Happy 1st Birthday!
We are proud to announce that the EleFriendly bus held its first birthday celebration event on September 9, 2017 in the Wasgamuwa National park region. The EleFriendly bus has been helping to mitigate human elephant conflict along one of the oldest and busiest elephant corridors. This bus has been able to change local villagers' attitudes toward elephants by providing safe transportation for children to and from school free of charge while adults pay a nominal fee for travel.
The EleFriendly bus celebration included an art competition in which submissions showed the changing views of the villagers in the form of elephants and humans living happily together, all thanks to the bus. People's lives in this area have changed for the better as well: children are able to attend schools more frequently and hardly miss a day, and the adult villagers are able to travel to work without the risk of elephants.
Human-elephant conflict has decreased over 80% since the bus’s introduction to the area. We are proud to continue supporting this innovative project by SLWCS that is assisting in reducing the human-elephant conflict, promoting conservation of the species, and helping the local villagers live happily among these giants.
