CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021!

Happy International Women’s Day! In the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, we are taking the day to celebrate the women that have dedicated themselves to conservation and protecting the Ituri Forest. Women fill so many vital roles across the Reserve – from water collectors to farmers, healthcare workers to educators. We want to make sure they are recognized for their hard work.

International Women’s Day started as a movement to improve the working conditions for women, and has now grown to encompass equity through all forms of empowerment. Okapi Conservation Project has long been organizing and supporting five Women’s Groups around the Reserve, whose members establish their own microenterprises to help cover healthcare costs, education fees, and emergency expenses. These additional, sustainable income sources help improve their standard of living, while reducing their impact on the surrounding rainforest – home of the okapi.  To read more, click here.