The lights go on at the STEF Veterinary
The Elephant barn and laboratory at the STEF Veterinary Centre bathed in light for the first time
We have light! STEF is thrilled to announce that we now have mains electricity at the hospital at Khok Kloi. Four miles of electric cable, from the main road to the veterinary centre, have been set up in the last two months, with the final section going underground.
This last section is across the land belonging to the veterinary centre, which was originally regenerated from old rubber plantations into an attractive landscape where elephant patients can roam freely when not under treatment in the hospital. So it was important to have the cables running underground for the safety of the elephants as wellas to retain the beauty of the grounds.
It is a huge relief for the staff working at the veterinary centre, and for the vet volunteers who are accommodated on site, that we now have mains electricity and no longer rely entirely on solar panels and a back-up generator. No more working by torch light on patients in the elephant barn, and the volunteers will now have hot water in their bathrooms!
We could not have done this without the generous support of our followers and of the trusts and foundations that helped us to fund the installation of the mains electricity. A huge thank to you all.
[please click on the photos below to enlarge and to read captions]
