Back in July 2007 I was working in Mutsora, the northern station of Virunga National Park. I remember hearing about the massacre of the Rugendo family of gorillas from Emmanuel. But it wasn’t until I opened an e-mail from an American lady, who broke my heart with her message, that I realized the horror of the what had just happened. She was pregnant just like Mburanumwe, one of the murdered gorillas.
Mburanumwe is buried behind Senkwekwe at Rumangabo - how pertinent that the Senkwekwe Center will be a stone’s throw from the graves.
I wish I had kept that message, because I would like to tell her today that there is still hope. Ndeze and Ndakasi are two strong babies, and the Senkwekwe Center is half way through to being finished.
The fuel briquette program’s main objective is to stop deforestation, and therefore save the habitat of the Mountain Gorillas and other wildlife in Virunga. Today we are working side by side, and by that I mean just a couple of meters away from each other. While we are building wooden pressing machines in our carpentry workshop at Rumangabo, just 20 meters away from us the brick machine is constantly producing bricks to build the future home of the baby gorilla orphans.
Here you can see the presses ready to be distributed throughout the park, and behind is the little building where we make the bricks (that building is made from the bricks too!)
Please help us by donating towards this campaign, so the wall can be finished and Ndeze and Ndakasi can have a wonderful new place to live. Thank you!
3 Responses to “Briquettes & Gorilla Orphans - What is the link?”
Thanks Virginia. i know that since the slaughter have been ,many good things with the Gorillas, more people become aware. with mountain Gorillas, just like me. and NOT HOPE, is a reality. just look the new place for Ndeze and Ndakasi. the briquette program??. each bricks is a good person thats helps..
Lastima Virginia que no tienes ese mensaje de correo que te mando aquella persona de America. hubiera sido lindo leer aquel mensaje.
HI Virginia.
I think you have got a great marketing opportunity here to interlink the two issues / programmes. And of course the additional benefits on a number of levels not just to the local communities but also to the local wildlife and their habitat.
George from The Gambia