Call to donate phones for Nepal alert

More than 7000km from those she’s dedicated to helping, local Shelly Voigt is making a difference to the lives of Nepalese villagers, right here in Busselton.

Already an active volunteer with the Sanjiwani Public Health Mission, Ms Voigt now aids the Wild Tiger program by collecting second-hand phones to set up SMS safety alert systems.

While human-animal conflict zones are extremely common across Nepal, Wild Tiger is dedicated to fostering co-existence and protection for people and endangered species.

For this vision to be realised, mobile phones are needed to set up security messaging networks across four trial villages.

“They’re simple objects to us, but these simple objects can save lives,” Ms Voigt said.

“All it takes is a willingness to help — it doesn’t have to be huge, but simple things make a difference and it’s something that anyone can take on board.”

Ms Voigt hopes to collect 20 phones by October to deliver to Wild Tiger on her next visit.

Working second-hand mobile phones can be dropped at any Stocker Preston bureau, addressed to Boyd Reilly.

Visit wildtiger.org to donate.