The Slate Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to supporting educational and informational activities, as well as, scientific research aimed at increasing awareness of endangered animals.
 
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2009

The Slate Foundation is happy to report that Justin and Paluku, our friends and Managers of “Operation Wildlife Comeback” in the North Kivu region in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have succeeded in substantially increasing our rabbit population, introducing a pig to the program, purchasing 34.5 acres of farm land and gardening hoes for over 500 single mothers all by selling chicken eggs!
We now have 1 pig and 2 rabbit houses with 12 rabbits in the Kasugho house and 100 rabbits in the house at Lubero / Kaseghe.

(Rabbit houses with Justin, Paluku, and one of the local chiefs.)

(Paluku walking the pig.)

While the roof on the rabbit houses above needs to be replaced with a material other than straw to keep the rain out, each rabbit has a clean pen and receives lots of fresh food on a daily basis.
With rabbit gestation periods ranging from just 28 to 31 days, our rabbit population is rapidly increasing. Although the males are kept nearby, the females are given time to wean their litters before there are reunited with their mates. Selling just two rabbits provides enough income to pay for a child’s education for an entire year.

Unfortunately, our chicken population was recently depleted by an epidemic and as a result, about 40 chickens died.

However, 20 healthy chickens were sent to Butembo to protect them from contracting the disease. We are consulting local veterinarians and addressing possible housing concerns in an effort to eradicate the disease before bringing the chickens back from Butembo. The Kasugho chicken house above will also need to have a new roof put on it to better protect the chickens from the rain.

Prior to the epidemic, the chickens were producing 50 eggs daily. Single mothers, who are 18 years or younger, have been recent victims of rape, and are suffering from malnutrition (both child and mother) are considered priority recipients and were allowed to take 2 eggs per week at no cost.

(Justin and Paluku work on improving the house before the healthy chickens return.)

(Looking from the rabbit house on the right to the chicken house in the background.)

Other members of the association, an African term used to describe a group of people working towards one goal, who were already producing income through agriculture were able to buy eggs for .10 each, while even more eggs were being sold at market for .30 each. These profits were then being used to buy chicken feed, pay for travel expenses to and from the market, purchase the 34.5 acres of land, the 500 gardening hoes for farming, and build an educational center.

(A young single mother with her daughter outside the chicken farm.)

There are now approximately 500 single mothers in the Association, all of whom are victims of rape and/or widowed by war. Because of the success of the chicken farms prior to the epidemic, all have received a hoe and contribute to the production of agricultural products such as maize and cassava. All food grown is divided equally among association members, allowing them to eat half of the food grown, while the other half is sold for money to buy the food for the chickens and rabbits.

We asked Justin and Paluku to share some success stories with us….these are their words:

“By providing 50 rabbits to different members, they can send their children to school, they can have animal protein for their family. The rabbits can be eaten or sold to get some money for the family to have a small business.

When we began there were many single mothers who didn’t have anything. Now by just providing 5 rabbits, the ladies were able to use their own money to buy a sewing machine. Now they can sew and make more money.

Some groups of single mothers who were given rabbits, are now able to give scholarships to their children. In one year, a rabbit had 36 offspring and when they sell just one or two they can already provide money for school, for health, and reducing malnutrition.
Single mothers and their children are being helped. Some of the women in the association are victims of rape, others are giving birth before they are 18 because of sexual violence – all of these are abandoned by their families because of ‘premarital’ status. The association is accepting these women so they do not suffer psychologically and so they do not resort to laying traps. We have also started radio transmissions to sensitize families of these single mother to accept them as their children and proper family, because if these mothers are not accepted, they suffer psychologically and can have many problems.”

(Paluku)        

(Justin)

TSF has currently postponed the wiring of funds to Goma because of recent fighting near the capital city and because of a lack of available transportation. However, thanks to two very special biologists, all of our donations including money, a digital camera, a French to English dictionary, and a GPS tracking device were safely delivered earlier in the year. Thank you both for your kindness and your bravery.

Our goal for 2010 is to maintain our community support of single mothers and young women, to increase our chicken, rabbit and pig populations, to provide independent modes of transportation for the Association, and to educate the members of the Association so they can begin to research for signs of gorilla populations and report on the status of gorillas in Eastern Congo, as well as, on the local human population surrounding the reserve.

(Paluku, Justin and a local Chief on Association Land.)

2008

With no mail system, continued reports of fighting and violence, and the expensive costs to travel to this remote region, TSF has decided that our donor funds should not be spent on travel costs this year, but rather on providing more sources of food and income and increasing the number of chicken farms.  With the assistance of our Local Bank of America, TSF has established a bank account in Goma, the capital city of Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) province, where funds can be transferred for a minimal fee.

The year began with The Slate Foundation adding a rabbit farm to “Operation Wildlife Comeback”!  The small but hopeful farm of 6 rabbits is located in Kasugho where it provides another alternative to the poaching and trapping of Eastern Lowland Gorillas. 

These rabbits serve as another source of protein for the villagers living on land surrounding the Tayna Gorilla Reserve and provide a much needed source of income when sold at market. The income is used to buy gardening hoes, educate their children, and purchase land for farming where additional houses can be built for more chicken and rabbit farms.

Our chicken population is rapidly growing although it is still not large enough to provide eggs on a daily basis.

Our goal is to provide 1 egg per day for every mother, chilld, orphan, and man working on the farms. However, with over 300 single mothers alone, our goal still seems far away. This also doesn’t take into account the vast number of other villagers who also live in and around the edges of the reserve and are still relying on poaching and trapping as their primary source of food and income.

Paluku and one of the Chicken Keepers stand guard outside the chicken house made from wood, leaves, and mud.  They must keep track of the chickens while they feed outside. The pile of wood in the foreground will be used to build another chicken house.

A field of maize now surrounds the chicken house and will be harvested for both the chickens and the villagers.

A small group of single mothers and Justin (far right) work with their new hoes in a cassava field in Kasugho. Prior to having hoes, the women used their hands and sticks to plow the land.

Congolese women are known for the beautiful fabrics they wear and the clothing they make for themselves despite their challenging surroundings. In Kaseghe, the older women of the village teach the younger women how to sew, however, with only one sewing machine, the process is slow. Another goal of TSF is to bring more sewing machines to this region so the women can create a line of clothing and linens to be sold for profit in the US and abroad.

While the people we are working with truly are making a difference in their small remote villages, Justin, Paluku, over 300 single mothers, their children, a few men, and over 350 orphans represent only a small percentage of the total population surrounding the reserve.  The total population of people living in and around the reserve is still unknown and will remain so until the local inhabitants and students can conduct a census.

In 2009, TSF hopes to increase our efforts to educate and sensitize other villagers on the importance of preserving their wildlife and natural resources, to bring alternative sources of food and income and to eventually eliminate the poaching and trapping of Eastern Lowland Gorillas and other forest animals in this region. While TSF does not currently have the resources to conduct our own population assessments of Eastern Lowland Gorillas and other endangered forest animals and must rely on the reports of other well endowed organizations, The Slate Foundation remains the only organization in the North Kivu province of the DRC providing options to poaching and trapping.

 

2007

The Slate Foundation would like to thank our family, friends, and all the animal lovers who donated clothes, toys, gear, equipment, time, and money in support of our trip to the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, the Tayna Center for Conservation Biology (TCCB) and the Muyisa Orphanage and Primary School in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

You will most likely wonder why there are no pictures of wildlife from the Congo nor of our intended host, Pierre Kakule. Neither of them was there. While I cannot tell you why Pierre Kakule was not there, I can tell you why the animals were not.
From gorillas on down the food chain to birds, poaching and trapping are the number one threats to animals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the group of people doing the most poaching are (you might want to sit down for this one)... Mothers! Mothers who need to feed their children. While facts such as these are alarming, they are indeed facts. And the only way to stop poaching is to provide people with options!

Chicken farms and cassava fields can provide people with several options to poaching. The Slate Foundation is working with two young men, Justin Isengoma and Paluku Mosovoli, who have created an association (AJPROFM) for single mothers with a focus on teaching its members new skills such as managing chicken farms and planting and harvesting cassava fields. Learning new skills such as these not only provides these mothers and their children with meat, eggs and cassava flour, but it also provides them with work for which they can be proud. While sensitizing them to the importance of animal conservation, work such as this makes them part of the process of re-construction.

Change is a slow process. But any change in the right direction is another step towards a solution. And if they are part of the solution, then they are no longer part of the problem.

Another approach to deter poaching and habitat destruction is through art. Students at TCCB have formed an association called AJCN (Association des Jeunes pour la Conservation de la Nature). These young conservationists travel from village to village educating local people through songs, poetry, and plays. Art is their way of expressing the grief and frustration they feel about the large number of animals being lost to poaching. It is through their art that this new generation is breaking down barriers, communicating with their elders, and educating their communities about new concepts involving responsibility for the wildlife around them.


Our initial observations of the Congo during our journey to the Reserve were of a wild, wild, west untouched by modern conveniences. The roads were unpaved, rocky and full of potholes. Checkpoints were intimidating. Self-proclaimed, plain-clothed guards who carried machine guns offered friendly “Bonjour’s” while they rifled through the contents of our vehicles. A “bandit” attempted to swindle our transportation funds and a person drove over our Director of Photography and fled the scene of the accident.

On a more positive note, the markets were colorful with fabrics and vegetables, loud with vendors selling their goods offering everything the earth could grow and more! The surprise of the journey was hotels offering hot water in buckets and a couple hours of electricity.

For the most part, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are friendly, kind, and eager to bring animal conservation programs to their war torn country.

Though we were disappointed that Pierre Kakule did not uphold his commitment to meet with us and have received no reply to our request for information, we were devastated to find no gorillas - no wildlife in general.

The Slate Foundation started out with one purpose, to experience a day-in-the-life of one man who had a vision of protecting gorillas in the Congo, but like life, things don’t always go as planned.


John Steinbeck wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”

The Slate Foundation started out with plans that also changed. We had disappointments, but what we didn’t go there looking for we found:
In the Congo, a community. People dedicated to planting seeds of conservation in surrounding villages, in their families, and in the young people at the Muyisa Primary School and Orphanage.

In Uganda, wildlife. Rhinos chased us into thorn bushes at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where Deren Coetzer is re-introducing white rhinos into the wild in Uganda for the first time in over 20 years! Kob, eland, topi, impala, gazelle, duiker and antelope ran from us into the thick bush, jackson’s hartebeest, waterbuck, and bushbuck pranced through grasslands, hundreds of bird species monitored us from above, warthogs and cape buffalo sneered boldly while eating, crocodiles and hippos guarded the banks of the Nile River, elephants, giraffe and zebra confidently roamed free, lions reminded us who was king, and gorillas nested in treetops without worry.
Conservation efforts in Uganda are light years beyond the Congo, where people are pioneers.

Although The Slate Foundation is not in a position to make a formal commitment to TCCB, we do support the teachers, students, and community in their efforts to sow the seeds of animal conservation they have planted. We look forward to assisting in their long-term conservation education and to working with them well into the future so that one-day, we can all see gorillas in the Congo!