Farm program plants seeds of empathy in abused children
Learning to look after plants and farm animals teaches kids how to care for others
Coming from Surrey’s city centre, six- year- old Zoey Dunn excitedly jumps out of a van and into an entirely different world — Sali’s Farm in Langley.
After hugging her one- on- one volunteer, Julina Murphy, she makes a beeline to a grassy paddock with a million- dollar view of Golden Ears to hug another friend she’s met on the farm, a miniature donkey called Jasmine. Clearly a favourite with the little girl, Jasmine accompanies Dunn and Murphy as they wander over to a raised garden bed to water the herbs and flowers.
Visiting the donkey and helping care for the plants might seem inconsequential, but they are actually two important activities that provide a glimpse into one of the long- term goals of Sali’s Farm — helping children learn empathy by teaching them how to care for others.
Sali, which stands for Semiahmoo Animal League Inc., is based on a similar program called Forget Me Not Farm out of Sonoma, Calif. The donation- based safe haven for at- risk children and rescued farm animals began last summer and to date has benefited 16 children between the ages of three and 12. Many of the children who participate in Sali’s day- camp program have either been abused themselves or witnessed abuse. Others come from troubled backgrounds with parents or family members struggling with homelessness, poverty, mental illness or drug and alcohol addiction.
The farm offers these kids a respite from troubled home lives. For most children who visit Sali’s Farm, it’s the first time they have been able to see horses, donkeys or chickens.
At the moment, Sali’s program is being run out of a 75- acre horse farm owned by Melanie White, an “honorary” member of the non- profit organization, said Keryn Denroche, Sali’s founder and executive director. But Sali’s long- term goal is to get its own five- acre hobby farm that will not only carry on the day program for at- risk children, but also rescue more animals of a variety of species, she said.
The horse at the farm was abused, something it has in common with many of the children who visit.
Last month, Sali’s Farm rescued Badger, who likely would have been put down because of his two lame front legs, said Denroche.
Badger is amazingly gentle and has already made a difference for the children now in the program, she added.
“When children and animals who have been abused can come together, they both heal,” she said. “Most animal welfare organizations that care for abused animals look at people as being the problem. But we see people as the solution. Animals help people and people help animals.”
Denroche said the program starts out with the children learning how to care for plants. In future visits, they move on to caring for the animals, which helps them develop empathy.
“Our ultimate goal is to break the cycle of violence in each child’s life. Kids who have witnessed violence can develop a lack of empathy. If you lack empathy, you can become violent towards others yourself or abuse animals.”
Denroche said in the short time it’s been operating, Sali’s has already seen some remarkable changes in the children. They come in groups of between four and seven kids once a week for eight weeks and each child is assigned a one- on- one volunteer.
She recalled one child who, for the first four visits, would keep her hoodie over her head and was extremely guarded. By the fifth visit, however, she started to relax and the hoodie came off. “She wasn’t smiling when she first came but by the fifth week there were big smiles. She was a different person,” said Denroche.
Candace Quesnel, manager of Atira Women’s Resource Society, one of the groups that has sent children to Sali’s, said the first group that came through brought home peas they grew themselves and picked up eggs from the chicken coop. “They were very excited and it was a way for them to just be away from the concrete inner city and be in a natural setting,” she said.
“It’s an education they won’t get in schools. It’s something completely different.”
As for six- year- old Dunn, her favourite part of the farm was seeing the animals. “You learn the animals are really scared and they need extra love.”