In the early 1970's I visited London Zoo and saw Guy the gorilla in a cage with no partner or enrichment to his life.  That moment began a lifelong concern for animals cruelly treated by man.  Guy was captured from the wild as a baby in the French Cameroon in 1947, taken first to a zoo in Paris, then transferred to London zoo at 18 months old.  He weighed only 10kg, and arrived holding a small hot water bottle.  It is difficult to imagine the loneliness and fear he must have felt at being taken from his home, his mother and his family and then moved again at such a young age.  Given that gorillas share 98% of the same DNA as we do, imagine a small child going through a similar ordeal - if you dare!!

Over a number of years I have sponsored both gorillas and elephants through W.W.F..  In the last month, to my horror I found that there are over 50 elephants held in captivity in appalling conditions in the UK, supposedly an advanced and developed country, yet we still exploit these majestic creatures and treat them so poorly.  Recently, there was  a TV programme about Moon Bears being held in cages and tortured for their bile which is drained from their gall bladders daily for Asian medicine, which again was horrific and upsetting to see.  In addition, without research, in Asia they have now decided that bear bile is a cure for the Covid-19 virus.

Almost simultaneously to seeing the programme (and I am a great believer in synchronicity), a copy of 'Coast' magazine landed on my doorstep.  An advert for Dream-Challenges trekking into the Virunga Mountains to see gorillas in their natural environment caught my attention.  The photo was of black gorillas against the deep green Bwindi  impenetrable forest, and it contrasted sharply against all the other white and blue pictures of sand, sea and sun.  A lightbulb 'destiny' moment - and time to act!!

Four years ago, I broke both ankles and was laid up for 6 months.  With hard work I got myself fit again and now I am taking on the challenge of a 6 month+ training programme to build up the muscle and endurance for this trek.  And the confidence!.  At 68 (when I do the trek) I will also be overcoming the fear of spiders and other insects and climbing mountains in both heat and humidity.  So,I have lots of hard work to do over the next 12 months.  A map of the treks I will be doing appears in my gallery.

My other photographs of caged animals show their sadness and despair along with a sense of their broken wills and feelings of helplessness.  This is my main incentive for the trek and where I am asking for your help in raising as much money as possible for the psychologically damaged and physically tortured captive animals.  I have chosen to raise funds for the Born Free Foundation who specialise in the rescue of animals in captivity.  Where possible these animals are returned to the wild, although many are so damaged that it may not be a realistic goal for them, so they are cared for in more spacious and humane sanctuaries.

The trek also includes the opportunity to do voluntary work for the 'Singing Gorilla project', which I will be undertaking, as well as donating money to them myself.  This charity helps the villages close to where the gorillas live, providing schools, education, running water, medicines and more opportunities.  This in turn will reduce gorilla poaching as local people gain better resources.

Please please help.  Any donation however small will add up so that between us we can all make a significant contribution to the help of all creatures kept inappropriately in captivity.  I cannot thank you enough for whatever donation you may wish to make. 

Donating through Just Giving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with Just Giving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.