Orangutan Foundation International

OFI has been my window into a part of the world that to me, as a human and a biologist, is truly magical. While the situation facing orangutans and their ancient rainforest home in Borneo is dire and heartbreaking, I have seen how OFI leads, enables and amplifies the contributions of people concerned about the future and welfare of orangutans. Volunteers, donors, visitors, filmmakers, veterinarians, tour-guides and many others have found a way to join the cause by supporting OFI's 42 year mission to save the orangutans from extinction and secure some form of safe and dignified future for our cousin species. I am amazed and inspired by their work.

If orangutans have any hope for the future, it lies in the hands of Orangutan Foundation International. There are many other charities operating in Indonesia and working towards saving the orangutan, but (to the best of my knowledge) OFI is the only one who is truly striking at the heart of the issue, rather than chipping away at the periphery.

Buying and protecting forest is the only way to definitively protect the orangutans. There is no alternative means of saving them. Without habitat, they're gone with the wind. The concept is simple, the execution is not...but OFI is doing it! They have concrete evidence and results...they can point to thousands of acres of forest and say "This belongs to us and the orangutans now. This isn't going to be destroyed and turned into palm oil. We're going to do everything we possibly can to protect the orangutans here." Saving every individual orangutan is important, and OFI does that as well, but without forest to release them in the situation becomes more bleak every year. Buying forest is the real solution, and that's what they're doing.

Additionally, OFI is also active in training large organizations operating in Indonesia (who are notoriously damaging to the environment and orangutans) on a new zero-tolerance policy for harming, trapping or killing endangered wildlife. A policy that was implemented, in large part, because of OFI's influence and years of campaigning for such measures to be taken. Reducing the number of orangutans being captured, killed and harmed every year is essential to the mission of saving the orangutan, and the only way to do that is to impact the people who are out there doing it.

The bottom line is...OFI is doing it right. But they can't do it alone. Give them any help you can...you'd be putting your charitable contributions into the right hands.

My connection with OFI began in 2008, when I was invited to spend a month volunteering at their rehabilitation and care centre for Orangutans in Kalimantan. This facility is just one of the ways in which OFI is involved in trying to save the species from extinction. Their work covers research, education, rescue and rehabilitation, habitat preservation and protection and conservation. It was overwhelming to experience at first hand only some of the many challenges with which they are faced at the Care Centre on a daily basis:- taking in a stream of new orphaned or displaced orangutans to an already stretched facility, providing quarantine and medical support, the logistics and cost of providing tons of fresh food daily, sourcing materials for enrichment, dealing with power and communication cuts, to name but a few. Orangutan Aid in Hong Kong was founded in order to raise awareness of the desperate situation facing orangutans in the wild, and to raise funds to help those organizations on the ground working to save them such as OFI. We have so far been able to contribute towards their Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest purchase and protection project, as well as various projects at the Care Centre itself such as building a new 'playground' for the orangutans, new night enclosures and funding food and supplies. We are now focusing on raising funds to build a new nursery which is desperately needed to accommodate the surge in numbers of new orphaned infants. Understanding the needs of OFI and being able to see how our donations are used is extremely motivating, and ensures our continued support of the excellent work that OFI carries out.