GEETA SESHAMANI, NEW DELHI

CATEGORY: SOCIAL WORK

Geeta Seshamani is an active senior wildlife conservationist and social worker. She believes that man needs to live in partnership with animals and forests. She is the Co-Founder and secretary of Wildlife SOS and the vice president of Friendicoes SECA. She has helped the Kalandar community to end the brutal ‘dancing’ bear practice. Geeta realized that due to poverty and a dire lack of education, the Kalandars had

no alternative means of earning a livelihood and were wholly dependent on making the bears dance for money. The answer lay in the rehabilitation of the Kalandar community through education and an alternative livelihood program as an extension of the ‘dancing bear’ rescue project. Through Wildlife SOS, Geeta worked tirelessly to provide vocational training and financial rehabilitation to the Kalandar community. The results proved phenomenal - the Kalandars began surrendering bears to Wildlife SOS. Till date, 628 sloth bears have been rescued from the dancing bear trade and have been successfully rehabilitated at Wildlife SOS’. As a result, over 3,500 Kalandar families have given up illegal wildlife crime. Geeta has also empowered the women of the community by establishing several programs to facilitate their empowerment through seed funds and skill training. She has enabled them to act as breadwinners for their families. These skill training programs include candle making, incense stick making, sewing, block printing, and cutting waste to stuff cricket balls and, rearing poultry for organic eggs to help the communities self-sustain. Through this holistic approach to an age-old conservation problem, Geeta with Wildlife SOS made history in 2009 by successfully bringing an end to the ‘dancing’ bear practice by taking the last dancing bear off the streets of India. Geeta remains an active champion for wildlife and environmental causes, and a staunch advocate for animals.