Vision, Ambition, and a Promise

For the past two weeks I’ve been trying to pinpoint an example of someone I’ve personally been inspired by that represents the overall idea of a Global Citizen. Someone who is courageous enough to challenge difficult realities and ambitious enough to implement solutions on both local, and international scales. For me, an embodiment of this description is Dr. Sheri Speede.

(A motivational saying found laminated inside the outhouse at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center)

In 1998, Dr. Sheri Speede moved to the Mbargue forest in Cameroon to honor a promise she made to one group of chimpanzees that were being held in horrid conditions. With the vision of keeping “great apes safe and thriving in their natural habitats”, a lush, natural forest over two square kilometers in size became the site of the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center.

Fast forward to today and you’ll see how Sanaga-Yong is a driving positive economic force in the small surrounding villages where fresh local produce is bought weekly by the truckload from local farmers. It is also a stable and reliable employment opportunity for approximately 25 locals who otherwise would have limited, if any other viable economic option. On top these excellent, contributions local economy,  Sanaga-Yong is now home to seventy-two chimpanzees, victims of the illegal bushmeat trade. Their mothers likely killed by hunters to sell the meat illegally, the infant chimps can then be sold for a profit as pets. Although this is also illegal, it is still an all too common occurrence.

Over the course of fifteen years, the continuous efforts locally and internationally through the education facility at the Recue Center, fundraising events in the United States, and a book tours of her life narrative Kindred Beings, Dr. Speede and her team of dedicated staff have still not been completely successful. Sanaga-Yong still receives new chimps; mainly babies.

I find myself wondering if there ever come a time when we no longer need rescue centers for them? With all of Dr. Speede’s hardwork and dedication, what else can be done for the chimpanzees of Cameroon?

IDA-Africa Website (2013) Our Vision retrieved from

http://www.ida-africa.org/our-mission_349.html

Dana Vion (10 September 2008) Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Video Center. Retrieved from