A Night at the Orphanage

There was one thing I had wanted to do for a very long time: spend a night with the orphans.

I have been visiting and working with them since the beginning. I know their personalities, I have watched them grow, and I have spent countless hours at the orphanage during the day. But I had never experienced the part that continues when everyone else goes home.

So when I returned to Solio in May 2026 to work with the Game Reserve and the Orphanage, a little dream of mine finally came true.

I was going to sleep above the rhinos.

I arrived that evening with a thick blanket, my pillow and plenty of warm clothes. Solio gets really cold at night. Janey, the lovely lady who always takes such good care of me when I'm there, had packed me dinner and some of her homemade samosas.

Then came a very important decision.

I could choose who I wanted to spend the night with.

Of course, I chose Asali.

Her name means honey, and honestly, it suits her. She is incredibly sweet, but she also has a very wild side, so you need to be a little more careful around her. There has always been something about Asali, though. I have felt a special connection with her from the beginning.

My friend, who was volunteering at Solio at the time, chose another stable and slept above Malaika, our little calm angel.

After Asali's first bottle, I climbed over the door and up into the high bed above her stable.

Next door was Imara, the little black rhino who somehow manages to steal everyone's heart.

By around nine, we were settled in for the night.

The orphanage was completely dark. I had a small light beside me that I could turn on when I needed it, but otherwise there was only darkness and, above us, the most beautiful night sky.

I was convinced I was far too excited to sleep.

Apparently I wasn't.

Somewhere before the next bottle at eleven, listening to Asali moving through the hay below me, I fell asleep.

Then the carers woke us for the next feed.

I remember being surprised that I had actually slept, but within seconds I was completely awake. I climbed down from my bed, excited like a child, and joined the carers to feed the babies.

There was no need to do anything. I could simply lie there and listen to them.

And every time I got up for another feeding, I looked at the night sky before going back inside.

For me, the carers at the orphanage have one of the most beautiful jobs I can imagine. Not because it is easy, because it isn't, but because of the relationship they build with these animals.

They know them.

Their personalities. Their moods. How to approach them. How they like to be fed. When something isn't quite right.

They watch their health, care for them and feed them day and night. They know every little character so well.

I could sit with the carers for hours listening to their stories. About the rhinos, but also about their own lives, how they came to this work and why wildlife means so much to them.

There is so much knowledge behind what they do, but also so much heart.