Here at the MDE, the children are very conscious of the environment and want to do all they can to look after and protect it.

The children are ardent defenders of the rainforest. They raised money to plant 1500 trees in the Gabon, welcomed an icon of theirs, Francis Hallé, at the MDE 2 years ago and last year they recorded a song to spread the word about global warming. That’s why, after 1 year of preparation, they were very excited to meet another beautiful person who shares their desire to change the world.

Claudine André founded a bonobo sanctuary in Kinshasa called Lola Ya Bonobo(“Bonobo’s Paradise”) because she wanted to make a difference saving the lives of bonobos, an endangered species killed for their meat and hunted to sell as pets or entertainment. The children were moved by the plight of the bonobo when they watched Claudine’s film, Bonobos(2011) and became ever more interested in them. They already had a good knowledge of primates through their preparation for their first school outing to the Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle to see the exhibition Sur La Piste des Grands Singes, and were eager to build on it.

Their goal was to meet Claudine in person to find out more about her story and her sanctuary, but given that Claudine lives in Kinshasa and is not often in France, this could have been tricky to organise! Luckily for us, Claudine is very much involved in educating young people in the Congo and was enthusiastic at the prospect of coming to visit us! Claudine regards children as the best ambassadors for her cause, and she has inspired the children here to continue to make change.

Claudine came to La Maison de L’Enfant at 10am on the 29^th of September and told her story to a captivated audience of 3-6 year olds. She told us about her inspiration and the difficult times she lived through in Congo. The children told her of how they too want to protect the planet and shared their ideas on how to go about doing so. They wanted to know how they could help Claudine and her cause, and Claudine told them that one thing they could do is adopt a bonobo! As you can imagine, the children were very enthusiastic about this! We need to think up a way in which the children can raise funds to adopt one of ‘Claudine’s’ bonobos…watch this Space!

Thank you, Claudine!!!!!