CERCOPAN

Category: CERCOPAN helping communities in Nigeria, Cercopan, Communities, Monkeys, Nigeria | Date: Mar 30 2009 | By: cercopan

CERCOPAN has recently undertaken to build a community centre for our host community Iko Esai, thanks to the funding support from Esso (Exxonmobil). Over the last two months CERCOPAN staff and volunteers have been working very hard with the help of some contractors and local labourers to get this project off the ground. Last week we finished phase 1, the preliminaries including clearing the land, pegging the site, building a storage shed, and moulding the first hundred and fifty bags of cement into blocks for the foundation. Amazing how much work goes into constructing a building!

Completed Storage Shed

Just to mould one bag of cement into blocks requires a lot more effort than one might think! First we had to visit a number of dealers to purchase cement, sand and related tools and to bargain with truck owners to transport the goods to site (not easy when trying to stick to a budget and prices are increasing weekly). Negotiations broke down three times, dates were changed, we were even forced to carry 600 bags of cement into the volunteer house to save money when we discovered prices were about to go up and it was too early to transport them to site (if stored too long in the humid conditions at site the cement becomes hard). Then the Rhoko Manager needed to garner community support to help carry local sand, gravel and water to the site and to coordinate accommodation and transportation for the few non-local workers. This involved writing an article for the noticeboard, attending a chiefs meeting and enlisting the services of the Iko Esai town crier. Finally there was the actual hiring of block moulders and then the moulding, drying, stacking and watering of the blocks!  

Packing and transporting sand from the river

Offloading sand at site

Now that the first 4000 blocks are ready, we have begun phase 2: excavation and laying the foundation. Stay tuned for regular updates of our progress!

Stacking the moulded blocks

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Communities, community, Conservation, developing communities, endangered species, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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Category: CERCOPAN supporters saving rainforests and orphaned mon, Cercopan, Monkeys, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Mar 29 2009 | By: cercopan

Thanks once again for your donations Brigitta and Wanda, as ever they have been put to good use. Your particular donations have been directed towards helping to  rehabilitate putty nose baby “Emma”, who has been ill with internal parasites.  Since her arrival she has struggled with this problem on numerous occasions, but after keeping her in the office, giving her some serious TLC, trying different medication and feeding her up… she is finally looking healthy again!

Emma can’t get enough of her favourite food…Water melon!

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, donations, endangered species, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, saving primates, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, supporters, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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Category: Cercopan, Monkeys, Nigeria, Orphaned baby monkeys, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Mar 18 2009 | By: cercopan

As a rule, the orphan monkeys brought into our rehabilitation centre will have originated no further than 50 miles from Calabar, in the forests of Cross River State. But Bella, our latest recruit, travelled 500 miles to get here, and came in by plane! And it was our Blog that triggered booking her ticket. If you take a quick look at a map of Nigeria, you can find Calabar tucked away in the South-Eastern corner, close to the Cameroon border. In the South-Western corner you can’t miss Lagos, and then a little further West you will find Badagry, the last coastal town before the Benin border. Bella was seen being walked on a string  nearby Badagry by a keen conservationist and animal lover (Phillip) who works in the area.

Phillip saying goodbye to Bella

He made the decision to take her into his home, not yet sure how to resolve the issue of her long-term care. Recognising her as a young female Mona monkey, Phillip surfed the internet for any possibility of being able to place her into expert hands. He came across our Blog and posted a message asking if we could take her in. Regardless of the distance involved, we pride ourselves in offering sanctuary to any displaced Nigerian forest monkey. So we immediately started to make plans for her journey to Calabar.  By good fortune, our Mona expert, Sylvain, was due back into Nigeria shortly, spending a night in Lagos. So we had Bella collected from Badagry by car to coincide with the evening of his arrival. After a brief excursion to check out the curtains in the flat, Bella was settled down by Sylvain for a good night’s rest in preparation for the flight ahead. 

Bella in the flat in Lagos

Armed with a fit-to-fly vet’s certificate, and a dog travel box, Sylvain was allowed by the airline to supervise her loading onto the plane. Although a little shaken up by the one-hour plane ride, Bella arrived happily to her new home in Calabar safe and sound. She is already loving her surroundings, with the regular warm milk and variety of foods, and the interesting surroundings of her own kind.

Sylvain loading Bella onto the plane

Bella has taken very well to joining the CERCOPAN fold, already best friends with the two neighbouring Monas. Despite the short time they have been together, they are already very taken with Bella, grooming her through the mesh and cuddling next to her, sharing in the warmth of their closeness.  

It’s a happy beginning to a new way of life for Bella - La Bella Vida!

Bella making friends

Tags: africa, animal, baby monkeys, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, Conservation, endangered species, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, orphaned monkeys, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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Category: CERCOPAN helping communities in Nigeria, CERCOPAN staff fighting to save rainforest and endanger, Cercopan, Environmental education saving endangered primates, Monkeys, Nigeria, Saving endangered monkeys | Date: Mar 09 2009 | By: cercopan

Short term volunteers Sacha, Jan, Richard, Henk,
Rob, Jeanette and Ruud recently departed
Nigeria after three weeks of hard work.
The group arrived from Holland in early
February to assist CERCOPAN in a community
development initiative involving schools in
our host community, Iko Esai. The group
was well received by all and will be sorely
missed.
 
 

Men hard at work!
 
Most notable of their contributions was their work
with Iko Esai’s primary and secondary schools.
Before arriving they raised USD$1200 to be put
 towards the cost of renovating and sprucing up
the schools. In addition to their financial
contribution, they also offered their time
and effort to see the work through themselves.
 As mentioned in a previous blog entry,
part of the group painted the interior
 and exterior of Iko Esai Secondary School.
The other half of the group worked at the
Primary School, cementing the floors,
transforming the previously dirt flooring
into a more modern cement composition.
Thanks to the hard work and caring nature
of this group from Holland, a smoother path
to learning has been paved.
 
 
The completed flooring
 
Do you want to volunteer with CERCOPAN? Visit our website at 
www.cercopan.org or email info@cercopan.org
 
 
Farewell party
 

Tags: africa, animal, Cercocebus torquatus, Cercopan, Cercopithecus erythrotis, Cercopithecus mona, Cercopithecus nictitans, Cercopithecus preussi, Cercopithecus sclateri, community development, Conservation, endangered species, environmental education, mona guenon, mona monkey, monkey, Monkeys, Nigeria, Nigerian wildlife, Preuss’s guenon, Preuss’s money, primates, putty-nosed guenon, putty-nosed monkey, rainforest, rare species, Red-capped mangabey, red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, Sclater’s guenon, Sclater’s monkey, threatened species, volunteers, wildlife

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