Conservation in Southern Africa is rapidly becoming unsustainable without the active involvement of the community, especially the younger, more active generation.
The Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary and The Elephant Sanctuary group strongly believe that we have to get the younger members of communities involved to instill a passion for the environment and wildlife in them through education.
The Bushbabies sanctuary believe in the power of responsible education – “knowledge builds strength” – at the same time we also care about the younger generation and educating children - they are the future leaders and decision makers of tomorrow and they need to be educated about the fine balance between the eco-friendly co-existence of wildlife and human populations, conservation and at the same time about primates and their future in Africa in general.
Every year The Bushbabies and Elephant sanctuary group takes approximately 2000 school children completely free of charge or at a much reduced cost on educational programs and bring a strong conservation message to their attention. We see this is part of our contribution to create a positive future for this country and towards wildlife, conservation, eco – tourism, edu – tourism and geo – tourism.
There is no other way to make a stronger awareness as well as a long lasting memory than through the importance of community education. They will be totally fascinated by the highly associative animals, learn about their habits and behavior. The message we want children to take home is that of an educational experience where they learn and observe once captive monkeys thriving in a free-living environment. The program increases the child’s awareness regarding conservation through eco tourism. It also gives the children a broader and better understanding of monkeys and primate conservation, their dynamics and monkey anatomy. Furthermore it will improve their overall knowledge of the history and future of primates in Africa.
How to get involved?
We will need the committed assistance from individuals and companies to help us fund the continuous education of children at the Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary.
If you or your company would like to ensure the sustainability of the children educational programs, you can sponsor a child or a school to come on an educational program at the Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary.
You will get a certificate stating your sponsorship and the name of the child or the school that you sponsored.
If you have a question regarding our educational programs or would like to sponsor a school or a child, please contact Craig Saunders at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you have a question regarding volunteers working at the sanctuary, please contact Craig Saunders at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Conservation in Southern Africa is rapidly becoming unsustainable without the active involvement of the community, especially the younger, more active generation. The Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary and The Elephant Sanctuary group strongly believe that we have to get the younger members of communities involved to instill a passion for the environment and wildlife in them through education.
I'll introduce you to Joyce, for example. A young female capuchin, she was rather pampered with child-like paraphernalia; a dress and a small hat around her head. Cute, indeed. She had been with her "foster" family since only two months old, bought straight from a breeder. The couple who owned her did not have children, and so decided to substitute the missing link with a primate, albeit a bit smaller...and with sharper teeth.
