Senkwekwe Donations – Thank You!

In the 10 day run up to Xmas Eve, G4G and supporters sent over a total of £4,830 towards the completion of the Senkwekwe Centre for orphans Ndeze and Ndakasi. A very big ‘thank you’ to all of you, as this sum will be doubled by the UN Foundation. There is still a way to go to raise the rest of the funding necessary and G4G is already working on it…..however, your generosity has meant that there’s nearly £10,000 in the pot from the UK, allowing building work to continue.

Ndeze and Ndakasi are thriving in their new, lush home and their four carers – Andre, Richard, Patrick and Alfred – are also settling into their new surroundings.

‘THANK YOU’ again from all the trustees of G4G!

Become a Gorilla Godparent this Xmas!

With a £15 donation to the Senkwekwe Centre, you will receive a Gorilla Godparent 2010 certificate from Virunga National Park…..and your donation will be doubled.

Linda and Kim, G4G trustees, have just returned from seeing Ndakasi and Ndeze arrive at their new home at the Senkwekwe Centre. Thanks largely to the Murry Foundation from Bournemouth, a generous Canadian donor and the gorilla.cd team, the two orphans are, at last, revelling in the natural, lush forest of Virunga that is their home.

They are within a 40×40 metre area that will eventually be the quarantine area. The 2 acre Senkwekwe Centre still desperately needs to be finished. The UN Foundation is matching every pound donated up until Xmas Eve. This is a race to complete the Centre before the match offer ceases.

All donations will be used in their entirety – G4G will pay the transfer charges. If you’d like a Gorilla Godparent certificate for yourself or a loved one for Xmas either use the appropriate donate button on the www.gorilla.cd site OR donate through www.g4g.co.uk and email linda@g4g.co.uk with the name to go on the certificate.

Thank you for helping Ndeze and Ndakasi have the best possible future.

Linda & G4G trustees

Mtn gorilla orphans need your help now!

This was the terrible massacre of the Rugendo family in July 2007. Senkwekwe, this majestic Silverback, and four members of his family were murdered. Ndeze, then two months old, was found clinging to her mother’s breast.  Ndeze was so young, it was a miracle she survived.

Virunga National Park need to raise £61,330.23 to take Ndeze, and the only other orphaned, baby mountain gorilla in the world, Ndakasi, out of the dirty and dangerous conditions in which they live in the city of Goma. The UN Foundation will match every pound donated.

Baby Ndeze just before the massacre.

They need to be taken back to their natural, forest habitat and cared for in a purpose-built, open-air orphanage staffed by their carers and vets. The Senkwekwe Centre, a 2.5 acre (1 hectare) plot of lush forest which is named after Ndeze’s murdered father, will be a place where these two orphaned gorillas can be healthy, happy and safe. It will also be a place to which local children – the future guardians of Virunga – can come to learn about the gorillas and the forests, that it will one day be their responsibility to protect.The park, and the species that live within it, are under constant threat. Deforestation from illegal charcoal production led by rebel groups, clearance for settlement and agriculture, threatens habitats. Poaching and over-fishing threaten the survival of the wildlife.

Perhaps the deadliest threat to the gorillas has been the fifteen year long war. The war has forced very large numbers of refugees to move in and around the southern part of the park. These refugees have caused a massive increase in demand for fuel and space.  Poaching has also increased, with the chaos of war. These threats became a tragic and brutal reality in July 2007 when Senkwekwe and four family members were massacred by unknown assailants.

The heat, dust and pollution in Goma threatens the survival of Ndeze and Ndakasi.

The struggle to protect the gorillas and their habitat from these many threats may at times seem desperate but the Senkwekwe Centre brings some hope.

There is nothing any of us can do about Senkwekwe and his murdered family but there is something we can do to protect the present, and the future, of Ndakasi and Ndeze.

Andre, the head care giver, with Ndeze.

 

 

 

 

This is what is needed (converted from US dollars):

The Perimeter Wall of the Senkwekwe Centre – £20,793.18

Gorilla Care & Supplies for 3 months @ $5,500 per month – £9,802.50

8 Observation Platforms for visitors @ $7,000 each – £33,270

Furniture for the Orphans & Carers – £2,375.84

Visitor & Educational Outreach Centre – £14,848.98

Carer & Veterinary Accommodation – £17,818.78

Educational Material for the children & visitors – £14,848.98

Office & Veterinary Laboratory – £11,878.15

Grand total: £122,660.46

£61,330.23 is needed from donations

THE UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION WILL DOUBLE IT.

 

Ranger Innocent inspecting the beginnings of their new home at Rumangabo.

This is part of the perimeter wall that must be finished.

 

You can donate directly through the www.gorilla.cd web site, but if you wish to donate through a UK site, G4G is working with Virunga National Park on raising the funds to complete the Senkwekwe Centre. We will send the total £’s donated each week to Virunga. G4G will pay the bank transfer charges and the UN Foundation will match every pound given. Help Ndeze and Ndakasi have a secure, safe and healthy future.  Please go to the ‘Ways to Help / Donate’ page on the G4G site.

THANK YOU.

2010 Calendar

The G4G 2010 calendar is now available from the online shop.

The orphans Ndakasi and Ndeze, silverback Humba, youngster Kakule and many others feature throughout 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

£10 including postage

Orphan facility underway

“New orphan mountain gorilla facility to open soon” – this is such wonderful news from Virunga.

Working in partnership with ICCN (Congolese Wildlife Authority), Virunga National Park team, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, SoDeRu (a French charity focusing on construction works in DRC), the Murry Foundation in Bournemouth and MGVP private donors, G4G can tell you that the first ever purpose built facility for orphan mountain gorillas in DR Congo, will be finished by the end of November. It is being constructed at Rumangabo, HQ of Virunga National Park.

The Senkwekwe Centre is named after the silverback who was shot dead in July 2007, along with other members of the Rugendo gorilla family. One of his daughters, Ndeze, was orphaned that day and she will join Ndakasi, also orphaned in June of the same year, in the new facility. The Senkwekwe Centre will provide 24/7 care for the two youngsters. It is sited in natural mountain gorilla habitat and their experienced ranger carers and the mountain gorilla vets will tend to all their physical and psychological development needs.

The Senkwekwe Centre will also function as a base for the MGVP vets in DR Congo and, in another ‘first’, offer opportunities for awareness raising and education for local communities and schools in the area. £30,000 is needed to complete the facility in its entirety. G4G hopes the forthcoming ‘Gorilla Gala’ will help towards raising those funds.

 

Ndakasi after rescue. She is now 2yrs 6.5mths old.

 

Dr Eddie Kambale, MGVP vet and Andre

Bauma with Ndeze 2007. She’s now 2yrs 8.5 mths

 

 

Thanks to the MGVP vets and ICCN carers, they both fit & well.

Now it’s playtime for Ndakasi & Ndeze…

Thanks to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) they’ve had a temporary home in a garden in Goma.

Put on your thinking caps & let’s raise that last £30,000 to finish the Senkwekwe Centre!

Running costs will also need to found, so let’s do G4G’s bit towards giving these two orphans every chance for the future.

 

Gorilla Gala – 8 weeks to go….

Don’t miss this Congolese themed evening – full of colour, music and dance. Ian Redmond is currently on a long trek around 10 gorilla states in Africa and will no doubt be recounting some of his adventure that evening, during his after dinner speech. Tickets still available but don’t leave it too late! Either contact linda@g4g.co.uk or purchase through the web site – see home page & follow the link. Help raise funds for Virunga National Park rangers whilst having a brilliant night out to remember….

Amanda in Uganda…..

Long time G4G supporter Amanda Williams has just returned from the trip of a lifetime to Bwindi Impenetrable Park, Uganda, to see the mountain gorillas there. She saw the Mubare group with the magnificent silverback Ruhondeza. She says the hour that she was with them just flew by but the Mubare visit will stay with her forever….here are just four of her photos taken on that unforgettable 13th August. Thanks for letting G4G put them on the blog Amanda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Ranger dies after ambush

Kanyangara Muhima was part of a patrol that was ambushed yesterday as they were checking the shores of Lake Edward. It is suspected that it was Mai Mai rebels who attacked the rangers. Hippo have been slaughtered again recently, hence the patrol.

Kanyangara Muhima was shot in the chest and died before he could be taken to hospital. See the gorilla.cd post for details and how to donate to help support his widow and family at this tragic time.

UN ‘Year of the Gorilla’ donates 2 prints for Gala

The United Nations ‘Year of the Gorilla’ (YoG) team have donated 2 amazing prints by artist Daniel Taylor to be auctioned at G4G’s Gorilla Gala on 31st October. They are both signed by the artist, Ian Redmond (Ambassador for YoG) and DRC’s Princess Odette Crempin. The prints are unique, ‘one-off’ items carrying these 3 signatures. Funds raised through auctioning these prints will go directly to a project helping the Cross River gorilla – only around 300 survive. G4G is very pleased to help the Cross River gorilla in this way at the Gala.

Tickets and/or tables are still available for the Gorilla Gala – see details via the home page of the web site.

Ian Redmond is giving the after dinner address whilst Congolese band Kasai Masai and Mungo Jerry will keep everyone dancing into the night. Don’t miss it!!

Photograph courtesy UNEP/CMS Year of the Gorilla

£200 raised at Dog Show

A rather damp Sunday nevertheless proved great fun once again as the canine supporters of G4G brought their owners along to the Cross Keys Inn at Mannington. Thanks to landlady Viv for helping to make this a really enjoyable afternoon with the tombola and african gifts adding to the total raised. Big thanks to all who came along & look out for the next one! G4G are running the Fun Dog Show at Kingston Mauward’s big ‘all things doggie day’ on 27th September -  see you there….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“When I grow up….I’m gonna win that sausage racing….you see”