Up until now ILP's main charity was Orangutan Land Trust, and we will stay committed to the charity and their principles. In creating a new charity however, we are widening the spectrum with a focus to education.
Update
As of June 2012
we own a community bank account with Barclays bank and we are in
process of applying for a HMRC tax number which will identify us as a
small charity and will allow the collection of Gift Aid. Once the tax
number is received we will register with BT-MyDonate so that supporters
will be able to sponsor us directly or create their own fundraising
pages for the benefit of ILP-Foundation.The stationery and forms are in place, the domains ilp-foundation.com, ilp-foundation.co.uk, and ilp-foundation are bought and we are now looking into building the website.
Why Orangutans and Rain forest?
I have seen an Orangutan mum with baby in the wild and it was humbling, but for so many others life is sad beyond belief, and it should not be that way! But this is an individual, empathetic point of view. I heard voices, saying: but species are dying out since beginning of time, and what is the point of fussing about this one so much – there are kids dying in Africa. Yes, they are, and it is bad! The Orangutan however is very different from any other species: “They are Us!” If they go... we may well be next. They rely on the same ecosystems like we do, and we rely on those as much as they do... we - as a species - just don't understand that yet. In all this mess we caused we even got lucky: They are adorable, and thus they make people listen who wouldn’t otherwise. Unfortunately mankind needs incentives and ambassadors. They may even become OUR saviours, if we let them!
So, in our first project we are on our way to join forces with Orangutan Land Trust and RAW wildlife encounters to build a strong triangle of land and species preservation, and enhancing local business and education.
Why Education?
Charity work has its dangers when it is done with a 'know-it-all' attitude. It is easy to throw money into projects and to make things locally better for a while until the money dries out and things go back to square one. ILP would like to adopt the Confucian saying: 'Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.' Our new charity will give seed money to education projects which enable sustainable lifestyles in areas which matter for conservation. Additionally we will help projects which have funding gaps.
ILP Foundation
We are only at the beginnings of creating the non-profit organisation called ILP-Foundation. A lot of paperwork is to be filled in and a lot to be considered to make it proper. We have one project which we support right now: 'The Tangkahan Education centre'. In April I went back to visit this young project and it is now decided that the school which initially was just a voluntary teacher and children on a beach will become a proper project. A MOU will be signed this July to tie the 'Tangkahan Education Centre' into the eco-tourism project of the area. In December I will go back to develop a concept and to build my Tangkahan team.So, in our first project we are on our way to join forces with Orangutan Land Trust and RAW wildlife encounters to build a strong triangle of land and species preservation, and enhancing local business and education.
Posts
