The Cheetah Portal - Audiobook by Bonnie J. Nelson - Popoki Press

www.cheetah.org

Bonnie was introduced to the CCF shortly before she left for her destined trip to Africa. Her affinity for this incredible animal and its marked demise has been a driving force in her life for many years. Through the CCF, Bonnie finds a way to help these elegant creatures, but her monetary donation alone is not enough. She feels she had to create awareness and to share with the world the plight of the cheetah and her precarious position on this planet.

Through the miracle presented to her on Halloween night in 2005, Bonnie has been kissed by the cheetah; and has felt the rumble of her purr resonate through her being. “She is so much more than an icon for me, she is a purpose and as I give her hope, she gives it back to me a hundredfold. She is the one who led me on this journey and now I follow her on a higher path.”

The cheetah is Bonnie’s passion. From the book “The Cheetah Portal”, Bonnie has found a vehicle to raise awareness and to give back to these noble charities and in turn, they can help each other by association in a place literally half way around the world from her island paradise.

www.kenyawaterwellstrust.org

On her last day in Kenya, just before she boards the jet that would take her back to World One, Bonnie is handed a draft copy of a proposal by the daughter of the leader of her safari living in Nairobi. The scope of the project is ambitious. On the very eve of the birth of what is now known as the Kenya Water Wells Trust, the Cheetah Portal project is also born.

The Kenya Water Wells Trust, as it is now named, seeks out a village in need and drills a bore hole down deep into the earth. The well is then capped off and a pump installed. The final step by the KWWT is to educate the villagers how to operate and maintain the pump.

In its early stages, the project has difficulty getting off the ground. Bonnie takes the concept back to her Rotary Club and pitches it to her board, however it becomes obvious that a project of this scope will require months if not years to bring to fruition. These people need water now. Feeling inadequate and hopeless, Bonnie goes to bed each night with the faces of thirsty children in her head.

The Kenya Water Wells Trust was formed by Tana Herbert as the Executive Director and Projects Officer of the Trust. Her mother, Toni Law is a Director and co-founder. In the first year, 12,000 people have been affected by our wells. They have expanded their scope to rehabilitate existing wells that have fallen into disrepair.

The Cheetah Portal project’s goal is to thank the people who make a difference in the lives and livelihood of an African Nation.

www.cheetah.co.za

In January 1997, founder Annie Bellingham, launched the project with a hectare of land provided by Spier Wine Estates located in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Cheetah Outreach then set out to introduce cheetah to the South African community. Educational efforts began with two cheetahs: Shadow, a one-year-old male, capable of traveling to community events, and Inca, a six-year-old male, whose role was to greet Spier visitors.

Their aims are to:

• Increase awareness of the diminishing numbers of free ranging cheetahs in the wild

• Assist Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in efforts to ensure the survival of the cheetah by fundraising

• Where possible to breed cheetah in captivity and promote co-operation between captive breeding facilities in Southern Africa.