Dante’s dream could be called this story that has a part of much sadness and another part of hope and light.
Dante was eight years old, and for a long time he was fighting cancer whom he finally could not defeat, and took his life.
He was an animal lover and dreamed of taking care of them and rescuing to those who fell under the mistreatment of people. His maturity surprised locals and strangers. Even his parents, who found out what his biggest dream was.
“He made us commit to fulfilling his dream of creating a reserve, he took off the oxygen and told me: ‘It’s a deal,'” Marina Sarquiz, his mother, told the TN portal moved.
Dante’s story: who he was and his dream of a reserve for animals
The little boy grew up in the province of Misiones, surrounded by lots of nature. “He was always a great little ecologist, he knew a lot about animals and in the last weeks of his life, with his savings, he bought a little notebook and wrote down his wishes there,” his mother said.
Admitted to palliative care, his parents asked him if he wanted to eat something tasty, play, watch a movie or something to cheer him up. But far from all that he replied: “I want you to fulfill my dream.”
“He passed away and after a while we looked back at the instructions he had given us,” said the woman.
“After recovering, we started to arm ourselves. First, the foundation, that for the place to function legally we had to do it, and luckily it came out very quickly, just in time for his birthday, ”he said.
From there began a new adventure for the family. They began to study about the care and preparing the project, but when the place was chosen, the question arose as to where it was going to be located since it had to have specific characteristics. However, as a kind of miracle, a person appeared who donated a farm that fulfilled everything.
Dante’s touching request for the name of the reserve
Although it was his dream, the baby insisted on a particular request. “Dante refused to have the reserve bear his name because he said that a job like this is not done by just one person and therefore he cannot bear the name of just one,” explained Marina.
That is why they had to look for an alternative and a very special one emerged: “In the end, the name Ohana was left, which means family and not only by blood, but in the union of love for nature,” he said.
In relation to the fauna of the place, he stressed that although the jungle is far away, the animals come closer to the houses. “Wherever you are you see toucans, monkeys, coatis, weasels, reptiles and you come across them very often,” he said.
How the Foundation created by Dante’s idea is sustained
Misiones has the greatest biodiversity in the country and transfers from one end to the other can generate great costs. That is why carrying out the rescues generates a high investment of resources.
At the moment the expenses of the place are borne by the family and some donations that they receive from the people but generally are not enough to pay for everything. Given this, Marina stressed that they need help from more neighbors to join this project. “Everything that people want to contribute will be welcome,” insisted the woman.
In the same way, today they have the collaboration of professionals and volunteers who joined this crusade. “Everything is so fluid that sometimes we laugh and say that there are little hands in the sky with contacts,” he said.
“We thought it would take a year to build the land and we are already putting together the first part that we want to be inaugurated on June 14, which is Dante’s birthday,” he said.
In addition to the rescue center, they are also looking to build a sanctuary for birds that cannot fly again. “It is not the idea to expose them, Dante hated to be exposed because, although he loved to see them, he had a lot of respect for animal life,” he stressed and added: “The idea is that some animals serve as ambassadors so that their history does not repeat itself ”.
“When he got sick, the last year what he was was strengthened, with only 8 years he had understood the whole meaning of life, it gave him a meaning that others of us who are older often do not find, he was fully committed to his sleepy, so much so that a few days before leaving he took off his oxygen and told me ‘it’s a deal’”, confessed Dante’s mother.
Today the motto of the foundation is “a child’s dream for the world“, “because it was not for him, but for others, something that was born out of a need that was already latent in the place where the fauna was neglected. ”, Marina closed.