November 9, 2005—Jakarta, Indonesia. OUREI Ambassador Angelina Sondakh will be launching Pekan Peduli Orang Utan (PPOU) or Orangutan Caring Week in Jakarta, November 13-19, 2005.  PPOU will be OUREI’s first major event in Indonesia and will provide an opportunity for various media outlets to broadcast and print stories about the orangutan and its current plight.

 

According to OUREI Chairman Dr. Gary Shapiro, “Pekan Peduli Orang Utan has the potential of significantly raising awareness about the marvelous orangutan and its precarious status to Indonesians throughout the archipelago.”

As a member of Parliament (DPR), Ms. Sondakh will be enlisting other members of the legislature to become more aware of the endangered status of the Bornean and Sumatra apes and what can be done to slow down their decline so they can be saved from extinction. PPOU will raise the profile of the orangutan to the highest levels of government as well as to the Indonesian community at large. As a former Miss Indonesia and a celebrity in Indonesia, Ms. Sondakh has a good opportunity of gaining the attention of the public to OUREI’s mission.

A number of events are being planned including a press conference where PPOU may be announced as an official event in Indonesia.  Schools and orangutan organizations are encouraged to participate during the week by talking to people, passing out literature, and generally informing the public about the orangutan, its endangered status and how it can be conserved.

Indonesia is home to the largest population of orangutans, however, both Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are losing more the 10% of their population each year due to the effects of habitat destruction, degradation and the illegal pet trade. Orangutans are also being killed as pests when they enter plantations and farms.