Windies visit world’s biggest orphans on Sri Lanka tour

Some of the members of the West Indies Team, along
with Digicel Representative Marita Laurent, stand in
front of the elephants at the orphanage they visited.

Digicel Representative Marita Laurent and West Indies
Team Head Coach Bennett King make friends with
some of the elephants at the Elephant Orphanage in
Sri Lanka.

Monday,  July 25, 2005

In a poignant reminder of how vulnerable even the most powerful can be, the West Indies cricket team had the opportunity to interact with some of Sri Lanka’s wildlife when they took a pause from cricket recently to visit an elephant orphanage. The visit occurred while the team was en route from Colombo to Kandy, the venue of the next test.

The outing was organised by team sponsor Digicel to encourage team camaraderie and expose the players to the cultural aspects of their host country. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 for the purpose of caring for sick and injured elephants, nursing them back to health and then encouraging breeding in order to increase the numbers of this endangered species. The institution has successfully bred 23 babies since 1985.

West Indies Team Media Liaison Imran Khan was very impressed with the facility. “I thought it was a unique and fascinating experience. It made the team aware of the serious issue of animal rights and how little steps can have an impact on preserving an endangered species.”

One of the more memorable sights for the team, according to Khan, was seeing a huge elephant struggling on three legs as a result of having stepped on a land mine. 

“This evoked heart wrenching emotions in all of us,” says Khan. “It was definitely a bonding experience between the members of the team, the management and our sponsor.”

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