Meetings in Toronto

On June 6th, we traveled to Toronto to meet with key members of the project before flying to Africa.

We visited our friend Ron Dembo, Founder and CEO of Zerofootprint (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Dembo), and his team at the Zerofootprint office, where we finally got to meet Anna Starasts, who helped us fine-tune our blog and has been so helpful in matters of coordination during the past months. We sat down with Ron to discuss the latest updates in the preparation of the project, and brainstormed on the possibility of documenting the project through contacts at National Geographic. We made contact with a professional photographer/videographer who has had front covers in the magazine, and he's very interested in the project and keen to come to Congo. We're now exploring the logistics and funding of this option and trying to make it happen. The next day, Ron kindly invited us to Zerofootprint’s weekly meeting, where we were warmly welcomed by the staff, to talk a little about our objectives in Congo and how we plan to accomplish them, as well as our success in raising funds for the project. 

We would again like to thank all those who have donated their time and/or money to the project!! Please take a few minutes to look at our Thank You section, where you will find a list of their names.

We were also very pleased to finally meet Kit Pineau, Executive Director of the Canadian Ape Alliance, who has helped us from the beginning of our endeavor.  Kit has been to Bukavu as well as Ron and shared her insights on the feel of the place and the people who live there. As far as the project goes, she gave us very valuable information, which helped us fill in the blanks we still had regarding the current situation of the Pygmy community and the most important needs we should aim to fulfill. 

Thank you Zerofootprint and Canadian Ape Alliance!