sewing for independence

while conditions for women in the dr congo are already deplorable, women left widowed face financial ruin... left with very few options for ways to support themselves and their children. in the virunga national park, death among park rangers is very high (125 deaths in the last 10 years) as rangers continue to put their lives at risk to protect the park, the extremely endangered mountain gorillas, and other wildlife. while emergency donations for rangers widows through the iccn (you can donate on the gorilla.cd website) greatly help these families in the short term, a new program is helping these women gain financial autonomy

with help from the igcp (international gorilla conservation program), a group of 32 women are learning the skills of sewing... giving them the opportunity to learn a skill that will ultimately give them a way to support their families. upon completion of the program, each woman gets her own sewing machine to set up shop independently!

you can read more about the ranger widows, the work the rangers give their lives for, and ways you can help, over on the gorilla.cd blog

updates: new mountain gorilla babies and humanitarian efforts in the drc

some updates from the virunga national park (all pictures from the gorilla.cd blog)

bonane with her baby boy

had to share these spectacular images of three new mountain gorillas born this spring, along with their loving and nurturing mommas... so promising and exciting to see these new births in this unsettled region

bonane nursing her baby boy

gato caring for her newest baby boy

mahisho resting with her new one

you can read more about these new arrivals, as well as the wildlife and humanitarian efforts in the virunga national park region of the drc, over on the gorilla.cd blog... including the new fuel briquette program, an alternative energy project which is providing a sustainable energy source for the internally displaced people in the camps of goma

cooking demonstration

this project is providing the first truly viable alternative to illegal forest charcoal, the leading cause of deforestation in the region... and the biggest threat to the mountain gorillas and other wildlife in the area. in addition to helping the displaced people in the camps of goma, the program is also providing thousands of jobs to locals in the region

the women of rumangabo showed their support for this effort during their international women's day celebration, both during their parade and a theatre piece performed by wives of park rangers... so incredible to see these women, in an area where violence against women is so high, uniting both for the rights of women and the protection and care of mountain gorillas... such inspiring strength

parade

wife and daughter of park ranger dressed for a theatre piece

you can also read of their various community outreach programs, including the new primary school in rumangabo... here is a lovely video of the children singing the congo national anthem in front of their new school