM MOST GRATEFUL FOR IS THAT MY CHILDREN HAVE ENJOYED A SIMILAR UPBRINGING TO MY OWN, SURROUNDED BY ORPHANED PETS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS AND IMMERSED IN NATURE. THIS DEFINES YOU FOR LIFE AND NATURE IS INDEED FOOD FOR THE SOUL, AND MY CHILDREN ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR LIFE, THE WILDS, THE TRUST, AND SO THROUGH MY SONS THE FUTURE OF THE TRUST IS SECURED.

BP:What sparked up the idea for the Fostering Program?

AS: IT BECAME APPARENT ABOUT FOURTEEN YEARS AGO THAT WITH MORE AND MORE ORPHANS COMING INTO OUR CARE WE NEEDED TO BECOME PROACTIVE WITH REGARDS TO OUR FUNDRAISING, AND THIS COUPLED WITH THE AGE OF THE INTERNET SPARKED THE INCREDIBLE IDEA OF SHARING OUR ORPHANS AND THEIR STORIES AND ULTIMATE JOURNEY BACK INTO THE WILD WITH A GLOBAL AUDIENCE.