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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Gorilla Orphans to Get Lush, Forest Home - Construction To Start In March
Finally some good news! The only 2 orphan baby mountain gorillas in the world are going to get the home they deserve, a stone’s throw from their natural habitat in Virunga National Park, eastern DR Congo.
Ndakasi and Ndeze, the females orphaned in mid 2007 when their mothers were massacred, will be able to fully enjoy life in a custom-built forest home with their 4 carers, Andre, Patrick, Alfred and Richard.
Ndeze & Ndakasi have been living in a new forest home since December 2009 after moving there from the dusty and noisy city of Goma. But it is only partially complete - in actual fact it is a 40 by 40 meter holding facility - and now with the additional funding we will be able to finish it off.
We will also be able to facilitate a comprehensive educational outreach program, especially for the communities living around the Gorilla Sector. In addition, we will ensure that para-veterinary facilities are provided to care for the gorilla orphans, and the other wildlife in Virunga.
This is possible thanks to many of you, who gave both big and small - but the final push was thanks to The Howard G Buffett Foundation. Mr Howard Buffett visited Rumanagabo, Virunga’s HQ, back in December (he was in fact the first visitor on the viewing platform), and has since donated $80,250. These monies, combined with the funds raised on this website BY YOU, will be doubled by the UN Foundation, giving the total of $211,500.
All your donations have been listed on the blog. In total we raised over $30,000 between 16 November 2009, when the campaign was launched, and the end of the year through the website. Thank you to all, and also to the Gorilla Godparents of Ndeze and Ndakasi.
This diagram - which some of you have already seen - gives an idea of what the Senkwekwe Centre will look like once it is completed. We will kickstart construction next month.
Very special thanks to all of you who made this happen:
The Murry Foundation - who got the project off the ground in the very beginning, back in July 2008.
Gearing Up 4 Gorillas - who introduced us to The Murry Foundation and has also provided valuable funding and support.
Raemonde Bezenar - who gave us money when the project stalled after the war, a critical time.
The Howard G Buffett Foundation - the final push - thank you very much.
The United Nations Foundation & UNESCO - who are doubling the money from our web campaign and The Howard G Buffett Foundation.
AND YOU - who all donated via the website or sent checks.
THANK YOU.
Now watch this space to see the construction unfold.
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RECENT DONATIONS
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30 Jul 2010 Multiple items
Alexandra S 60 $ -
30 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 45
Pascal 25 $ -
29 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 212
Helmut Albert P 25 $ -
28 Jul 2010Open donation
Laura S 100 $ - 28 Jul 2010Briquette Program
Liz W 12 $ -
28 Jul 2010Open donation
Juli&Family R 10 $ - 28 Jul 2010 Guarding a Gorilla
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 28 Jul 2010Support the Gorilla Orphans
Unregistered Donor 10 $ -
28 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 211
Louise M 25 $ - 27 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 20
Jessica 25 $ - 27 Jul 2010Patrol Rations
Caroline 15 $ - 27 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 179
Caroline 25 $ - 27 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 40 $ - 27 Jul 2010Salary Supplement for a Ranger
Unregistered Donor 40 $ -
27 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 71
Bernard B 25 $ - 27 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 30 $ - 26 Jul 2010Fuel for Patrols
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 26 Jul 2010 Guarding a Gorilla
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 26 Jul 2010Briquette Program
Unregistered Donor 20 $ - 25 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 141
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 25 Jul 2010Support the Gorilla Orphans
Unregistered Donor 10 $ -
25 Jul 2010 Guarding a Gorilla
Theresa S 10 $ - 25 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 10 $ -
25 Jul 2010 Guarding a Gorilla
Brenton H 10 $ -
25 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 206
Ryan B 25 $ -
25 Jul 2010Salary Supplement for a Ranger
Mark L 40 $ - 24 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 50 $ - 24 Jul 2010Support the Gorilla Orphans
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 24 Jul 2010 Guarding a Gorilla
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 23 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 15 $ - 23 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 10 $ -
23 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 55
Pirjo 25 $ -
23 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 70
Rebecca T 25 $ - 23 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 61
Pirjo 25 $ - 23 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 112
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 23 Jul 2010 Multiple items
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 22 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 6
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 22 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 13
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 22 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 28
Unregistered Donor 25 $ - 22 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 38
scott l 25 $ -
22 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 109
Gillian 25 $ -
21 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 48
Vanessa C 25 $ - 21 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 100 $ - 21 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 217
Suzannah 25 $ -
20 Jul 2010Protecting Park Area 76
Kevin 25 $ -
20 Jul 2010Open donation
Vanessa 10 $ - 19 Jul 2010Open donation
Unregistered Donor 10 $ - 19 Jul 2010Support the Gorilla Orphans
Unregistered Donor 15 $ - 19 Jul 2010 Multiple items
Unregistered Donor 82 $ - 19 Jul 2010Support the Gorilla Orphans
Josephine B 10 $
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News from Congo- Congo Boat Accident Possibly Claimed 140 Lives - Seer Press
- Vodacom Held 'Promising' Talks With Congo's Kabila Over Venture - BusinessWeek
- Nearly 90000 People Uprooted By Clashes In Eastern DR Congo - Bernama
- Why recent US 'conflict minerals' legislation may not help in eastern Congo - Christian Science Monitor
- Motorola spent $880000 lobbying in second quarter - The Associated Press
- Uphill task to solve Congo's conflict minerals - Reuters Africa
- Nokia spent $150000 on lobbying in second quarter - The Associated Press
- Mvelaphanda Holdings's Willcox Advising Zuma's Nephew on Congo Oil Blocks - Bloomberg
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Militia Leader Ordered Back to Jail - New York Times
- DiManno: Too easy to blame Africa's the white usurpers - Toronto Star
This website was funded by the European Union and the Prince Bernard Nature Fund.
17 Responses to “Gorilla Orphans to Get Lush, Forest Home - Construction To Start In March”
FANTASTIC!
Awesome news! Congratulations and more thanks to the major donors who are supporting your work along with our smaller amounts. Every penny counts and I’ll say again that I truly appreciate your accounting and transparency with funds raised and how well you manage your spending. Those little girls are very fortunate!
What wonderful news! Congratulations to all involved! Thanks God that Ndakasi and Ndeze will not be exported to a zoo, which is what happened to the two baby gorillas Coco and Pucker who Dian Fossey cared for. They died without really living. This news made my day!
This is a wonderful news! Long live Ndeze and Ndakasi!
Congratulations to you all and you can ALWAYS count on me!
Congratulation to all, awesome. Looking forward for future updates and pictures.
Thanks for all your support. It is going to be an exciting few months finishing the construction and organizing the educational outreach program. All these future gorilla guardians will at last be able to see what a gorilla really looks like. Brilliant.
I am very happy in reading this , it is too many bad news and bad humans .
Thank you for sharing this
Its great to see these orphan gorillas thrive. Also on the column to the right it looks like unregistered donors recently gave 10,000 and 5,000 after the baby mountain gorilla was killed by the snare. Lots of people are supporting Virunga and we need to find even more people to support such a vast park.
Wonderful news! I can’t wait to see the finished center. I love the picture of the girls. They look so content sleeping.
YEA! so excited to read some good news about the gorillas! These precious babies will get what they need now! So terrific that there were some big donors out there! I know these two hold a special place in your hearts..all of the few gorillas left in the world do…but these guys have really been through it! I love the pic of them chillin out! So cute! God bless you all!
Yes Dave. Both of those donations were from Gigi… fantasic generosity.
Thanks Samantha for letting us know about the large donations! Just marvellous! Thankyou Gigi! So much from all of us who love the Gorillas and the Virungas. I can assure you that as long as Harry and I are working, then we will continue to support the ‘Protect The Park’ project!
Bonjour
Pourriez-vous m’envoyer vos news en français s’il vous plaît?
Merci d’avance
This is absolutely fantastic news. So often we here about the sad news of how animals suffer at the hands of humans. But to hear such a positive outcome from another cruel story just brings a smile to my face. Just look at these two innocent and content young orphan gorilla’s, so much better to see them in the next best thing to their natural habitat thanks to the tireless work of so many volunteers… well done
Contratulations to you and the baby orphans.
checkin on Miza and her mom’s whereabouts.
[...] Over $6,000 was raised on the night through amazing auction donations from US artist Daniel Taylor and sculptress Pippa Barrow. A sumptuous week in a Chamonix villa, a round of golf with Harry Rednapp and Rubens Barrichello’s racing cap also generated much interest. Many good contacts were made during the evening, with G4G working in partnership with the Murry Foundation and ICCN to help provide the educational and veterinary facilities needed at the Senkwekwe Centre. [...]