We are thrilled to announce that on September 10, 2019, the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center was awarded Accredited status by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), the only globally recognized organization providing standards for identifying excellence in animal sanctuaries. GRACE is the first great ape sanctuary in Africa to receive GFAS accreditation. According to today’s press release from GFAS:
Accreditation signifies that GRACE meets GFAS’s rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards, as well as adherence to standards addressing the sustainability of the organization, ethical principles, finances, staffing, education and outreach, security and safety, and other operational aspects. This accredited status also provides a clear and trusted means for the public, donors and grantors to recognize GRACE as an exceptional organization.
“We are excited and honored to receive GFAS accreditation,” said Dr. Sonya Kahlenberg, GRACE Executive Director. Pursuing accreditation was an initiative driven by GRACE’s board and leadership team. “We felt it was important to independently verify that everything at GRACE adhered to sanctuary best practices to ensure that we were doing all that we could to provide the best life for the gorillas,” said Kahlenberg. “We are always looking for ways to improve, and GFAS’s rigorous standards provided a helpful framework for evaluating our work.”
GRACE Advisor Dr. Tammie Bettinger, who oversaw GRACE’s GFAS application, agreed. “Going through the GFAS accreditation process made us a better organization,” she said. “Their questions allowed us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and understand what we need to do to continue to grow and develop.”
GRACE began the extensive accreditation application process over a year ago. This work came at a challenging time for GRACE due to the Ebola outbreak in our region, which has continued since August 1, 2018. “It has not been an easy time at GRACE because of Ebola, but we knew these preparations were important and part of a good process to show our work and to make sure the gorillas receive the best care,” said Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke, GRACE DRC Director.
Preparing the application was a true team effort with U.S. board members, volunteer advisors, and all members of the GRACE U.S. and DRC staff assisting. In addition to the completed application, GRACE also used this opportunity to advance other important and needed work, such as facility updates and a complete revision of its Operations Manual.
“We are very proud to now be GFAS Accredited, and I feel like this is a stepping stone for GRACE that better positions us to reach our future goals on behalf of gorilla welfare and conservation,” Kahlenberg said. As for GRACE’s DRC team, they consider accreditation to be a major honor because it validates what they do–day in and day out–for the gorillas. “Everyone was so happy when this was announced,” Mbeke said. “Staff members were hugging and jumping up and down. Really, this team loves their job and wants to do all they can to help the gorillas. I am so proud of them and of GRACE.”
Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S. that operates the world’s only sanctuary for Critically Endangered Grauer’s gorillas in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The largest primate in the world, Grauer’s gorillas only live in war-torn eastern DRC. 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 individuals remaining in the wild. GRACE cares for 14 orphaned gorillas rescued from poachers and works to rehabilitate them so they can one day 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 protected forest habitats. GRACE also leads field research and 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.