Romario Valentine has raised over R20,000 for his 9th birthday to help support his favourite bird park; as thanks, they gave him a certificate.
Durban, South Africa (27 July 2020) – At only 9 years old, Romario Valentine from Umhlanga, Durban, has dreams to become a scientist one day. In the meantime, he hopes to better understand and protect our natural environment.
Proving that you’re never too young to stand up for what you believe in, Romario has been an active ocean warrior for the past 2 years. He has cleaned up his local beach once a week and raises awareness around the dangers of pollution.
Through his frequent visits to the Umgeni River Bird Park, in Durban North, a 3.5-hectare reserve which is home to over 800 birds from 200 species, Romario developed a passion for birds and protecting endangered species.
Upon learning that the Umgeni River Bird Park, was under strain due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Romario nobly asked his mother, Delsha Moodley, if she could help him set up a fundraiser to support the bird park. The bird park is temporarily closed and unable to fundraise during this uncertain time.
In lieu of gifts for his 9th birthday on the 26th of July, Romario, set up a campaign on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy to raise R15 000 to support the Umgeni River Bird Park’s “Inspire to Conserve” programme to protect endangered birds.
For his birthday, the bird sanctuary handed over a certificate of thanks for all his efforts in helping them raise much-needed funding during the lockdown. Romario was able to raise over R20,000 thanks to his crowdfunding campaign.
“Thank you to my parents and everyone who shared and supported my bird conservation campaign not forgetting Umgeni River Bird Park who gave me the opportunity to assist. Together we have helped the birds.” – Romario
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