Fundraising for Marco

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A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Chimpanzee Conservation Center
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Help me to raise $1,000 on behalf of Marco and all the chimpanzees we care for every day!

$325

raised by 6 people

$1,000 goal

Marco is doing great!

Update posted 2 years ago

Marco is doing great! He enjoys his daily bushwalks with his friends. I visited him last week and we were both super happy to share a moment together. He asked me to help him to open his sugar can, as it is not easy for him with his bad teeth... But this doesn't prevent him from having a solide appetite and he continues to gain weight!

Since the CoViD pandemic started a year and a half ago, we faced many difficulties like the rest of the world. All our team continued to work very hard to protect the chimpanzees in our care, but our mission of rescuing chimpanzees didn't stop, because the illegal trafficking of chimpanzees never stops… All the expatriate management team decided to stay here when the Guinean boarders closed. We have not taken any break since the beginning of the pandemic...

Marco and his caregiver Lamine 

We rescued Marco earlier this year. I was at the sanctuary the night he arrived with our head-keeper Benoit Kamano. Marco arrived in a terrible state, with terrible physical injuries but also still in shock after his violent capture. Marco touched me, like the rest of the team. He is a great soul. It is difficult to explain, but it is when you meet a chimpanzee like Marco that you can understand. He is not only a little baby chimpanzee, he is much more than that.

Marco was shot in the head when poachers killed his mother. The bullets broke his jaw... he suffered from a severe mouth infection, that spread to almost all his teeth... Our vet had to remove many of them during 2 surgeries, and we are not sure his permanent teeth will ever grow... 


But this little guy is a fighter. From day one we could see how brave he was, how badly he wanted to live... Marco has his own way of looking at you. He goes deep into your heart, deep into your soul. Marco was cruelly torn away from his mother by poachers, but he gave us his trust from day one. Marco shortly after his arrival 



I am not personally involved in the daily care of chimpanzees, our wonderful local team is here for that, but when I am at the sanctuary, I regularly visit Marco and his two friends, Dali and Sewa. Even if I don’t have close physical contacts with them, it is always great to see how they are doing. Marco always greats me warmly. One afternoon, after Saliou, one of our caregivers, came back earlier from the daily bush walk with the 3 babies because of a heavy rain, I went to the babies’ room with a towel to dry them. When I entered the room, Marco jumped into my arms and hold me very tightly, giving me an intense chimpanzee hug… It filled me with an immense sensation of love, gratitude, connexion. With him but also with the world. It is so intense to feel this kind of sensation while holding a tiny chimpanzee, who went trough so much. Their ability to forgive us, as a specie who harms them, is an incredible lesson of compassion, resilience, and love. It is a lesson in humilty.

We wished none of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary were here. But the humankind keeps on destroying its planet and its inhabitants. Sadly, sanctuaries like ours are needed. Each single chimpanzee I met at CCC is a unique soul. Some overcame their traumatic capture and live happily in their group. Some were lucky enough to be released back into the wild. Some are still fighting the trauma and need intense psychological and physical support from us. 

And some of them, like Marco, are special because they act like “ambassadors”. They are here when we are no doing well. They stare at you, diving into your soul and you can feel all their energy, love and compassion filling you. Their empathy for this world, for us, is immense. These moments give us the energy to fight even more to protect their wild conspecifics and the planet. Because we must never forget that we should have never met them in the first place. They should all be free in the forest. Tragedy made our paths cross. We owe them to be their voice. 

Today I am Marco’s voice. Because this day, when he hugged me, he gave me way more than I ever gave him. I am grateful we saved him, and I am grateful we will give him the best possible life he deserves. Marco is our youngest resident, but he has a lot to teach us. I have an immense respect for him. And an immense love.

Please help me to raise funds for Marco and for all his friends we care for. 

Marco is now a happy baby

 

This fundraiser supports

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Chimpanzee Conservation Center

Organized By Chris Colin

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