Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: May 19 2008 | By: Julie

I just received notice of two donations from anonymous contributors, one on 1 May and the other on 9 May. Thank you very much! I truly appreciate your generosity.

sniffle, SNEEZE, cough, sniffle, sneeze, COUGH, sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough, SNIFFLE….

Our project, Art of Conservation, works directly with the people who are living next to a protected area, in this case, Parc National des Volcans. Our students practically live side by side with the endangered mountain gorilla.

Recently, Team AoC incorporated lessons emphasizing the importance of personal hygiene by encouraging students to form healthy daily habits. We know research shows there is strong evidence suggesting that many primate species are susceptible to many of the infections that people are afflicted with and that the transmission of infection can occur in both directions. We encourage a one-health approach to life and try our best to set examples for the students to follow.

Can we motivate our art students to better care for themselves which inevitably spirals to better health for their families, better health for their communities, their land, water, forest, gorillas and other animals and then back again?

A hanky may seem an insignificant item toward the efforts of one-health, but small steps can help.

STEP 1
Go to the local market to purchase panels of fabric.

Miscalculating the amount of fabric needed to make 150 rectangular-shaped hankies, Jacqueline, a member of AoC house staff, and I returned numerous times to the market asking the friendly woman pictured above if she could find more of that same fish design. She always tracked down more for us.

STEP 2
Call Jean de Dieu NGIRIRA, a previous Art of Conservation guest speaker and ORTPN staff member, and ask him how to get in touch with his wife, Jacqueline, who is a seamstress in Kinigi Town.

The connection is coordinated and I meet Jean de Dieu and Jacqueline at Jacqueline’s shop in Kinigi Town to discuss the order.

STEP 3
Jacqueline gets busy straight away at her foot pedal sewing machine.

Team AoC will give each student enrolled in our present program, 150 individuals, a hanky.

STEP 4 (Optional)
Give everyone else you know a hanky.

AoC house staff, Muzehe, Phocas, and Jacqueline, decide it best to carry their hankies on their head. Additionally, they prepare my two dogs for their morning walk.