It is with great sadness that the Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) and the Kokolopori Falls Church Sister City Partnership report the passing of one of our most promising and dedicated young colleagues, Veronique Lilima Lokasola. Veronique served as the conservatrice at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, working with the local managing organization, Vie Sauvage. We are heartbroken about the tragic loss of this wonderful young woman to gastrointestinal ulcers.  She developed internal bleeding while traveling between Kokolopori and Kisangani and went into a coma before she could receive proper treatment.

Because Veronique recognized the value of an education for the future of her community and her beloved forests, we would like to announce the creation of the Veronique Lilima Lokasola Scholarship Fund to support the education of talented Congolese students with a desire to study conservation biology, health science or rural sciences at the college or university level. Students from Kokolopori or Djolu are eligible for the scholarship.

Veronique was a passionate and gifted conservationist who showed unrivaled leadership, kept smiling, and instilled hope and courage in her colleagues. She was also a superb role model, especially for women in Kokolopori.

Veronique was one of 13 children, born in 1979 and raised in Djolu, near Kokolopori.  Since childhood, she had shown a deep interest in wildlife.  BCI and Conservation International supported Veronique’s post-secondary education at the Tayna College of Conservation Biology (TCCB) at the Tayna Gorilla Reserve in eastern DR Congo, where she was a talented student and graduated at the top of her class.  She was inspired by Dian Fossey’s work, which she learned about at TCCB. 

Veronique’s restless curiosity led her to travel widely in the DR Congo. She also volunteered for three years as a public relations officer for Vie Sauvage in Kinshasa, the capital of the country, and after her college education at TCCB was employed for two years, until the time of her death, as conservatrice in Kokolopori. One of Veronique’s achievements as conservatrice was to convince people in Kokolopori to extend the reserve boundaries to include some valuable ecosystems not originally part of the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve, which significantly increased its size. She possessed an astute mind, a big heart, and the patience necessary for successful conservation in a remote area. 

We had planned to bring Veronique to Falls Church City, Virginia, Kokolopori’s sister city, in the winter of 2008 as the second person to take part of an ongoing citizen exchange program. Through the new scholarship fund, we hope that Veronique’s spirit will live on to inspire other Congolese community leaders. To donate, please go to our Global Giving webpage and make a gift to the scholarship fund in honor of Veronique.



Kokolopori - Falls Church Sister City Partnership
New scholarship fund to honor an exemplary female conservationist
"Veronique and friends",  Photo © I. Schulze
Sally Coxe of BCI and Veronique in the rainforest near Kokolopori,  Photo © Bonobo Conservation Initiative
Veronique being initiated as "cadette bonobo" in a playful ceremony in January 2008.   Photo © I. Schulze
Help us invest in the future of Djolu Technical College!  This small technical college near Kokolopori is the only opportunity most young people in the region have to obtain a college education.  Its goal is to provide higher education for bright, motivated young people, including women, to support sustainable development and conservation of local communities’ traditional forest lands and wildlife. 

Established in 2003 by Vie Sauvage, our Kokolopori-based partner organization, with funding from the Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI), Djolu Technical College is the only institute of higher education in 40,000 square miles – an area half the size of New England. 

To donate, click Global Giving. You can designate your gift for the scholarship fund in honor of Veronique Lokasola, or make it for textbooks, faculty salaries or an internet connection.

To designate your donation for the scholarship fund, choose the option for making a gift in honor of someone and send an e-card notifying Albert Lokasola, Veronique’s brother, at viesauvage@yahoo.fr.

Colleges and universities in Africa are essential for the development of their countries, preparing the continent’s next generation of scientists, technologists and leaders, and enhancing opportunities for African women.  Without international support, bright young people in Kokolopori and Djolu will lose this chance to fulfill their potential and help build the future of their country. 

If we obtain 75 donations of $10 or more by November 20 through Global Giving, we win a permanent spot on this popular fundraising website and can post future projects to benefit Kokolopori and Djolu Technical College.
 

Global Giving Challenge:

Invest in the Education of the Future Stewards of the Congo Rainforest
To watch a short interview with Veronique and a recent graduate of Djolu Technical College, Sebastian Botsuna, in which they discuss the importance of conservation in Kokolopori and their hopes for the future,  click here!
Click here to read about the 2008 accomplishments of the Kokolopori-Falls Church Sister City Partnership!
Highlights include:
  • Making 10 presentations about Kokolopori to local community groups
  • Lending start-up funds to nine micro-enterprise cooperatives
  • Paying the doctor's salary, hiring a nurse and sending medicines for the clinic
  • Completing a survey on childhood malnutrition and analyzing the causes
  • Winning a permanent spot on the Global Giving Foundation website
  • Launching a college scholarship fund and supporting the nearest college in Djolu
  • Involving our community through a benefit reception at The Atrium
  • Involving our students through an art contest, fundraisers, and a TJ bulletin board.

Announcing the official establishment of the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve!
This community managed rainforest reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo harbors one of the largest known wild populations of the endangered bonobo ape.  Official recognition of the Kokolopori Reserve establishes national level legal protection for the traditional lands belonging to Falls Church City's sister city.  Click here to read more.

KFCSCP Receives Congolese Award July 4th!
On the Fourth of July, representatives of the Kokolopori-Falls Church Sister City Partnership were presented with an award by the Congolese Community of the Greater Washington D.C. Metro Area.  Called the “Honorary Nkoyi Merit Award,” it recognized the sister city partnership’s “outstanding achievements in community development and nature conservation.” The awards ceremony took place during the Congolese Independence Day Celebration in honor of the 49th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence from Belgium.  The Congo's Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Faida Mitifu, gave the keynote address to an assembly of approximately 300 Congolese-Americans and expatriates living in the Washington area.