Community Assistance

The Okapi Conservation Project continues to support ten clinics around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Healthcare workers, supported by GIC, provide valuable assistance to local residents of the Reserve. In visits to rural villages, special emphasis is provided on subjects such as the prevention of HIV-AIDS, malaria prevention and treatment, and midwife training. Emergency transportation to missionary hospitals is provided by the project motorcycle, by trucks, or by plane.

The access to clean water is the easiest and most direct way to improve the general health of the local people. Okapi Conservation Project staff continue to build and help maintain clean water sources in villages around the Reserve.

These efforts provide tangible assistance to the residents and engender a vested interest in the preservation of the forests and of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.