2011 educational visit with the volunteers to the chimpanzees at Ngamba island
On 3rd July the 2011 Yebo volunteers went to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary to learn more about the chimpanzees, their backgrounds and the rehabilitation they went through once they had been rescued and were brought to the island.
Ngamba Island is situated on Lake Victoria, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. Visiting Ngamba island lets you travel on a boat across the Lake which, in itself , is an amazing experience. It is a beautiful and calming experience with many wildlife to see along the way.
On arrival at the island, we also found some amazing wildlife and enjoyed spending time next to the
lake and around the wildlife
One of the caregivers at the island, Phillip, showed us around, and introduced us to some of the individual chimpanzees in their care, telling us about their backgrounds and told us their individual stories. It was very interesting, yet heartbreaking, to hear about where the chimpanzees had come from, and wonderful to see how well they have adjusted into a troop together after their early traumas through the hard work and dedication of the staff at Ngamba Island.
This particular visit was vital for the volunteers to learn about the work of the different sanctuaries, and for them to have an educational visit to help them understand the work that they will be doing with the children. Lorna Wilkie, our education coordinator this year, will be helping to incorporate some educational activities into the creative therapeutic activities that Yebo will be doing.
We also went to the fishing village on one of the neighbouring islands and saw the school that Ngamba Island funded for the local children. While we were there, we met local women who make 
beautiful necklaces and bracelets out of recycled paper. They tried to show all of us how to make them… but with limited success! Think we will leave it to the professionals!
We look forward to taking the children across to the island soon to experience the educational and creative aspect of the activities on the Island.
By Hannah, July 17, 2011 @ 5:58 pm
This looks like an amazing and very educational place to visit. I am eagerly awaiting the next blog and look forward to seeing the wonderful work that the Yebo volunteers are doing out in Uganda