conservation at a chimp sanctuary Jane Goodall once called ... · Chimpanzees are social animals with strong family bonds. They live in large groups of 25 or more, and female chimpanzees

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Care for rescued chimpanzees and play a vital role in their protection and conservation at a chimp sanctuary Jane Goodall once called “the most wonderful

place on earth”.



African Impact is a multi-award winning volunteer travel organisation which runs and manages

meaningful and responsible volunteer experiences and internship programs throughout Africa.

The organisation was founded in 2004 in Zimbabwe, and since then has grown into the Africa

leaders in volunteer tourism, having facilitated over 12,000 volunteers and interns in 12 countries

across the continent.

We are proud to offer fun, safe and structured placements where volunteers understand their

contribution to responsible projects run in partnership with local communities and conservation

efforts. Our journey so far has been both inspiring and humbling and we will keep pushing the

horizons of what volunteering can achieve.

in the power of volunteering and have seen the amazing things volunteers can achieve.

in Africa and all that this inspiring continent can offer to the world.

in the passionate people who work with us and alongside us to create tangible

positive impacts and change lives.

To us, volunteering is a two-way thing. It’s not just about the hands-on help and skills that

volunteers bring; it’s also about what this amazing continent, its people and its wildlife can give

those volunteers in return. The volunteer experiences we offer in Africa are based on three key

points: 1) volunteers having an amazing time and experiencing everything Africa has to offer; 2)

volunteers learning as much as they can about local history, culture and wildlife and soaking up the

essence of the country; and 3) supporting local communities and conservation efforts through

education and hands-on help.



The chimpanzee is the animal kingdom’s closest relative to humans. In fact, chimpanzees are more

similar to man than they are to other apes, and research indicates that chimpanzees are over 99%

genetically identical to humans. Baby chimpanzees, for instance, mature at roughly the same rate

as humans, often staying close to their mothers until the age of eight.

Chimpanzees are native to Equatorial Africa, and once roamed in vast numbers across 25 countries

in West, Central and East Africa. But relentless poaching, logging, habitat destruction, and human

encroachment have reduced the wild population to less than an estimated 150 000, and they are

classified as an endangered species.

Chimpanzees are social animals with strong family bonds. They live in large groups of 25 or more,

and female chimpanzees are attentive mothers, often doting on their offspring for the first four or

five years. Chimpanzees are also efficient hunters and tool makers, and exhibit many of the same

emotions once thought exclusive to humans, such as jealousy, envy, compassion, greed, sloth,

avarice, and malice.

Hunted for meat or captured for sale to foreign zoos and animal testing labs, chimpanzees are

disappearing at a rate of 6,000 per year. The illegal hunting and subsequent sale of primate meat,

known as "bush meat", is a thriving commercial enterprise and is on the increase with the depletion

of forests.

Many of the chimpanzees at Chimfunshi have been rescued from poachers or terrible situations,

where they have been kept as a pet in a bar, dungeon or sold in local markets for bush meat/pets.

Unfortunately chimps living in the wild in Africa are at extremely high risk of being poached for

bush meat. Chimpanzee babies who survive the hunting ordeal are often sold as pets, zoo animals,

or circus performers, while some end up being used for medical research.

Chimfunshi is a safe haven for all its residents and is home to the healthiest captive chimps in the

world. There are 4 huge enclosures (2 of which are around 500 acres and the other 2 are around

250 acres), so the chimpanzees are in a very natural habitat – as close to their natural environment

as possible.



Chimfunshi started as a family-run wildlife orphanage in the north of Zambia. It was founded in

1983 when a game ranger brought a badly wounded infant chimpanzee to the cattle ranch of David

and Sheila Siddle, a British couple who had lived in the Zambian copperbelt since the 1950s. The

Siddles nursed that chimp – nicknamed "Pal" – back to health, thereby establishing a tradition of

care and respect that forms the legacy of the sanctuary. Once word of Pal’s recovery spread, the

Siddles found themselves inundated with orphaned chimpanzees.

Although many are confiscated from poachers who attempt to smuggle the infants into Zambia for

sale as pets, an equally large number are rescued from dilapidated zoos and circuses from all over

Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. With over a hundred chimpanzees, Chimfunshi is now one

of the largest chimp sanctuaries in the world.

In 2002, an Education Centre was built to provide a facility to teach the youth of Zambia about

ecology and wildlife conservation. It is also used by local and international students researching

group behaviour and ethnic studies. Volunteers often assist with conservation education to the

school groups.

The work of the Siddles and the current Chimfunshi staff has won them a steady stream of honors

and awards, including the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global 500 Award (2000), the

Audi / Terra Nova nomination (2001), a special commendation from the Nedbank / mail & Guardian

Green Trust Awards (2000), and the Jane Goodall Award (1995). In 2001, the Siddles were granted

MBEs by Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Sheila Siddle and one of her daughters, Silvia, still reside at the original orphanage location and you

will get to meet Sheila at least once and hear all about her fascinating stories of how she first

arrived in Africa as a child (overland from the UK) and how the chimpanzee sanctuary was founded

at Chimfunshi.



IN MY FAMILY TREE - A LIFE WITH CHIMPANZEES

Written by Sheila Siddle and Doug Cress (Foreword by Jane Goodall), ‘In My Family Tree – A Life with

Chimpanzees’ tells the story of how Pal would grow to become a member of the family, and the

inspiration behind the launch of the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage. We recommend that you read

this book as it elaborates on this internationally acclaimed animal refuge and includes many stories

about individual chimps and their background.

You will also get to know some of the chimpanzees mentioned in the book while you are here at the

sanctuary.

Researchers working at Chimfunshi (not permanently based there, but come every year for a few

months) are conducting a large on-going project to understand how the chimpanzee groups differ

in their social dynamics. These differences will inform us whether there is such thing as a “typical”

chimpanzee community, and if there isn’t, how differences in chimpanzee social dynamics affect

processes of social learning and cooperation.

There will be opportunities for volunteers to assist in research activities at Chimfunshi. Volunteers

may have the opportunity to contribute to the assessment of the social dynamics of the

chimpanzee groups, which could involve the distribution of food into the social group or help with

video data collection that focuses on infant chimpanzees or high-ranking males.

Volunteers will also be encouraged to take photos and gather history, character and age

information about the chimps in order to create identikits. This will also be used to create

Chimfunshi information guides, family trees and to improve the Education Centre. Photos of

butterflies, birds, reptiles, flowers etc. will be encouraged, as there are plans to turn Chimfunshi

into a nature reserve. An inventory of all the different species would be a nice addition to help

visitors enjoy their time there more.



There are several chimpanzees at Chimfunshi which are permanently in large enclosed

structures. This is usually for a reason which is beyond the management of Chimfunshi’s

control. For instance, chimpanzees such as Chiffon and Milla are experts at escaping from the

large enclosures. They have been released there on several occasions and always escape,

either by leaning dead trees against the fence or lifting the fence and escaping underneath in

vulnerable locations. They are not aggressive but it is still dangerous having fully grown

chimpanzees outside the enclosures which may pose a risk to guests, researchers or keepers.

The volunteers work hard to provide a bit of extra stimulation for these chimpanzees and this

is what we call ‘Behavioural Enrichment’. Behavioural Enrichment helps to keep the chimps

both physically and mentally active!

Behavioural Enrichment tasks volunteers will partake in may include:

Making/constructing permanent behavioural enrichment structures/toys to entertain

the chimpanzees (such as tyre swings, shaking boxes etc.)

Making temporary toys/challenges for chimpanzees (often food based) to keep the

chimpanzees occupied

Taping food to walls in difficult to reach places so that the chimpanzees must

improvise to get the food

Filling drilled holes (in logs) with porridge to replicate termite behaviour and providing

the chimpanzees with sticks to fish them out

Simply providing company to the enclosed chimpanzees helps to enrich their lives

Behavioural Enrichment is flexible and the more creative we are the better! Our ‘Escape

Artists’ are extremely intelligent and strong. You will be encouraged to come up with your own

ideas and it is recommended if you research Behavioural Enrichment techniques before your

arrival.



Chimfunshi has in the past (and still to a lesser extent today) relied on donor money to buy food

to feed the chimpanzees along with donations of expired fruit and vegetables from local grocery

stores. An adjacent piece of land was purchased in 2008 by donors with the aim of allowing

Chimfunshi to become self-sufficient and less reliant on donations by growing its own food for

the chimpanzees.

A portion of the land is now dedicated to agriculture and a farm manager, Mr. Banda, has been

employed to grow crops such as cabbage, maize, sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes and

groundnuts. The farm is always in desperate need of extra helping hands, so twice a week

volunteers will work at the farm.

Our volunteers have established a fruit tree orchard where we are growing oranges, lemons,

mangos, and guavas, which now requires maintenance and care as a priority. You will also have

the opportunity to assist with other farming duties, such as harvesting, sorting, weeding,

fertilizing, picking oranges and lemons or whatever other tasks may be required of you.

Chimfunshi attracts many visitors and school groups. We would like to assist Chimfunshi in

becoming more tourist-friendly and better equipped to provide visitors with a fulfilling and

enriching experience when they visit.

Volunteers have already completed shaded viewing shelters at the enclosures, put up

information boards and built picnic sites for visitors. Volunteers will assist with infrastructure

improvement as it is happening. This will include acting as tour guides at enclosures, staffing

the newly built gift shop and office as well as providing English lessons and tutoring to staff

and keepers who wish to improve their language and communication skills.



African Impact would like to contribute towards the sustainability and self-sufficiency of

Chimfunshi and have started a new fruit tree nursery (at the beginning of 2012). The aim is to

propagate both indigenous and exotic fruit trees. The exotic fruit trees, such as mangoes,

avocadoes, guavas will be planted in orchards and the fruits harvested can be used to feed

the chimpanzees.

Volunteers will assist with the propagating, bagging, weeding, watering and planting of fruit

tree seedlings.

Take part in fun behavioural enrichment activities and create individualized

enrichment plans for specific chimpanzees

Be a part of the day-to-day life and maintenance of one of the largest

chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world

Capture data on chimpanzee interaction, behaviours and any tools used to

support the unique research opportunity the centre provides

Play an important role in the rehabilitation of endangered chimpanzees

Experience life the ‘African’ way! Live in a rustic environment in a very rural,

beautiful setting

Play cricket, volleyball and soccer with the local children in the floodplain. It’s

also a great place to enjoy a sundowner, barbeque, and some top quality

stargazing!

Make friends for life with the international volunteers on the program and

immerse yourself in Zambian culture



Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, Ndola, Northern Zambia

Minimum 18 years – maximum decided on health of potential participant

Volunteers on this project have to be in good physical shape, as

physical work is involved on most days. Must be able to walk at least 4km.

2 - 12 weeks

The first and third Monday of each month. The project closes in

December.

You will need to fly into Simon Mwansa Kapepwe International Airport, Ndola, Zambia. There

are direct flights to Ndola from Johannesburg, South Africa (with South African Airways), and

Nairobi, Kenya (with Kenyan Airways).

Arriving volunteers will be picked up by one of our project coordinators at 13.00 on the first and

third Monday of the month. You can either arrive in the morning, or arrive the day before and

book accommodation to stay overnight. In this case, one of our drivers will pick you up from your

accommodation between 11:30 - 13.30 on the Monday.

Departing volunteers will be dropped off at Ndola airport at 11.00 on the first and third Monday of

the month. If you fly out the next day, you’ll have to book accommodation and stay overnight. Our

project coordinator will drop you off at your accommodation between 11.30 and 13.00, and you will



have to arrange an airport transfer the next day – so make sure your accommodation offers this

service. The transfer from Ndola to Chimfunshi is about 4 hours one way, up to 5 hours in the rainy

season.

Arranging your visa is your responsibility and the information we provide is to serve as a guideline

only. We advise that you confirm this information with the embassy / consulate of the country that

you will be visiting in your home country before departure.

Prior to your trip you will need to arrange medical insurance which will give you full cover for any

medical requirements which may arise during your trip, including cover for full air evacuation in the

unlikely event that this is necessary. Your medical cover also needs to include repatriation. If you do

not already have a company that you are happy to use to take out a policy with, we suggest World

Nomads or Mind the Gap Year, who offer comprehensive medical and travel insurance. Please be

sure to check your policy carefully to ensure that it does cover activities which you are likely to

participate in.

While at Chimfunshi, you will be provided with on-site dormitory style accommodation

This includes bed and bedding, toilets, showers & washing facilities. You will be sharing a

room with other volunteers depending on the number of other volunteers during your

stay.

The toilets and showers are separate from the volunteer block – (just outside). There is hot

water available in the showers in the late afternoon/evening. The toilets are long drops

(earth toilets). Facilities are cleaned daily by Chimfunshi staff.

There is electricity in the volunteer accommodation and plug points are available for

charging personal equipment (UK plugs). Please keep in mind that electricity is solar and

must be conserved for the use of all. Please do not bring high energy appliance such as

hairdryers or straighteners as these drain or blow the solar system

Internet is available for a small fee (connections can be very slow in Africa!)

http://www.worldnomads.com/

http://www.worldnomads.com/

http://www.mindthegapyear.com/



There is a laundry service available for a small fee; alternatively, you can do your own hand

washing

Please note that the accommodation and facilities are basic but clean and comfortable

Staff and volunteers at Chimfunshi work as a team and prepare all the meals together.

Volunteers are encouraged to prepare a traditional meal from their home country as a

cultural experience, so please come along with some recipes to share and enjoy.

Every day is different, so we ask that you remain flexible and open-minded to this. We encourage

volunteers to use initiative and create enrichment activity ideas for the chimps (agreed by your

Project Manager). Some days are extremely busy and exhausting, while others show you the

meaning of the phrase “African Time” and are quite relaxing.

A day in the life of a volunteer on this project may look something like this (please note that your

schedule is arranged by your Project Manager and may vary from day to day, this is just to give you

a general idea):

Help yourself to breakfast and be ready to leave at 07h30 for the day (packed lunches are

provided each day as depending on the day’s activity you may only return to the volunteer

base around 16h00)

Prepare enrichment activities at the enclosure area

Participate in behavioural enrichment activities for the chimps

Assist with food preparation for the chimps (when required)

Undertake research/observations of our chimps

Assist in cleaning enclosures, indoor rooms and storage rooms for the chimps

Lunch break (packed lunch)

Making enrichment toys; watering plants (at the fruit tree nursery); building structures to

improve existing tourist infrastructure (like information boards, picnic areas etc)

Around 16h00 – return to volunteer base (end of volunteer activities for the day). Shower,

relax, sit around the campfire and have dinner together around 19h00



Volunteers work a 5 day week, with Sundays off. On Friday, go to the nearest town (Chingola or

Kitwe) to browse the local markets or buy any snacks/curios.

Volunteers will go to the original orphanage location and meet with Sheila Siddle and enjoy a close

encounter with a 2 hour bush walk with 4 of our chimpanzees – this is definitely one of the many

highlights for volunteers. Lunch is eaten on the banks of the Kafue River, at the farm area of

Chimfunshi, followed by afternoon work on the farm, watering/weeding the orchard, assisting with

fruit picking, irrigation, planting or fertilising of the crops (as fruit is a big part of the chimps diet).

Volunteers will be introduced to the Wildlife Sanctuary and its inhabitants and receive a

comprehensive orientation upon arrival. This will include the following:

Introduction to your African Impact Project Manager and key sanctuary staff

Introduction to the project aims and objectives

Tour of the different parts of the sanctuary and the volunteer accommodation

Familiarization with all duties and activities you will be involved in

Safety information for you and the chimpanzees

Throughout your placement you will have the support and guidance of our experienced project

managers and coordinators. They are part of our greater African Impact support team, which will

provide you with competent 24-hour field support and assistance. Here is an example of a typical

weekday on the project. This serves as a guideline only and we ask that you remain flexible as

itineraries may change as needed to best serve the community.



2015 GBP EUR USD AUD

2 Weeks £ 1037 € 1348 $ 1815 $ 2022

4 Weeks £ 1595 € 2074 $ 2792 $ 3111

6 Weeks £ 2074 € 2696 $ 3629 $ 4044

8 Weeks £ 2552 € 3318 $ 4466 $ 4977

10 Weeks £ 3031 € 3940 $ 5304 $ 5910

12 Weeks £ 3509 € 4562 $ 6141 $ 6843

Project fee – It facilitates funding for items such as resources, building materials,

equipment and project supplies. It also covers operational costs such as

housing, communication, and project vehicles

Full board and lodging which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house –

please note – weekend meals are self-catered on this project

All airport transfers from Livingstone International Airport upon your arrival and

departure

All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay

Comprehensive Orientation and induction Program

24 hour assistance and support from the African Impact staff and Project

Managers throughout your placement



Transportation to Livingstone

Visa fees

Personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement – must include

cover for repatriation

All items of a personal nature, such as curios, gifts, clothing (work and other)

Email and telephone calls made during your placement

Any activities and excursions outside of your planned project itinerary

Soft drinks, wines, spirits, between meal snacks, and weekend food

During your time at Chimfunshi, you may get involved in some of the following activities in your

spare time/in the evenings. This of course depends on numbers and the demand, but we usually

do each activity about once every 2 weeks. A typical excursion could look like this:

The beautiful Kafue River runs through Chimfunshi and there are opportunities for volunteers to go

down the river on canoes. Besides being fun and relaxing, it is also a good opportunity to enjoy

some of the area’s wildlife, with many birds and the occasional otter to be seen.

This is a good way to experience Zambian culture and mingle with the local people. Muchinshi is

the nearest village to Chimfunshi and there are informal bars where volunteers can enjoy a few

drinks, try some local beers, play pool and for the more energetic, dance to Zambian music!

The staff and children at Chimfunshi often enjoy a game of football (soccer) in the afternoons

after work hours. This is great for those who enjoy a competitive game of football and for

hose who don’t there is opportunity to play and interact with the younger children and in so

doing, improve their English-speaking skills.



We often organize braais/barbecues on the floodplain out in the bush. This is a great place to

watch the sun go down, eat some good food and admire the stars after dark.

Zambia is a fantastic country to travel in and there are some incredible National Parks, like Kafue

and South Luangwa. We are very fortunate to be based right next to the Kafue River – a beautiful

yet very remote location! If you would like to travel onto Livingstone after your placement, we can

help you book flights once you are at Chimfunshi. Many travellers go to Livingstone to see the

world famous Victoria Falls – one of the 7 Natural Wonders of The World. There are lots of

adrenaline activities to do in Livingstone too – like white water rafting, bungee jumping and micro

lighting to name a few. Or you could join an overland tour from Livingstone to Cape Town or

Livingstone to Nairobi – please contact your African Impact Destination Manager if you would like

more info or to book an overland tour – a great way to end your placement.

Marnie will guide you through the whole pre-arrival procedure

for this placement and you will receive comprehensive

information throughout to ensure you are fully prepared for

your project placement with us.

Marnie is originally from Zimbabwe and spent many years living

and working in the UK, Channel Islands, South Africa and

Botswana. She loves working with people and says the buzz of

the hospitality industry is hard to beat! Before moving to Cape Town a couple of years ago, Marnie

managed several safari camps in some wonderfully wild game reserves and remote wilderness

concessions in southern Africa, and she prides herself on putting this experience to good use in her

role as Destination Manager here at African Impact.

Email Marnie on: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



We look forward to welcoming you for a unique, rewarding and unforgettable experience!

Documents

conservation at a chimp sanctuary Jane Goodall once called ... · Chimpanzees are social animals with strong family bonds. They live in large groups of 25 or more, and female chimpanzees