Children to children
My fairy tales featuring gorillas from Prague Zoo were written for my children years ago. Later, they reached many other Czech children in book form. In the end, however, it was in Central Africa that they celebrated their greatest success. Twenty thousand copies of Gorilla Fairy Tales – some of which were written by Tereza Šefrnová and complemented with photographs by Khalil Baalbaki – were distributed by conservationists to schools in the rainforest areas of Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic and Gabon. Most of the books found their readers, and are still serving their purpose somewhere to this day. Let me tell you that they’ve been read over and over! When I see Gorilla Fairy Tales with well-worn corners and children’s fingerprints across their pages, I feel great satisfaction.
Photo: Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
And why did we send fairy tales about gorillas to Central Africa in the first place? Well, because local children – despite living on the edge of a rainforest – don’t know gorillas at all. Or they do, but only as meat on their plate … seriously. That is why, using stories and photos in Gorilla Fairy Tales, we began to show the beauty and uniqueness of gorillas to Central Africa’s schoolchildren (but also to their teachers and parents). And we succeeded big time! Thanks to this, we were able to launch the Wandering Bus project, enabling pupils from the area of Cameroon’s Dja rainforests to visit a small zoo near the city of Yaoundé and meet real, live gorillas as well as take part in an educational programme.
But the Wandering Bus only serves hundreds of children, while Gorilla Fairy Tales reached thousands. It wasn’t just about explaining to them, through these stories, that it is necessary to protect gorillas and, indeed, the whole tropical rainforest, but more importantly, it soon turned out how important it was for African children to come across a well-designed book, rather than just school brochures. It remains true, even in the 21st century, that a book opens new horizons for children, giving them a gateway to knowledge – and knowledge is what Africa needs the most.
During my recent visits to Central Africa, I’ve been hearing questions and requests about whether we could prepare another edition of Gorilla Fairy Tales. They will now be heard – in the best possible way. Another five thousand copies of Gorilla Fairy Tales are going to be printed and shipped to Africa thanks to Czech children from the movement On Own Feet – Centipede. Thus, our children will help their peers in Central Africa not only to develop the right attitude toward their country’s nature but also to relate to books and education. Thank you, dear Centipedes! Unlike lots of adults, you are showing great generosity and wisdom.
ZOOPRAHA.CZ
Contacts
- The Prague zoological garden
U Trojskeho zamku 120/3
171 00 Praha 7
Phone.: (+420) 296 112 230 (public relations department)
e-mail: zoopraha@zoopraha.cz
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