User:AllisonLeach

Sanctuary
Located in Cameroon’s Mbargue Forest, Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center provides sanctuary in natural habitat for chimpanzees who were orphaned by poachers supplying the illegal trade in ape meat. Some of the more than seventy resident chimpanzees have been confiscated as infants from poachers or dealers and others have suffered on chains or in small cages for decades before their rescue. At Sanaga-Yong Center, which is committed to lifelong care, the emotionally damaged chimpanzees eventually find friendship and joy in adoptive social groups. They enjoy large enclosure complexes that include tracts of natural habitat forest protected with electric fencing.

In addition to six chimpanzee enclosure complexes, which together include over forty acres of enclosed forest, the grounds of Sanaga-Yong Center include vet clinic, education center, staff and volunteer housing, kitchen, office, fruit storage room and shelter for staff meetings and meals.

Key People
In 1999, veterinarian Sheri Speede established Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in the Mbargue Forest of Cameroon. It is a project of In Defense of Animals-Africa, which Speede also founded as a division of In Defense of Animals International. In 2004, Speede hired long-term volunteer Agnes Souchal of France as the general manager of Sanaga-Yong Center, and since then the two women have worked in close collaboration to develop the policies, programs and infrastructure. Cameroon national Tchimisso Raymond works with them as personnel manager, a position he’s held since 2004. The Center employs over twenty people from local villages who serve as chimpanzee caregivers, round-the-clock security guards and groundskeepers, and it accepts volunteers from around the world for six-month commitments.

Conservation
Sanaga-Yong Rescue Center and IDA-Africa play a vital role in conservation. By providing a permanent home for illegally trafficked and held chimpanzees, as well as information and technical assistance to authorities, they enable and promote law enforcement. They have conducted wildlife and social surveys and are working with the government and local community to protect the Mbargue Forest. Outreach programs are educating people and promoting compassionate attitudes locally and internationally.

Community Development
Sanaga-Yong Center’s relationship with the local community is intrinsically linked to the survival of great apes in the surrounding Mbargue Forest. The Center has impacted the economy of the local villages by providing jobs, installing a small grain mill and purchasing all fruits and vegetables to feed the chimpanzees from local farmers. The Center built a school in the village and contributes to the salaries of three schoolteachers. Since medical care is difficult to find and often impossible to afford, the medical/veterinary volunteers and employees of Sanaga-Yong Center have saved hundreds of human lives with medical treatments for local people, who are allowed to trade fruit and vegetables for the medical care. Our engagement and positive impacts in the community have fostered goodwill and support for our conservation mission.