We are thrilled to announce that the DRC team for the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center has been honored with a Disney Conservation Hero Award. This award recognizes local citizens for their commitment to saving wildlife, protecting habitats and inspiring communities to take part in conservation efforts. Conservationists from around the world were nominated, and this year, only 13 awardees were chosen for this honor.

In particular, the GRACE team was nominated for their outstanding courage and dedication in 2017-2018 when insecurity erupted near the sanctuary. Most villagers fled the conflict, but the GRACE team stayed. They were given the option to leave, knowing the gorillas could survive for a time in the forest without supplemental food, but they refused. Dalmas Kakule, Animal Manager, stressed, “The gorillas are our brothers and sisters. We could not abandon them during danger.” The team sent their families away to safety, left their homes in the village (many of which were ransacked during conflict), and moved into the GRACE compound to continue their work. For months, they waited out the troubles, subsisting primarily on food from the GRACE farm. Their presence kept the gorillas alive and well and the facility safe. “This insecure period was the greatest challenge GRACE has ever faced,” said Dr. Sonya Kahlenberg, Executive Director. “I still get emotional when I talk about the team’s bravery and commitment to the gorillas during this time. No one hesitated, and it was unanimous. We must continue. Our team is just incredible.”

A Congolese-led Effort

When GRACE was being built in 2009 most staff members had never even seen a live gorilla. The task of providing expert care and building a state-of-the-art gorilla facility was therefore a major challenge. Gorilla experts from U.S. zoos were brought in to help design and build the gorilla buildings and enclosures, airlift orphaned gorillas to GRACE, integrate gorillas into one social group, and train the GRACE staff in animal care, facility maintenance, and conservation education. Expert advisors continue to work closely with the team and build capacity through remote and onsite trainings. Although GRACE is supported by fundraising and administrative efforts in the U.S., all DRC operations are now run by Congolese, a transformation that happened–impressively–after just seven years. Dr. Tammie Bettinger, who has been involved with the project since its beginning, said this milestone was due to more than capacity building efforts. “Training certainly played a major role, but the deep commitment and incredible work ethic of the Congolese is ultimately what made it happen,” she said. Since the initial building phase, the DRC team has independently designed and built a second gorilla night house, forest enclosure, and the first quarantine facility. They’ve used the training techniques that they have learned to help manage changing gorilla group dynamics and monitor gorilla health. Their emergency interventions have saved gorilla lives.

The team’s excellence has not gone unnoticed. GRACE caregivers have been called upon by other great ape sanctuaries requesting remote and onsite assistance with difficult animal cases. GRACE educators, who usually work in rural areas around GRACE, were recently invited to Kivu International School, one of the top schools in our province, to teach gorilla conservation. Female team members have become local role models, working with women’s groups to improve skills in areas such as livestock husbandry. The team is proud of their work and takes their role as conservation ambassadors seriously. “I am proud to be a messenger to others for the protection of gorillas,” said caregiver and veterinary assistant Evariste Katsongo. “Through my role at GRACE, I inspire other people to take action for conservation.” The biggest measure of success is the pride the team has instilled in the community. A recent survey of three nearby villages found 87% of people said GRACE’s work in their area was a source of personal pride.

There’s No “I” in Team

The hero award is shared by the entire GRACE DRC team. This tight-knit group not only pulls together but also boosts each other up. They come from diverse backgrounds, and those with advanced education offer English, French, and computer lessons during lunch breaks for staff members who want to gain more skills. Caregiver Devotte Kavira says, “It’s wonderful to be part of a team where we support one another.”

Yet the day-to-day conditions remain difficult for the GRACE team, and the work is hard. The sanctuary’s remote location adds to the difficulty of daily operations. Then there are the unexpected challenges such as fighting forest fires without access to water, repairing collapsed bridges, and sometimes working without electricity. Currently, GRACE is also threatened by the second largest Ebola outbreak in history. But every day, the GRACE DRC team shows up and carries on. Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, GRACE DRC Director, put it best: “The team does it quietly, humbly, and without complaint. They are proud of their work and 100% dedicated. Really, they are true heroes.”

When the award was announced to the team, they were ecstatic. Jonathan Katsongo, GRACE Center Manager, summarized their appreciation this way: “We are very happy to find that the whole world understands the hard work that we are doing to rescue the life of orphaned Grauer’s gorillas. We crossed a very difficult period of insecurity, so this award was a positive surprise for us, and we are very happy.”

Watch the moment at the GRACE staff meeting when the Disney Conservation Hero Award was announced to the team:

The Disney Conservation Fund focuses on supporting nonprofit organizations and their work to engage communities in the protection of wildlife and critical ecosystems across the globe. Since 2004, Disney has honored more than 160 Conservation Heroes from around the world for their extraordinary conservation efforts. This year, with the inclusion of the Conservation Hero Awards, the DCF distributed $5 million in grants to support 76 organizations working to protect the magic of nature around the world. For information on Disney’s commitment to conserve nature and a complete list of recent Conservation Hero Award recipients, visit Disney.com/Conservation.

Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center is the world’s only sanctuary for Grauer’s gorillas. The largest primate in the world, Grauer’s gorillas only live in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Their numbers have dropped by nearly 80% in the past 20 years due to heavy poaching. They are considered one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world with only 3,800 remaining. GRACE cares for 14 orphaned gorillas rescued from poachers and works to rehabilitate them so they can return to the wild. At GRACE the gorillas live in a single gorilla group that functions as a surrogate family and spend their days in 39 acres of forest. GRACE also partners with local communities on education and conservation initiatives to protect a critical population of wild gorillas living in Tayna Nature Reserve. For more about GRACE, visit: www.gracegorillas.org.