What's Our Why?
A 40-something year old Sri Lankan elephant named Bandara, believe it or not. On a five month leave from work back in 2012, founder Nikita McKinder traveled to Sri Lanka to volunteer at Millennium Elephant Foundation (MEF), an organization dedicated to rescuing captive elephants. It was Bandara, the elephant she was assigned to work with, who stole her heart from day one (even making her husband a tiny bit jealous).
Rescued from abusive captors, the elephants at MEF are nurtured by local caretakers – known as mahouts – alongside the volunteers who contribute their time and funds. And even though it’s been close to a decade, we still think of Bandara and all his brothers and sisters who continue to need our support. Spend one day with these beautiful, giant creatures and we’re pretty sure you’ll be thinking about ‘em nonstop too.
