Once every year, for the past ten years, the global organisation, Arcus Foundation in collaboration with Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, have been organising the largest fundraising event for apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos) in Africa, Asia and America, called GIVING DAY FOR APES.
During this period of fundraising, all qualified sanctuaries and rescue centres that are committed to long-term care and rehabilitation of apes use their various social media platforms to raise awareness about the event.
The GIVING DAY FOR APES fundraising event is actually a month long. This year it kicks off on 11th September and will run till the main giving day, 3rd October, a 24-hour period during which qualified sanctuaries and rescue centres compete on a leaderboard as donations pour in.
‘We at Tacugama are very excited about this year’s fundraising event as we hope to raise the highest amount we’ve raised so far, forty thousand dollars ($40,000). This special period of giving means the world to us and several other chimpanzee and ape sanctuaries around the globe. Even though it is technically a competition, it’s still a healthy one. It’s a time when we come together as a global community, united in the same cause, to raise awareness and vital funds for the well-being and the preservation of our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom and their forest homes.
As a nonprofit organisation, Tacugama relies heavily on the generosity and unwavering kindness of our friends and supporters. On average, it costs about $1500 to take care of one resident chimp a year, providing for them a safe haven, nourishing enrichments and all their medical requirements.
At Tacugama, we take great pride in the work we do, and in the fact that we are much more than a sanctuary. Tacugama is a well-oiled machine with several moving parts, at any given point we have at least one team of trained professionals working relentlessly to further our mission.
Whether it is our bio monitors making patrols in the forests, setting traps and collecting essential data on the field, or our care staff who make sure the chimps get all the necessary enrichment they need, to our eco-tourism staff who are always ready to welcome visiting guests with a gleaming smile and an uplifting spirit; we are always up to something!
Our activities include, but are not limited to: dissemination of anti-poaching information (via radio jingles and newspaper publications), community capacity building projects, school education programmes and the day-to-day upkeep of our resident chimps.
Tacugama’s mission cuts across several sectors and we are actively committed to achieving 16 of the 17 sustainable development goals, we are also working very closely with the Ministry of Tourism, in efforts to spread the national animal message far and wide and popularize it within Sierra Leone, it is a great task but with the help of all our friends and supporters we know we can achieve anything.
This year we have rescued 10 baby chimps and we are constantly on the lookout for new rescues because CHIMPS ARE NOT PETS, NO WILD ANIMAL IS!
Those still in the wild need our desperate protection as their numbers keep dwindling, and in the same regard, our rescued chimps need even more of our attention and committed care. It is for all these reasons that Giving Day for Apes is so important to us, and there are several ways you can help us raise funds during this once in a year opportunity.
One of the easiest ways you can be a part of this year’s GIVING DAY FOR APES event is by actively sharing our social media posts, share them on your various platforms, tag us, tell a friend to tell a friend. You can also make a direct donation through our Giving Day for Apes website, and not only that but if you have the capacity, you could also help by starting your own fundraiser. Together we can reach our goal of forty thousand dollars ($40,000) this year, no donation is too small, no action will go unnoticed, together we can make this happen.
