The APE Sentinel team, which is solely funded by WCI Canada Foundation, has been active throughout North Sumatra, working with children and local communities to spread awareness about orangutan conservation.
Community education a priority
As the COVID-19 pandemic draws to an end, the APE Sentinel team is intensifying its main awareness and education activities with the Orangufriends, volunteers recruited to educate communities and children about orangutans in Medan, North Sumatra. We’re so pleased to hear that the APE Sentinel team received praise from the North Sumatra Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and the other NGOs in the area. They’ve been full of praise for the team’s activities. The events and education they’ve provided are of interest to many people in the area, not just to people working in conservation. People from many different backgrounds have visited, making the events incredibly important for raising awareness and changing local attitudes about orangutans and their habitats.
Educating the next generation
Educating young people and children is one of the key activities APE Sentinel carries out across North Sumatra. Throughout 2022, they visited many schools, campuses and communities, and recruited and trained volunteers and interns to expand their programs. They also celebrated orangutans through festivals and art. A great year that donors like you have helped make possible!
Two interns, Mahdiyah and Mega, helped the team to create drawings and images for their school visits and environmental education. The designs depict orangutans in their natural habitat and are designed to encourage children to love orangutans and let them live freely in the forest. The team has visited schools located near their office in Medan, sharing knowledge about orangutans, other wildlife, and their habitat through games, songs, and storytelling.
Along with Orangufriends, the team worked with Forum Harimau Kita (Indonesian Tiger Forum) to run a workshop about biosecurity and the risks posed by zoonosis (diseases caused by pathogens jumping from animals to humans). They trained participants in biosecurity guidelines and how to prevent zoonosis.
Community festivals inspiring local people
The team held two community festivals to celebrate and raise awareness of orangutan conservation. First came the ‘Abelii Fest’, a new event named after the scientific name for Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). This colourful festival included a photo exhibition, movie screening, musical performances and workshops with local communities on how to take pictures that tell stories. Then in August, for International Orangutan Day, the team celebrated with a local community through a children's drawing competition. Anyone in Medan at the time would have seen the APE Sentinel team members cycling through the streets in orangutan costume!
Want to be part of this fabulous work? Donate to empower the APE Sentinel team to educate even more children about the importance of orangutan conservation.
