You did it – we won a grant!
The votes are in, and we cannot be happier. We have been awarded an Australian Ethical Community Grant. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us! With the money, we can release four more orangutans back into the Bornean rainforest, where they belong.
Each year, the Australian Ethical Foundation gives 10 per cent of their profit away to organisations which are making a real impact on our planet, people and animals. This year, the foundation was able to share $400,000 among 18 organisations – and we, Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia, are the lucky recipients of $20,000. We can’t thank the Australian Ethical Foundation enough for the honour to be part of this wonderful group of charities.
Our ultimate goal with all we are doing is to release orangutans back to the wild. But a release is expensive. Expenses include the rehabilitation and care costs over many years, as well as the use of helicopters. Airlifting orangutans to the remote release sites is much more efficient and reduces the risk for humans and apes. Our teams have done airlifts in the past, but it requires a lot of financial support, which is not always available. Therefore, we have done most of our releases with 4×4 trucks, boats, and by carrying the cages with the release candidates through steep and slippery terrain, deep into the jungle.
So far, we have released 468 orangutans, and we have many more waiting in our two rehabilitation centres who are ready to enjoy the freedom they deserve. You can imagine how much it means to us, to now have the funds we need to release four more of our beautiful red cousins to their true forest home. Every single orangutan that we rescue, rehabilitate and release is a step towards helping this critically endangered species to survive.
