2011 Will be Big for OURF

As I sit composing this blog, thoughts of the coming year come to mind. There is something in my gut that feels like 2011 will be a big year for the Orang Utan Republik Foundation. Why do I feel that? I am not sure, but I am already looking forward to another visit to Indonesia in the early part of the year.

OURF programs will pick up speed in 2011. Our Indonesian partners will be implementing a USFW grant for most of 2011. The funds have arrived and we are in the process of acquiring our first vehicle.

Does the Red Ape still need to raise funds? Absolutely. There are funding needs that were not anticipated when we wrote the proposal so we need to continue to seek supporters who can help bridge the funding gaps.

Stay tuned for some big announcements.

A Year Later - A More Successful Fundraiser

Where has the time gone. My last blog was more than a year ago. Now as my right knee is throbbing from too much yoga yesterday, I am pondering the success we had on July 17th when we held our annual fundraiser. It was a great event, in my humble opinion, and we raised over $17,000. That is the bottom line. But above the line, I have to acknowledge all the people who made the event a success: Susan Callery as our Fundraising Chair... yes, Susan came back after last year to take on the challenge; Debi Derryberry & husband, Harvey Jordan, who not only provided us with an amazing venue, but gave so much of their time, energy and financial resources to put the event on; John Page for his technical expertise and ability to get the job done; and so many other people-old friends and new friends- who came together to put on a great show.

Thanks also to our celebrity friends of the foundation: Ed Begley Jr. and Fritz Coleman. Ed, a member of our board and an internationally respected environmental activist, gave up his evening to be with us. Fritz, a local NBC weatherman and stand up comic/performer, served as our Emcee and did a great job helping with our Live Auction. What was auctioned? Books signed by Ed, Fritz, the authors and myself- and they went for a very good price.

The authors, Shawn Thompson ("The Intimate Ape") and Jean Chaffee ("Azak Learns to Read") came to the event and like other VIP attendees, had a chance to spend quality time with our celebrities (see them all chatting above)

We also had some amazing entertainment: Tango dancing, gamelan music, Balinese dancing, and a wonderful children's song, "Oodle the Orangutan" performed by our host, Debi Derryberry herself.

The food was great - vegetarian and vegan - and the atmospherics were also charming, thanks to the tiki torches, and inflatable stars and other decorations Harvey was able to have donated.

All in all, I am very happy the event went as well as it did. We raised a lot of money and had a great time. Considering I arrived from Indonesia less than 24 hrs earlier, the event could not have happened without our remarkable Fundraising Committee. That Indonesian trip, perhaps a topic for another blog, was also fantastic. One more bottom line...a number of people involved are already talking about next year. Hopefully, I will be more forthcoming with more blogs before next year's event.

Orangutan Caring Week 2009

This marks the fifth year the Orang Utan Republik (Education Initiative and Foundation) has been promoting Orangutan Caring Week. A week of celebrating orangutans actually started in 1996 as Orangutan Awareness Week when as vice president of another organization, I began promoting a special week for the great red ape. Then in 2005, when the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative was pushing for having the Awareness Week recognized officially in Indonesia, an Indonesian came up with the idea of calling the week "Pekan Pedulu Orangutan" rather than "Minggu Kesadaran Orangutan"- literally Orangutan Awareness Week. Pekan Peduli not only sounded better (much more aliterative), but it denoted a transformation from mere awareness to concern. The fact that this was an Indonesian invention made the change in the name much more powerful, particularly in Indonesia. It was also an opportunity for the western orangutan movement to adopt something from Indonesia (usually it is the other way around).

So in November 2005, the former minister of forestry officially proclaimed the week in a press conference at the Parliament building. The halls of the Parliament had an array of stands and booths of orangutan, primate and other wildlife and conservation NGOs. It was a great kickoff to the 1st Caring Week.

Since that first event, we have been enrolling people and organizations to participate in annual Orangutan Caring Week celebrations. Visit www.orangutancaringweek.org to see what we have been listing since 2007.

No Time to Relax

While the Red Ape Retreat's name implies somewhere to take refuge and contemplate, perhaps in the sanctuary of a tall lush tree with a large bowl-shaped nest with an accompanying vegetative umbrella, sadly my current lifestyle does not allow it. It is my choice to be sure. I am putting a tremendous amount of responsibility on myself for my passion to save orangutans through the development and maintenance of organizations like the Orang Utan Republik Foundation, the Education Initiative, Caring Clubs, YES Orangutans... and the projects and programs that they implement: Scholarships, fellowships, outreach programs, documentaries, Roadshows, websites, newsletters. Then there is the matter of keeping the programs legal, funded, and accountable. The coordination, meetings, emails, developing proposals, report writing, keeping people interested. I could go on but why? It would sound like complaining which I am not. It is part of the duty and sacrifice of doing this type of work. I stay optimistic it will pay off.

My goal is to strike a balance between this passion, my paying job (working for the State), and my family. For too long they have suffered, but now with balance, I am pacing myself better and putting family first.

The cycle begins again tomorrow...there is no time to relax. But I keep thinking about the nest in the trees.