Along with my design work, I am working toward raising support for philanthropic projects in Gabon. Most of the rural villages in the Mayumba area do not have access to clean water or adequate medical care, and many of the elementary schools are extremely run-down and do not have basics like electricity, school supplies, or toilets for their students. Teacher housing is inadequate and often results in a lack of qualified educators to provide a good education for the village children.

If you'd like to help me do something about this, there are a few options. One is to donate to the Wildlife Conservation Society's Outreach Program in Mayumba, a project I began in 2003 that continues to do good work in the area through our collaboration with local educators. One of our more long-term goals is to build a permanent eco-museum/education center in Mayumba that will serve as an interpretive center to the Park, a center for environmental education, teacher education, and a training center where young people can learn traditional arts and crafts, along with skills that can help develop ecotourism in the area.

I'd also like to establish an exchange program for the center's graduates- i.e. the top male and female graduate would receive full scholarships to a US or Canadian university with the stipulation that they return to teach one year as an intern at the Mayumba center or a village school upon completion of their degree. I'd like to further improve upon that idea by requiring the Gabonese student to have an American or Canadian counterpart accompany them for their Mayumba internship so it's a two-way exchange. Ideally this person would also be the Gabonese student's "buddy" throughout their degree program in the US, which would help him or her to have a greater chance of successfully completing the degree.

Another option is to organize a custom-designed, three to six week "voluntourism" expedition to one of the villages we work in. During the expedition, you or your group or organization can take on a project like building a sanitary latrine, installing electricity in a school, painting an educational mural, or fixing up a village teacher's home, and then, depending on seasonal migrations, go whale-watching or to see nesting leatherback turtles, go on safari, participate in adventure sports, and participate in cultural events in the villages. If you have special expertise such as carpentry, dentistry, artistic or musical talent, we can incorporate your gifts into the expedition to make it one-of-a-kind. Please contact me if you'd like to know more about organizing or fundraising for activities like these, or if you are interested in long term (6 months to 1 year) volunteerships in Mayumba.