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Recently, there have been some inspiring efforts by the younger generation to help Virunga National Park and I’d like to share their stories:

Elephant Crisis: News of slaughter motivated Savanah, Siarah, and James Hall in Louisiana to spring into action to secure 24/7 ranger protection for the Mabenga herd. In a few short weeks, they mobilized an effort at their local school and have enlisted help from friends as far away as Denmark. To date, they have raised over $800 and are still going strong. Talk about taking initiative! They show us all that anyone can make a difference - one just needs to get into action.

Image: Sticker students in Louisiana made to help raise funds for the elephant crisis (with a little help from artist, Sean Johnson)

Photo: Virunga’s Elephant Protection Team in Louisiana

Orphan Mountain Gorillas: Help for the Senkwekwe Center has come all the way from Little Bear pre-school in the the tiny mountain town of Nederland, Colorado. I went there to do a little “show and tell” about the mountain gorillas of Virunga. The kids had all sorts of great questions about gorillas, but were a little disappointed when I told them silverbacks weren’t 10 feet tall. Thankfully, they were still impressed by the fact that males can weigh in excess of 400 lbs. Not surprisingly, the orphan mountain gorillas stole their hearts - so much so that they all went home and asked their parents to give them their spare change for the Senkwekwe Center. One boy, Dean Howell (age 5), went the extra mile and sent out the letter below to his extended family asking for help. Thanks to Dean, his family, and the other kids at Little Bear, the Senkwekwe Center just received a $200.00 donation!

Image: The fundraising letter Dean Howell wrote to his family seeking support for the mountain gorilla orphans living at the Senkwekwe Center in Rumangabo.

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Video: Kids at Little Bear rally for Virunga’s mountain gorillas!

Attention Kids and Parents!

You can do this, too! If you’d like help getting started, please email me at  robertw at gorilla.cd. Virunga needs YOU!

What do these photos have in common?

A few weeks ago, Dirck Byler, head of USFWS’s Great Apes Conservation program came to Virunga to meet with Emmanuel and other park staff. Dirck and his team have been true champions of the effort to save Virunga National Park. They understand the complex issues that make conservation in Congo so tough and have given their full support to some of Virunga’s most important programs.

Briquette Presses

USFWS was the first to step up and support our work in alternative fuels. They provided the necessary funding to carry out a briquette pilot project and went on to fund the full-scale effort along with other institutional donors, such as the Daey Ouwens Fund. In particular, USFWS funded the project’s truck, the construction of briquette presses, the purchase of hammer mills to process raw biomass, and later financed a fleet of fuel-efficient, 3-wheeled delivery vehicles to improve the programs operating efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.

Three-wheel delivery vehicles.

Like many of you, USFWS has also given emergency support to the rangers. And, they were quick to understand the need for a surveillance aircraft and provided over a third of the necessary funding. As you’ve heard Emmanuel say in his posts, it’s now hard to imagine how the park ever functioned without the plane. It enables Emmanuel and others (bloodhound man-trailing dogs included…) to move quickly around the 7,800 square kilometers that make up Virunga National Park. The plane has also made it possible to rapidly medivac seriously wounded rangers to regional hospitals.

The park plane being used to evacuate an injured ranger following an attack.

As you might expect, USFWS has also stepped up to support the Fallen Rangers Project (Widows Fund). While in Virunga, Dirck met with ranger widows, so he knows firsthand about the sacrifices being made to save Virunga’s mountain gorillas and other wildlife. He and his staff are even working to raise awareness about the widows across other organizations that may be in a position to help.

Widow Valeri at the funeral of her husband Michel.

Just as it is with each and every one of you who support Virunga, it is hard to imagine how we would manage without organizations like USFWS. Getting Virunga back on its feet is truly a global effort and it’s very heartening to know that there are people and organizations half a world away determined to see Virunga prosper.

Dirck Byler visiting the Tongo Chimp habituation project in Virunga National Park, another project funded by USFWS.

Getting assistance to ranger widows and their families quickly is of the utmost importance, but it’s absolutely vital that it be done properly. For those of you who have donated and those of you who are thinking about supporting the fund, we’d like to explain the process so you fully understand the program. We feel a deep sense of responsibility to both the widow families and you to make sure every penny has an impact.

Screenshots of just a few of the hundreds of widows we have in our database who need regular monthly assistance. (Click to see larger)

Step 1. Identifying and qualifying widows
There are complete and accurate records concerning the identities and whereabouts of the wives of rangers who were widowed since 2007. Beyond that, however, the process gets more and more difficult as one moves back to 1991  the beginning of sustained conflict in the Kivus. Over the last four years, Emmanuel and other staff have interviewed station commanders and older officers and under-officers to reconstruct a picture of which ranger wives have been widowed and whether or not they are still alive. During this process, nearly 200 widows were identified.

Step 2. Determining eligibility
To be eligible for the program, a widow must have been the ranger’s original and current wife at the time the ranger was killed. As Emmanuel puts it, “the issues are complex because of the sometimes unclear status of marriage in local culture (civil marriage, traditional marriage, polygamy, etc.)”. In the more complex instances, widows and family members are interviewed to verify eligibility. To date, 143 widows have been determined eligible, which represents 75% of the total number of widows identified.

Step 3. Transfer $30 monthly payments securely
Given the rampant poverty that exists in eastern Congo, theft is commonplace and widows must be protected when receiving their monthly death benefits. To protect widows and their families, the Virunga team is offering assistance with the process of acquiring secure bankcards.

Step 4. Ongoing monitoring of widow families
Program personnel must monitor families on a monthly basis to verify their continued eligibility. Widows will receive the benefit for life, unless they remarry. If a widow dies and there are surviving children under the age of 18, the benefit transfers to them until each reaches the age of 18 years. Although this is quite a process, the constant contact with ranger families helps with monitoring program effectiveness and opens up opportunities for continuous improvement.

It is important to note that the program’s impact goes beyond helping families that have lost their heads of household. The program is having a big impact on ranger morale as well and is vitally important to recruitment efforts and retention of current rangers. Given the sacrifices rangers are often called upon to make, it gives them peace to know that the park and its global community of supporters has their backs.

To read more about how you can help, click on these two blog posts. We are looking for committed individuals willing to support a widow for $30 per month:

Bernadette and the Widows Fund

Helping Those Who Risk All to Protect Virunga

The widow of ranger Michel Imanirafasha who died last Friday in an attack.

The recent attack on a park’s vehicle causing the death of two more rangers is yet another reminder of the price rangers and their families pay to protect Virunga for the benefit of us all. Rangers put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis for what the rest of us pay for a cup of coffee — and not a latte or frappuccino, but an ordinary cup of coffee.

This is the unfortunate reality of running a 7,800 square kilometer national park primarily on donations from the international community. Although it’s not possible to pay rangers more, we are trying to find a way to better take care of them when they are gravely injured, as well as provide for their families in the event they are killed. Probably the best way to do this is for each of us to look at our discretionary spending (coffee, movies, dinners out, etc.) and see if we can shave off just a little and direct it toward those paying the ultimate price to save Virunga.

Today, as you enjoy safety and relative economic stability in your respective countries, please take a minute to truly contemplate what the widows and children of rangers Michel Imanirafasha and Philippe Nzabonimpa are going through. Heartbreaking loss, fear, uncertainly, exposure are probably but a few of the words that would describe their feelings. Now consider what a monthly donation could do to make their situations more bearable. A donation of $30.00 per month will prevent an entire ranger family from spiraling into abject poverty. Too much for some of you? OK, whatever works. When families in Congo survive on $1.50 a day, clearly any amount helps. I know, talk can be cheap, so today I am personally going to sign up to support a ranger family for $30.00 a month. I hope some of you will join me in giving our dedicated rangers and their families the support they have earned. We are committed to providing each of the nearly 150 widows with this support per month, but we can’t do it without your help.

In the coming weeks, I will be setting up a formal Widows and Rangers Fund page on the website. The page will provide updates on our progress to secure funding for all widows and their families, progress on rangers recovering from their injuries, and the life stories of rangers killed while protecting Virunga National Park. Thank you all for reading this plea for help. Please remember, without the rangers there would be no Virunga.

*If you wish to support a widow for $30 per month, write 1 in the “Support for Ranger Widows” box under monthly donations to the right of this blog, and click on the “Donate” button.

The new future rangers of Virunga National Park, with trainer/vet Dr. Marlene Zähner, Robert Williams, and the new dog handlers, Aime, Christian, Alex, and Kasereka. Marlene said this picture was appropriate for a bloodhound portrait: it included a little chaos.

So you want to transport six bloodhound puppies from the US and Europe to Congo? Sure, why not? All you need are plane tickets, a hotel room, a rental car, and a map to Virunga Park. OK, I guess there are a few other details that we need to cover…

USA to Brussels Logistics:

• Get two Canadian dogs to Wisconsin, meet up with the two American dogs, and get all four to a veterinarian to get their shots and travel documents
• Drive 6 dogs 6 hours to Chicago’s O’Hare and fly them to Brussels.
• Import all four dogs into Europe
• Get dogs to the other side of the airport and check them in at the cargo company handling travel to Rwanda
• Clean crates and launder beds
• Meet Spanish breeder at the Sheraton and check “Stella” into Marlene’s room
• Tactfully handle guests who are complaining of a howling dog
• Meet Belgian breeder at 6:30 am the next day and get Carla and Stella into their crates and check them in. Get back to cargo company, sign papers and make sure dogs are taken to the right plane. Get back across the airport and check in ourselves.

Thankfully, the person joining me in Brussels for the adventure was none other than Swiss bloodhound tracking trainer and veterinarian, Dr. Marlene Zähner – arguably the world’s top bloodhound “man-tracking” specialist. Marlene had already volunteered countless hours helping choose the dogs and helping me navigate the maze of documents needed to travel with dogs to Congo. There is a good story to be told about how she got roped into training Virunga’s bloodhounds, but we’ll save that for a later post…
(All going well so far) Read the full story »

Hello, this is Robert. As you have seen, the security situation in the North and South Kivu has been very challenging as of late. Despite this, our dedicated teams have been pushing forward with the briquette project. Balemba, the Project Manager has made several harrowing trips between Goma and Rumangabo to meet with briquette teams. He also spun off one of the original Rumangabo briquette pilot teams this week. Our promise was to pay the workers for three months while we tested the briquette concept, and if it turned out to be viable (which it has), each team would then be given a press to start their own business.

A full training class last week at the GAD office in Goma

GAD (Groupe d’Action Pour Le Droit or Group Action For Rights), our partner in Goma, has continued to train community organizations and has kept the manufacturing of new presses in full-swing. For those of you new to the project, we are spreading the fuel briquette technology through local community organizations, with the mind to help them start their own briquette businesses, and in turn, create a new briquette market niche.

New presses about to go out to organizations that have completed the briquette training course

Each team of six people that goes through a training course is given a new press with which they will start a new briquetting business. You contributions are making this happen and before long, we hope to see the demand for illegal charcoal start to diminish.

Anatole Bandu, Co-Director of GAD (at right), meeting with one of the press manufacturers in Goma

Meet Tarynn and Cody of Denver, Colorado who are expecting their first child in November. They attended the Denver fundraiser that Emmanuel and I hosted in March this year and decided that they wanted to join the fight to save Virunga’s last mountain gorillas. At first, they weren’t sure how to help, but then they came up with the idea of holding a baby shower, but instead of asking for gifts for their newborn, they would ask their friends to make donations to help the Congo’s mountain gorillas. At a lake near Denver, Colorado yesterday, they hosted what I think was the world’s first Mountain Gorilla Shower.

A mindful couple working to bring their child into a better world

I drove down and shared what I know about the situation facing the gorillas, and talked about how we are introducing non-woody biomass briquettes to N. Kivu as an alternative to charcoal. I also did an interactive briquette making demonstration so everyone could see firsthand how their donations would be used. Their friends were great, stepping right in, getting dirty, and making some briquettes. There were about 50 people in attendance and we had lots of great questions and discussion.

“Thank you!” to Tarynn, Cody, and all their friends who made donations to help us save Virunga’s last mountain gorillas. This is such a great example of how everyday citizens can make an impact!

Generous donations
Thank you very much to all the caring people who donated recently to help us bring briquettes to the people living near Virunga National Park: Pamela R - $150, Edward S. - $50, Amy B - $25, Lalena W - $20, and Lisa R - $15.

Recent donations
Hello, this is Robert. I continue to feel buoyed by all the recent donations and thank you all for seeing the urgency in finding alternatives to charcoal. You are truly part of the change happening on the ground in Congo and your money will go to work right away. Many thanks to this week’s donors: Robert V - $50, Susanne G - $50, David M - $50, Drew B - $50 and Melissa S - $50. That’s enough money to get another 160 people off of charcoal for good. And don’t forget, the influence those people have on others will go far beyond that.

A child living in the IDP camp next to Virunga Park Headquarters, Rumangabo

There is a sad irony in the fact that the inhabitants of the internally displaced people (IDP) camps face a similarly desperate situation as the mountain gorilla. Both are victims of human hostility and both are barely surviving. Although there is precious little we can do to stop the fighting that is rocking the worlds of the mountain gorilla and these refugees, there is a way we can help them. The biomass briquette project that we are working on will not only stop the destruction of the mountain gorillas’ home for illegal charcoal, it will also bring a money saving fuel alternative to some of the poorest people on earth. Many of these people have to spend over half of their family income on cooking fuel. When that total family income is often less than $1.00 per day for a family of 7-10, any savings can have a significant impact. It could be used for food — or as the picture below illustrates, it could make the difference between whether a family gets soaked during the frequent rainstorms or they stay dry.

No money often means no tarp. A lucky few will be given tarps by a humanitarian group, but most will have to buy them if the want a roof that doesn’t leak. Money saved by using briquettes instead of charcoal could make the difference.

Condolences
This is Robert. I want to start this blog with an acknowledgment of Villavu Kamate, the ranger who just lost his life working to protect the northern sector of the park (and the others who were on patrol with him). Like so many before him, he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect Virunga. These guys are my heroes and deserve all the support we can give them.

Donations
Thank you to the following people for their generous donations: Jacque O - $150, Rebecca - $50, Carrie B. - $40, Brigitta S- $25, and Amy M - $20!! It’s so heartening to have your support, especially on the heals of such tough news.

Meeting with the Minister of Environment
I would like to fill you in on the meeting that Ephrem and I had with Felicite Kalume Ndoole, the Provincial Minister of the Environment. We went to see the Minister to share our plans for the briquette project in Goma and north of Kibati. She has been a strong ally of ours in the fight to save the park, and on several occasions stood up to a great deal of pressure from the charcoal lobby.

Ephrem explaining the program - while I wonder what the filming is all about. Turns out, the briquette program was to be a feature on the news. Unfortunately, there was a long power outage that night and I don’t think it ever aired. The reality is, very few have power, let alone televisions.

Realizing that she can’t hold the charcoal lobby at bay for long without viable alternatives, Ephrem and I wanted to make sure she understood that we have a road map for success. We shared our plans for developing the market in Goma and in the villages north of the city, which she was pleased to hear about, but she kept hammering the question, “When will you be able to replace charcoal with these briquettes? I wish we could just snap our fingers and it would be done, but it’s huge undertaking that is going to take time. Good news is, we’re growing the business rapidly and already have 9 presses online and 18 more to go into production this week. If we’re producing at peak capacity, these presses can meet the fuel needs for almost 3000 people.

When we left the meeting, we passed a long line of people who had the next meeting with the Minister. Ephrem looked back at them, looked at me, and smiled, “Do you know who those people are?” to which I answered, “No”. “They are from the charcoal lobby and they are trying to convince her to open up the park to charcoal production”. It was very sobering to witness this effort in the halls of government. Make no mistake, there is a massive amount of pressure on local officials to get out of the way of charcoal production. This is why it is so important that we scale up our briquette program rapidly – and why we need your help!

Recent donations
Robert here. Wow, you guys are great! A big Congo “Asante sana” to the following people for helping launch the biomass briquette project in North Kivu: Tim O - $100, Christopher P - $100, Ethan Z - $50, Nicholas L - $50, Ian B - $50, and Thomas P - $20. When I told people in Goma and Rumangabo that they’re not alone in this project — that there is a team of people willing to help outside Congo — they were amazed that anyone cared. You have no idea how much these contributions give them (and me) hope that we will succeed. This will enable us to train two more press groups and provide them with two complete press outfits.

The “Mzungu” from Colorado trying to earn some street credentials in Rumangabo

Congo trip
I just got back from a two week trip to Congo where I got to meet all the great people working to save the Virunga National Park. The purpose of my trip was to help get the briquette program up to speed — and to learn the lay of the land and get a feel for how things work in eastern Congo. On my first day, Ephrem and I headed up north to the Kibati checkpoint, where we saw dedicated ICCN rangers confiscating illegal charcoal. Then it was on to Rumangabo and Katale. In Rumangabo, we met with Francky, Charles, and the other members of the briquette team at park headquarters. It was also nice to meet Diddy and Innocent (who got a good laugh when I asked them if they were movie stars - given their appearances with Anderson Cooper). Great progress is being made in Rumangabo — thousands of briquettes are being produced each week. We still need to get our production numbers up, but we’ve made a good start and are cranking out about 6600 briquettes per press per month now. Our goal is to get to 10,000. Looks like we’re going to be constructing a press building operation there with the help of Soderu — a great French NGO that does contract work for the park. This will enable us to eventually start making presses for a fraction of the cost and mean that we can do press repairs onsite.

Anatole from Group d’Action Pour le Droit explains his Goma operation

In Goma, Anatole from Groupe d’Action Pour le Droit, ICCN’s Balemba and Jean Bosco, and I worked on developing a city-wide briquetting program aimed up getting 50 press operations up and running in the next several months — with the eventual goal of 5000 presses in operation in two years. Lofty goals, yes, but with 20% of the southern sector of Virunga being lost to illegal charcoal production in the last year, we have to be ambitious!

Our target market: Odds are every person in this picture burns illegal charcoal coming out of Virunga National Park. Illegal charcoal is everywhere, but an alternative is on its way!