Eve Jeffery
A tiny baby goat, tied up in a hessian bag and left on a rubbish tip in Broken Hill to die, has done more for the lives of animals and the lives of humans than she could ever have imagined.
‘Sunshine’ as she was named by Kelly Nelder, the earthling who ended up with her, was nursed back to health and was soon joined by Sugars, a (not so) mini piglet from a failed mini pig breeding business.
Sugars and her family had been sold to a man who bought pigs to butcher for meat. She was separated from her family and when she arrived on Kelly’s doorstep, she was covered in lice, cold and stressed.
‘These two animals, Sugars and Sunshine, were the inspiration for Sugarshine FARM Sanctuary,’ says Kelly. ‘But as those who rescue animals know, once you’ve rescued one or two animals, many others begin to somehow find their way to you too.
Sugars was soon followed by Nibbles the orphaned goat, sheep Maartin and Opal and two more goats, Shirley and Never.
That was when Kelly and the gang moved to greener and larger pastures and landed in Lismore.
Kelly and Sugarshine are also a sanctuary for humans; volunteers who willing to work hard and get a bit dirty, with the reward of unlimited snuggles from a loving animal family.
Sugarshine FARM Sanctuary has grown and is now a registered charity. Many more earthlings have joined the family with between 50 and 60 animals at any given time and a collection of volunteer humans. ‘We have a special interest in animals with disabilities,’ says Kelly.
‘We pride ourselves on not only taking care of the animals’ physical needs, but also their need to be treated as individuals – to be accepted, and to be loved unconditionally,’ she says. ‘We also take a non-judgemental approach to the people who housed the animals before us, as our foundation is one of positivity and kindness.’
Recently a very generous earthling came to Sugarshine’s rescue with a huge donation. Paula Barrett who runs Friends Resilience, which is an organisation which helps kids to be resilient and compassionate, donated the use of a 60 acre property a short drive from Sugarshine 1, and on April 13 Kelly and the volunteers began to move some of the animals across.
Kelly is really excited about the potential of the extra space. ‘Our two organisations are collaborating together on the new sanctuary.’
The first to go to the new property were some of our younger sheep – Piccola, Stefan AKA Sadboy, Geoff, Echo and Berry. ‘It was hard to take clear photos of them because they were so excited that they were running around, leaping and nibbling on every little bit of grass!’
Help is always welcomed and encouraged at Sugarshine. If you love being with animals, don’t mind chaos and getting dirty, have initiative and a positive attitude, they would love to have you join them on the last Saturday of every month for their volunteering open days.
There are many expenses involved with the running of Sugarshine. As a registered charity, they rely on help from volunteers and from donations.
‘We need an endless supply of food for all of the hungry animals,’ says Kelly. ‘Fresh hay is always needed for sleeping quarters and for something the goats and sheep can chew on. Then there are the surprise expenses such as vet bills, barn repairs and other property maintenance issues that come with housing curious, adventurous farm animals.’
Every dollar donated is gratefully received, and goes 100% toward the health, safety and happiness of the animal residents of Sugarshine FARM Sanctuary.
‘I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped us get to this point, and who continue to support us. We couldn’t do any of this without all of you wonderful people!’
To find out more or to make a donation, visit the Sugarshine website or their Facebook Page.
Photos Tree Faerie
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