Moja has been helping rescue gorillas in Africa. An English version of the gorilla tales book is being published as part of the Year of the Gorilla (YOG), a UN initiative, to raise funds to finance distribution of the book in Congo-Brazzaville and to support a project aimed at the rescue of the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla.
Moja and Tatu Conquered Africa Last Year
Little gorillas Moja and Tatu and other characters from the fairy-tales from Prague zoo have won the hearts of children at home as well as in faraway Africa. Four thousand copies of the book in English and French were distributed to schools in Cameroon at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 with the aim to spark interest in wildlife and its protection among children. Many conservationists, including Richard Leakey and representatives of GRASP UN, have appreciated our goal and approach. However, we were most happy to receive positive response from children: "Dear Sirs, we, students of the public secondary school Bonadikombo, are happy to write to you this short message," one of the letter read. "We love your book of tales because it teaches us about gorillas and their relatives. We like it for stories like the one about the white gorilla. Someone who has never seen gorillas before can now see them in the book. Big thank you for publishing it! The book helps us understand how gorillas live. Sincerely yours, Baah Vera." Many supporters of the Revealed project have written to us asking for the book but the edition for Cameroon was not available for sale. We have therefore decided to publish a revised version of the gorilla fairy-tales for anyone to buy.
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The book "Gorilla Fairy Tales" is published by Radioservis as part of the Year of the Gorilla project, a joint initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Besides thrilling stories the book features full-page photographs depicting members of the Prague zoo gorilla troop and many other animal heroes. To get your copy, send an e-mail to: therevealed@rozhlas.cz. The price is 12 EUR for international sale + postage and packing. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to support projects aimed at protection of western lowland gorillas in Central Africa.
Book Heroes Help Raise Funds for Wild Gorillas
The most seriously endangered gorilla sub-species is Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). The total population has dropped below 300. Raising awareness about the critical situation of Cross River Gorilla is key to preserving the sub-species. That is why we decided to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of the book to the YOG2009 educational project aimed at protection of Cross River Gorilla in the Takamanda national park on the border between Cameroon and Nigeria.
Gorilla Tales for Congo-Brazzaville
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After the success in Cameroon, our goal is to collect enough money to publish another batch for schools in Congo-Brazzaville. We would like children living in forest areas to build positive attitude towards gorillas. Congo-Brazzaville is an ideal target area for the distribution of a book about gorillas because it lies in the heart of the geographic range of Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and is key for the protection of this gorilla sub-species. Several research and protectionist projects are taking place in the country aimed at Western Lowland Gorilla and chimpanzee. The projects include educational activities focusing on local children. We have received numerous applications for distribution of the book of gorilla tales and selected three organizations that expressed serious interest and have good international reputation. We are planning to provide each of them a thousand copies of the book in French.
You, too, can help! We will donate 2 EUR to the two projects for each copy sold. You can also help by donating any amount to our charitable fund, account No.: 555 555 552/0800, IBAN: CZ35 0800 0000 0005 5555 5552 SWIFT (BIC): GIBACZPX.
Thank you!
01.06.2009 "She's playing the young quite well! And the peacock, too..." producer Honza Jiran noted when choosing an actor for the French rendition of the gorilla fairy tales among 10 short-listed native speakers with more or less extensive acting experience. He eventually selected the one who interpreted the young and the peacock so nicely - Mélanie Ruppe.
10.04.2009 Dorothy Matute, the headmistress of the Bonadikombo school, visited us in our hotel in Limbe, Cameroon. She was the first to obtain a CD with an audio rendition of gorilla fairy- tales from our book 'L´histoire des Gorilles' in French recorded by Jan Jiran. The idea behind the CD is similar to that...
09.04.2009 The Revealed has been aiming several years to support protection of Western Lowland Gorillas in Central Africa. First we financially supported a primate rescue centre in Limbe but then decided to carry out a project of our own. We published a book of fairy-tales about gorillas in English and French and distributed it to schoolchildren in Cameroon. Having been eagerly awaiting responses from...
08.04.2009 A few days ago, just after our arrival to the Limbe Wildlife Centre, Simone de Vries gave us two folders: the thinner one contained completed questionnaires, while the thicker one contained letters from children to Czech Radio, The Revealed, a mysterious person name Miralan Bobe, or all three of them...
27.03.2009 When visiting Cameroon in the spring of 2006 we realised that the best way to protect gorillas is to show the locals their beauty and intelligence. And when we published the first book of "gorilla" fairy tales, a little later in the Czech Republic, in which Moja naturally is the heroine, we weren't...
