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How to help Gorillas survive - even from a great distance
Tuesday, 03 March 2009 10:24

James Brooks is 12 years old and lives in London, Ontario, Canada. He has loved apes all his life and ever since he was old enough to understand the threats they face he has tried to help them.

When he was 11, he started a project called 1000classrooms (go to www.1000classrooms.org for more), in cooperation with the Canadian Ape Alliance. He hopes to get 1 000 Western classrooms to each donate $3 (only cents for each kid) to buy a dozen eggs for children at the Kahuzi-Biega Environmental school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The eggs are sold by the widows of Park Rangers who were slain or died while protecting the endangered Eastern Lowland Gorillas living in Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

Through the project, the widows are given an opportunity to earn an income, the children and the teachers are given nutritious food, and the gorillas are made safer because there is less demand to kill them for food or encroach on their habitat. The "Eggs for Kids" program (see www.great-apes.com/projects/eggs/eggsforkids.htm) ensures that each child and teacher at the school is given 1 egg per day.

James Brooks with YoG Patron Jane GoodallAny classroom or group (such as guides or scouts) can get involved in this great program, from preschool to University. When the program reaches its goal, 12 000 eggs will be donated and over 25 000 children will have been made more aware of issues facing children and animals in Africa. James will have helped kids, widows, Africa, and the environment. Most importantly, he will have proven that one can make a large difference even with very small donations.

Please visit www.1000classrooms.org and consider encouraging all students, teachers and gorilla friends you know to get involved.

James also gave us an explanation of how his projects helps to support the 8 U.N Millenium Goals:
"1) End poverty and hunger--it gives the families both an income and nutritious food.
2) Universal Education--it is for a school in Africa and also educates the kids who support it all over the world.
3) Gender equality--this allows the widows to have an income and be self-sustaining.
4) Child health--this ensures the kids get nutritious food and a safe environment.
5) Maternal health--by empowering the women of the village this should help Mothers.
6) Combat HIV/AIDS--the project does not do this directly but in educating the children in Africa where the epidemic is so horrible I hope it helps.
7) Environmental Sustainability--the project directly helps gorillas and their habitat. The kids go to an "environmental school" and learn about protecting the environment.
8) Global Partnership--we are getting kids from various countries all connected with each other to help people, gorillas, and our planet."

 

We are happy to see a young person becoming so proactively involved for gorilla conservation and sustainable development. We encourage many more 'Eggs for kids' campaigns.

 

James has another website called www.apeaware.org, on which he raises awareness about apes. It is aimed especially at kids and features information and also some fun stuff.

1000 classrooms was featured on a tv show and in a Canadian Press news story. Here is a link to the story
http://green.sympatico.msn.ca/canadianpressarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=875158

James and his big brother David also prepared a slideshow explaining this great program. Please look at it here.