We at OFICanada are constantly inspired by and grateful for all you amazing people who show your care for orangutans and their rainforest homes. Especially now as we all live increasingly isolated lives, even further from that of the orangutans, a half a world away.
We wanted to share a message from one particular person who has inspired us very recently, in the hopes that you may also find some hope for the future from the youth of today:
Hi, I’m Dominic, an 11 year old from Edmonton, AB, and I wanted to tell you about how I found out about orangutans, and what I have done to help. When I was six, I was really into primates and sloths, and eventually, I found out about orangutans and the challenges they face for survival. I used to watch videos on youtube from the sanctuaries, and really enjoyed them. I was homeschooling at that time so I did a research project on orangutans and found that they were endangered. I didn’t understand the full extent of what was happening to orangutans, but I had figured out that orangutans were good, and palm oil and extinction were bad. I decided to present the poster I had made on orangutans to people I knew and I also presented at my local library.
I asked for two dollars from every person I presented to and often got more. In the end, I raised almost $300 for orangutans. I also started asking for donations to places like WWF, and World Land Trust for Christmas and birthday gifts and stopped eating palm oil. Today, I am in the process of making another presentation on google slides that I am planning to present to my grade 7 class, and other classes in my past elementary school. I am also selling metal art, that I weld, to earn enough money to go to Borneo and volunteer with the orangutans when I am older. I hope that anyone reading this feels inspired to make a difference no matter their age.
Thank you Dominic from OFICanada and all the orangutans. Keep up the great work!