OCTOBER 11, 2005 Wildlife Week Celebration

Signature tune

Presenter: Hello listeners and welcome to another edition, Youth Corner from Voice of Youth Radio and the station you are listening to. In the programme today, Sierra Leone celebrates Wildlife Week and the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary celebrates its tenth anniversary. With these and more, I am your host Mohamed Musa Sesay, please stay tuned.

Signature tune

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): During the colonial period, Sierra Leone was one of the countries with lots of animals. This is not the case now as most of these animals are killed for food and their home, which is the forest, cleared leaving Sierra Leone to boast of few of these animals. For ten years now, an NGO known as the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary at Regent Village in the Mountain District decided to keep chimpanzees and, later on, to send them into the wild. To know more about that, our reporter Christiana Lappia visited the Sanctuary at Regent Village and spoke with the Supervisor Willie Tucker.

Christiana Lappia (VoY): Mr. Tucker, I can see lots of chimps, how do you cope with taking care of them?

Willie Tucker: Actually, we try to collect them from people and then bring them here, after which they will be sent into the wild again.

Christiana Lappia (VoY): These buildings are laboratories, are they for the chimps?

Willie Tucker: Yes, we used these laboratories to medically check the chimps to know whether they are healthy and of any disease which are, like human beings, transferable. According to scientists they are 98.6% similar to that of human beings therefore, they go through quantum procedures for three months before we allow them to live with the rest. Again, we treat them for diseases like polio and tetanus.

Christiana Lappia (VoY): What are the chimps eating here as they are not in the wild?

Willie Tucker: They do eat lots of food and fruits. We don't normally give them sweets or cornflakes because they have to go back into the wild.

Christiana Lappia (VoY): What is their number at the moment?

Willie Tucker: We have about eighty chimpanzees in the sanctuary.

Christiana Lappia (VoY): How many times are they fed?

Willie Tucker: They are fed four times a day. For those little chimps we continue to give them milk, as they are young.

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): That was the supervisor of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Willie Tucker. October 6th 2005 was the tenth anniversary of the sanctuary. Our reporter Salifu Koroma spoke with the Director of the Sanctuary, Bala Amarasakaran, and first asked him about the anniversary celebration.

Bala Amarasakaran: The anniversary was wonderful as the President and some Ministers were there to acknowledge our work.

Salifu Koroma (VoY): What brought about the formation of the Sanctuary?

Bala Amarasakaran: We thought it necessary to create this sanctuary as chimps are the closest relation to mankind and they should be preserved.

Salifu Koroma (VoY): What are some of the problems faced in running this sanctuary?

Bala Amarasakaran: One of the problems is that people claim the forest around the sanctuary, and even the foresters have complained that the land belongs to some people.

Salifu Koroma (VoY): How will this sanctuary benefit the people?

Bala Amarasakaran: There are lots of benefits in the area of employment and lots of economic help.

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): The project Director Bala Amarasakaran. You are listening to Youth Corner from Voice of Youth Radio. In the programme today, the supervisor of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary talked about ways to preserve the chimps and the director of the project identified some benefits from the sanctuary. Yet to come is the celebration of wildlife week. Let us take a short music break and enjoy the music of Daddy Saj titled "Congratulation."

(Music break)

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): That was "Congratulation" done for us by Daddy Saj. Indeed congratulations to Sierra Leone for the preservation of animals and birds in the country. Wildlife Conservation is a campaign that has been on for so long, to know more about it this week, Ramata Fofanah (VoY) spoke to the Executive Director of the Conservation Society in Sierra Leone, Daniel Saffa, on the purpose of celebrating animal week.

Daniel Saffa: This is a means of sensitizing everybody about the animals and birds in the country.

Ramata Fofanah (VoY): What are the plans for celebration?

Daniel Saffa: We will organize a match pass for students, radio programmes and a tour of the forests in search of birds.

Ramata Fofanah (VoY): How are animals preserved in the country?

Daniel Saffa: There are losts of ways. But first, we should have love for our country, by that you will not kill the animals. We should also protect our source of water by not felling the trees.

Ramata Fofanah (VoY): That was the Executive Director of the Conservation Society Sierra Leone, Daniel Saffa. Isatu Conteh is a young lady that supports the harboring of chimps as pets, our reporter Alarini Bah spoke to her.

Alarini Bah (VoY): Do you think that having chimps as pets is nice?

Isatu Conteh: Yes, it is nice having them as pets.

Alarini Bah (VoY): Don't you think they are harmful pets as they are wild animals?

Isatu Conteh: I have never thought of that but I personally will have a monkey as pet.

Alarini Bah (VoY): There is a well-built sanctuary for these animals, don't you think that is the right place for them?

Isatu Conteh: I guess so. That will be nice.

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): That was Isatu Conteh and our reporter Alarini Bah. Listeners, it is now time for our educative skit, which is all about wild animals as pets.

Skit:
Man: Yabome, give me my weapon I want to go hunting.

Woman (Yabome): Ok my husband. Here is it.

Man: Oh! God please help me to kill lots of animals, In fact, let me go and call my friend.

Friend - Sandy: I have been waiting for you.

Man: I was doing some work, let's go.

Woman: Please Father God help my husband today.

Man: Yabome! Yabome! Come out I killed a chimpanzee and three monkeys. Let us celebrate.

Woman (Yabome): Thank you my husband.

Voice 1: This chimp is getting out of hand. You... (hitting the chimp)

(chimp screaming)

Voice 2: Why are you beating the chimp?

Voice 1: It is an animal, you don't want me to beat him? This chimp is disturbing me, I will kill him today.

Voice 2: Please don't do that, that's an animal, he needs care.

Voice 1: You are right but not in my house. An animal is not treated kindly.

Voice 2: You are wrong my dear, an animal should not be treated like this. There is a special place for them at Regent Village. It is called the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. So I will advise you take him there if you think he is disturbing you.

Voice 1: If you want to do that, please do it as fast as you can because I don't want to see him here again.

Voice 2: Ok, I will send them to you.

Friend - Sandy: Today it seems as if luck is not on our side

Man: You are right, let's go home to our wives.

Woman: Oh! God my husband is still not here. Ah! Here he comes, welcome my husband.

Man: Get out of my sight, do you think everyday must be celebrated as Christmas? There is nothing today.

Warning Voice: As you have heard, killing these animals is not good. To you felling down the trees, you have to stop or else we will experience natural disasters like heavy rain, erosion and landslides. Please don't have wild animals as pets they might be dangerous. Help protect and preserve the animals in Sierra Leone.

Mohamed Musa Sesay (VoY): On that note we say goodbye on today's Edition of Youth Corner, which came to you from Voice of Youth Radio and the station you are listening to. Thanks to my producer Christiana Lappia and to the entire Voice of Youth team. I am Mohamed Musa Sesay saying goodbye.


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