Diary of Bilhèn, our adopted camel in Egypt

How has it been with Bilhèn the last 12 months? Read Joyce's diary about adopted camel Bilhèn here...

Bilhen
Date of birth : 20 - 02 - 2013
Gender: boy
Color at birth: white
Place of Birth: Dahab – South Sinai
Mother's name: Saїde
Name of father: stallion Khamies
Owner: Aliyѐn Faraj Ataiyiq
Adoptive parents:

• - Miranda and Harald from Thingsthatmakeyoufeelgood.nl
• - Clement Roos
• - Elia Hermsen from batubulancounseling.nl

20-02-2014: Bilhèn 1 year! But therefore no longer nursing.

Bilhèn turned 1 year old in February 2014 and he is doing very well, partly thanks to his adoptive parents!
Camel cubs suckle from their mother for a maximum of 1 year, but humans should prevent the young from not continuing to suckle after 1 year because otherwise the mother will lose too much weight. Camel cubs, if it were up to them, would simply continue to suckle from their mother, even after they have passed the age of 1 year. That is why Bilhèn and his friend are in the same place, but now separated from mother Saïde by a wall. Bilhèn and Wabbere's son are still best friends, both born the same year.

Flowering Desert: picking
The entire winter of 2013 and the spring of 2014, large parts of the Desert were in bloom: whereupon the men & the foundation went out several times with the pick-up truck to pick for the Camels in Dahab, including Bilhèn, fresh plants are a good addition to the basic diet of hay.

December 2013: A newcomer in Bilhèn's place at home in Dahab
In mid-December 2013, the foundation decided together with Aliyèn to temporarily take in a female camel for whom there was no place yet at the place where Bilhèn and his buddy are. This female camel stayed with Bilhèn and his buddy for 2.5 months.

DesertJoy Tours '13/'14
Despite the negative travel advice and despite the fact that the Dutch charters did not fly to and from Sharm el Sheikh, DesertJoy still had 3 trips in the 2013/2014 season.
The first tour – end of October 2013 – had only 1 participant, the second tour at the end of March/beginning of April 2014 was the Sound Journey with no fewer than 9 participants and the last tour in April 2014 had 3 participants.
Bilhèn did not go on any of the three trips for several reasons:
- It was too much for Aliyèn to take along, besides his camels that he works with: mother Saide and father Khamies, also sister Djiddu'a, Bilhèn AND Bilhèn's boyfriend. And because Bilhèn's boyfriend could not stay home alone without Bilhèn, Aliyèn decided to leave both boys at home under the care of his wife. That way he could still come along and generate some income with Saide and Khamies.
- In March 2014 Aliyèn went camping with his family, goats and sheep for a few months in the Flowering Desert of Fer'aa and Faranje, which made it better for Bilhèn to stay in the Flowering instead of going on the last two trips of DesertJoy. Aliyèn himself did come back from the Flowering for the other two trips, so that he still had an income, Aliyèn also left Saïde and Khamies in the Flowering Desert, so that he could do the honors for myself: namely taking Soeb and Bil of mine under his wing on those last two trips, so that I could ride Jamila of mine myself and her last born Abdèn who had to come along because he is still suckling from Jamila. And so this was again a Win/Win for all parties, Human and Animal.

March 2014: Bilhèn to the Flowering Desert of Fer'aa & Faranje!
In March 2014 Bilhèn went with her sister Djiddu'a, mother Saïde and father Khamies to the Flowering Desert of Fer'aa & Faranje, where they met the other female camels and perennials from the other families who had all brought their goats, sheep and tents with them to bivouac for a few months in a Flowering Desert, just like in the spring of 2013.
So did Aliyèn and his family with their goats and sheep.
The difference being that Fer'aa is in Central Sinai and is a different area than where Bilhèn was in the spring of 2013.
Fer'aa is high and has no wadis but several high plateaus. On these plateaus the herd of seven was located, including Bilhèn. In contrast to the spring
In 2013 the herd did not come to the tent camp every day for their daily energy feed of corn. The flowering was so much better than in 2013 that they did not need their energy feed!
In addition to this, the responsible men, including Aliyèn, had to take turns every day and track down the herd on foot, not by pick-up truck, using binoculars.
The Foundation visited Bilhèn and Aliyèn twice during the time that Bilhèn and the 6 other Camels were in Fer'aa and Faranje.

From the end of May '14 to the present: Bilhèn still in the Desert!
At the end of May 2014, the families decided to disband and go home.
Just like last year Aliyèn decided to leave Djiddu'a, Saїde & Bilhѐn with his married son who lives in the desert village of Nuwamis. As a result Djiddu'a, Saїde and Bilhѐn can still roam and graze freely every day with the other female camels and young ones from this desert village. Last summer there was no flowering in this area but this summer there is, but whether there is a flowering or not: it is still better than in their warm walled place in the hot Dahab in the summer!
Aliyѐn himself, just like last year, is regularly in the desert village of his eldest son, to keep an eye on his camels, including Bilhèn.

Spending saved costs of Bilhèn:
The saved costs of Bilhèn from his time in Fer'aa and Faranje, during which he did not use hay (roughage) and corn (energy feed) will be spent on cleaning and spraying with anti-tick agent the ground at home in Dahab. This will be done at the end of September 2014 when Aliyèn plans to bring his camels back home i.e. to Dahab.
In addition, since the beginning of July '14 the cost of living has increased by 50% in Egypt, this also applies to the feed for the camels.

Outlook
The Blossoming in the Desert will continue to other areas, this time also to South-East Sinai, the same areas where the DesertJoy tours go. If DesertJoy has few tours for the fall of 2014, the Foundation plans to bivouac with the Camels in the Desert, so that the Camels not only get their necessary exercise but can also graze, which is always better than hay, and we can also compensate for the increased cost of living, including camel food. If the Foundation still saves costs, this will be spent on the costs that are necessary for such a bivouac in the Desert, such as petrol costs, water and food for the Bedouins who will bivouac to keep an eye on things, and this plan will remain a Win-Win for all parties.

Furthermore, if there is little tourism and therefore few trips, the foundation will continue to help the men in the form of petrol costs so that picking can continue next winter for Bilhèn, among others, if the Camels are unable to go to De Bloei or are able to do so next autumn.

Stand Adoption Bilhèn
The adoption of Bilhèn is fortunately still at € 65,- per month! Bilhèn, Aliyèn and myself are in these difficult times for the Sinai especially now incredibly Grateful for your Adoption of Bilhèn, especially because for example the adoption of his sister Djiddu'a has plummeted from € 45,- to € 28,75 per month.

Dear Miranda & Harald, Clement and Elia, we hope you enjoyed reading about Bilhèn and his adventures again!

We will keep you informed about Bilhѐn in Words & Images!
A grateful hug from Bilhѐn, mother Saїde and me & all the love from Aliyѐn!
Love, Joyce :-)

Want to read more about Stichting Dalèl, the other camels or the trips Joyce organizes? Take a look at the website of Stichting Dalèl .