Chimpanzee Eden with the children
Today we went to Chimpanzee Eden with some of the older children from Letaba school. Chimpanzee Eden is a Jane Goodall institute. It is the first and only chimpanzee sanctuary in South Africa and takes in chimpanzees that have been misplaced from their natural habitats, abused and used in circus’s etc.
Phillip, the director of the sanctuary helped us to make the visit possible for some of the children who were very keen on having the experience of meeting the chimpanzees, Phillip and hearing about the sanctuary and some of the things that they did there.
We were also very keen to visit with the children because of the link to the children’s book, ‘My sanctuary, a place called 
home’ written by Doreen Ingram, who has visited the sanctuary on many occasions. She wanted to write a book that explained in detail some of the chimpanzees stories that could be understood by children, and at the same time, educating people about chimpanzee conservation.
This book has been used by Yebo and the children that we work with, and has been a great help to some of our activities. We have been in touch with Doreen a lot who has also been very supportive of our work with book donations and encouragement. We are very thankful to Doreen for writing such a great book and for the support and help.
The children that we chose to go to the sanctuary were more, able bodied older children, who we picked due 
to their understanding, but also their commitment to helping us as volunteers with the younger children that we have been working with over the past 2 weeks. They have also been a great support to us in our work, and are very resposible young people, despite their disabilities. They are learners at Letaba school, very good friends and supportive of eachother, and very accepting of their disabilities. One of the learners that we took had very poor eye site but could still see the chimpanzees when closer to the enclosures. He also said he liked listening to the sound of their different calls, panthoots etc! He was taking pictures of them on his mobile phone and was very responsive to watching them, despite his eyesite problems. The other learners also enjoyed the visit and had a lot of questions for Phillip.
They also compared some of the differnt personalities of the chimpanzees to some of the children that they know at the school, and found this very funny. They were also interested to hear that the chimpanzees were all orphans and were being looked after in this sanctuary. We also compared some of the cheekiness and fighting of the chimps to their school sometimes.
We thank Phillip, Doreen and all those who made it possible for us to bring the children and our volunteers to the sanctuary for the day. We are now looking into sponsorship for the school to bring more of the learners here on a regular basis, and to help them with their education and self esteem.
By Doreen Ingram, September 2, 2010 @ 2:56 am
I love all the pictures and think you all do something that means so much to those children who need love! I thank you for using my book as a part in helping children and others to learn about primates and the problems they have. Working together to make the world a better place to live for all is a big job and worth every minute we put into it. My heart is full and happy knowing the kids like the story!
Thank you all for everything you do.