With the aim of helping young Africans who live near wildlife reserves to enjoy a decent education The Dreike Scholarship Fund not only believes in providing funds for students to attend school, but also opportunities that encourage wider learning.
With this in mind, over the years Oli has arranged three trips for some of DSF’s Rwandan students to visit the famous mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes. Top performing students had to be over the 14 years old (the minimum age limit to visit these endangered apes) to visit; for all of them and their mentors it was the first time into the Volcanoes National Park. Despite having grown up in the shadows of these volcanoes and gorilla-tourists having been part of their daily lives, none of them had ever seen a gorilla; so you can imagine their joy and delight during these hour long visits to their wild neighbours. DSF was proud to have arranged these visits and enable some of our students to see these magnificent creatures, with whom they share their beautiful country, and who have helped promote Rwanda and bring tourists and economic benefits to their community.