According to Haley Stern, the project started simply enough. Her cousin was coming in for a visit and wanted to see the world-renowned Bronx Zoo. When they went to see the “Congo Gorilla Forest,” it was love at first site.

According to Haley:

Deep in my heart something told me that these gentle creatures needed me. One day, my parents rented “Gorillas in the Mist” for me to watch, but during the poaching scenes, I couldn’t believe that was ACTUALLY happening!? I was so terrified, my parents and I adopted “Kubana”, an infant mountain gorilla. But, I had a feeling I had more of a part to play, being an animal lover and all.

I decided to start a school club “Kids Save Apes” that would include a small group (3 to 5 members!) of close friends that would go around raising awareness. We all had our favorite types of apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, or gibbons), so we researched them and decided to put our work on a website (http://www.freewebs.com/kidssaveapes ). And boy, word spread.

It all happened so fast, but now, we have 20+ members, from all over the world. We have KSA-UK (our United Kingdom Branch), KSA-CA (Canadian Branch), KSA Tanzania (our Tanzania, Africa, branch) and we have USA members in Vermont, New York, Florida, California, and Massachusetts. So far we have raised $1000 (with credit from our partners, Ape Aware and G.O.P.G).

On May 3rd we had a fundraiser, and we hoped to raise $800 to adopt 14 apes and make a generous donation of $100 to the Great Ape Trust (http://www.iowagreatapes.org)

During the rest of the year, we will be presenting at a Roots and Shoots (http://www.rootsandshoots.org) fair, and meeting Dr. Jane Goodall PhD- a great hero in the activist world. We have also been discussing projects we can do with our Tanzanian Branch, such as tree planting in Tanzania. We also hope to fully update our website. One thing we hope to do is touch a poacher’s life, so he’ll put down his knife - even just one poacher. Our main goal is to save the apes from extinction - maybe even from being endangered.

There is often a natural affinity between children and animals. This affinity, for Haley, has meant actual change. We can only imagine the good she’ll do for the animal kingdom as she gets older.

Haley Stern and friend with Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist

If you have any positive news or comments you’d like to share, drop us a line!