Good Things Are Happening

This week we have some very good news for Virunga National Park and the humanitarian crises happening in DRC.

Today I learned that the American actor Ben Affleck has traveled to Congo and has taken a tour of a few IDP (internally displaced people) camps. This is amazing news and hopefully he can bring some much, much needed attention to the plight of the people suffering in this part of the world. I read news articles of children that have been separated from their parents. One little orphan was only 2 or 3 years of age and was found in a home with several dead people. A man carried him several miles to a hospital, where he could be treated for injuries (I think a gunshot wound)to his arm. They did not know his name, whether or not his parents were still alive, or exactly what they were going to do with him. He was being cared for by a young man that Doctors Without Borders was paying a small salary to. My heart breaks to hear a story like this. I think of my sons and how I/they would feel if we were separated by war. How I wish I could pluck this little one up and comfort him. If only I could!

Yesterday, I learned that Emmanuel, Pierre, Eddy and Brent Stirton (National Geographic photographer) went to Rumangabo Headquarters to see if they could gain access for the Rangers to come back and monitor the mountain gorillas. They were able to visit the Bukima patrol post for the first time in 14 months. What great, great news. Today I have learned that 120 Rangers have returned to Virunga National Park. A census on the gorillas will soon be carried out. After 14 months of not knowing how our beloved gorilla families have been doing, the Rangers will finally (if nothing horrendous happens) be able to check on them.

One of the last few gorilla sightings I can remember was a year ago, this past August when Bilali,from the Munyaga family,had a baby. It was one of the most precious videos I have ever seen. She was so patient as the Rangers seemed to disturb her and her new son. It was all out of love. And she seemed to understand that and allow for it. I was so enchanted by her and that little one. It was Mother's love to be sure. You could see it on Bilali's face. It reminds me that we are so close as a species. They love, care for and protect their young, as we do. Sadly, we were to learn a few days later that Bilali's little one perished in a scuffle between two silverbacks. It was so hard to learn this news and made it all the more important that something must be done to save these precious creatures. I remain hopeful that when the Rangers go to carry out this census, they will find new babies that have been born and are thriving in these wonderful gorilla families.

Thousands of Miles Away

As I set here in my warm, comfortable house; my husband and kids safe; my other relatives safe in their homes; my pets are fed and safe too; my friends are safe in their homes. My thoughts are thousands of miles away in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I know people do not feel safe in their homes. They are hiding under their beds from gunfire and fighting, right outside their homes. Their children are crying in fear and they are trying very hard to comfort them. They are fleeing into the forest, with only the clothes on their backs, walking for miles with no food or water, walking with their small children. Fear all around them, as they hide from being brutally raped, killed or having their children kidnapped to become sex slaves or child soldiers. They can’t even think about their pets. That is not the kind of luxury they have. They can’t think about the safety of the endangered mountain gorilla or the whether or not these armed groups are killing hippos or elephants for bushmeat. They can’t think about whether or not the forests of Virunga National Park, the oldest National Park in Africa, are being chopped down at alarming rates for charcoal. They are just trying to save their own lives and the lives of their children and family.

My thoughts are thousands of miles away. I’m wondering if the mountain gorilla families that I have learned about this past year, are safe. I wonder if little Noel, who shares my Christmas Eve birthday, is still living. I wonder how my favorite gorilla, Bonane is doing. Will he ever become a great silverback, in charge of his own family? I think about Senkwekwe, the beautiful silverback who lost his life protecting his family from the humans that came to slaughter them. Are there other silverbacks having to do the same thing at this very moment? I have the luxury of these thoughts. I am thousands of miles away.

Raising Awareness

I have started this blog with the idea of raising awareness on three issues:

1. Virunga National Park and the endangered mountain gorilla;
2. Other endangered African wildlife and eco systems;
3. Human suffering throughout Africa.

In August 2007, I came upon an article in Newsweek magazine regarding the slaughter of the Rugendo family of mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, I have learned a great deal about what the threats to Virunga National Park and the mountain gorilla are. I've learned that it is a very dangerous and complicated matter, but one that is not without hope. In raising awareness about Virunga National Park and the mountain gorilla, I also hope to raise awareness regarding the humanitarian crises in DRC. It is my belief that by helping the people, we can save Virunga National Park and its wildlife.

With this blog, I will also work hard to raise awareness to help save other precious eco systems and majestic animals throughout Africa. I have been profoundly affected by many stories of all kinds of African wildlife such as bonobos, elephants, raptors, lions, cheetah, chimpanzees, giraffe, and rhino as well as, the many conservationists on the ground working their hearts out to save them.

For me, this is a labor of love and concern for the future of these animals that I have dreamed about since I was a child. I don’t want my children to grow up in a world with no wild mountain gorilla, African elephant or giraffe. I can’t imagine a world with no wild lion, cheetah, or leopards. And our Mother Earth just would not be the same without the Mara, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.”

At the same time, my heart goes out to those suffering throughout Africa. There is a tremendous amount of human suffering that I have learned about and read about within this last year. I would like to raise awareness regarding this issue and somehow help to facilitate an end to it, sometime within my lifetime.

I have a lot of work to do and hopefully you’ll join me in raising awareness and saving some of our worlds most magnificent and majestic wildlife.