Photo by
Wildlife Direct/
Mr. Aloma

Wildlife Direct, a web charity, is how elementary school kids in Colorado are donating money to save Silverback Gorillas in Congo. One girl donated “her entire piggy bank (about $30)” and next on the students’ agenda is Pickles for Primates where, you guessed it, they sell pickles to fundraise for the gorillas.

Where does the money go? $244 per month, donated by forty three second graders, pays the salary of one guard - Mr. Aloma in this case. Previously, Mr. Aloma “could barely do his job. He had not been paid for several months. His patrol post had no fuel and no vehicle to put it in. And, until last month, he faced the danger of attacks from rebels commanded by dissident Army General Laurent Nkunda, whose troops controlled much of the land surrounding the park.”

The particular national park is home to 100 of the world’s remaining 700 mountain gorillas.
“For 13 years or more, it has been a hideout for a jumble of armed militia who have wreaked havoc across the region . Since 1996, an estimated 120 rangers have been killed in the line of duty.”

You might ask whether this is really the best use of these funds given the apparently dire nature of the outlook for, well, people in the area. In fact, it does benefit the people. Aside from the boost to the morale of the rangers who are finally able to do the job they love, Mr. Aloma says “Soon Congo will become known for things other than war.”: its mountain gorillas.

“Thousands of tourists a year pay more than $400 a day or more to see mountain gorillas in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, and locals would like to have them come to war-torn Congo, too.” The Kenya-based director of Wildlife Direct considers the mountain gorillas in conjunction with the national park where they and a myriad of other species live “key to the economic relaunch of Congo.”

How far does the money go? As above, $244 covers the monthly salary of one ranger,
$15: a day’s patrol rations for five rangers
$35: a pair of boots
$45: a full uniform
$60: a dome tent

There’s more: Mr. Aloma is blogging. He answers some of the second graders’ questions (his birthday is November 19, he has three children, and for some reason, he has never held hands with a gorilla).