9BRi Support for Virunga National Park in DRC continues as Virunga Park Director Emmanuel de Merode is running the London Marathon 3 years after surviving an assassination attempt. 9BRi provided legal support to Virunga in its challenge to defeat oil exploitation and prevent the damage to the unique eco-system of this important World Heritage site.
Emmanuel has recovered and in honour of those rangers who lost their lives protecting Virunga Park, he has decided to run the London Marathon. Emmanuel has an ambitious fundraising target to match the level of exertion put in by him; supporters hope to raise $1 million to kickstart an endowment fund to support the widows and families of Virunga’s fallen rangers for many years to come. There is a very generous first donation from Paul Leander-Engström through his organisation, The World We Want Foundation, to match every dollar made in the marathon appeal up to $500K which gives a us a fantastic opportunity to safeguard the future of the National Park.
We would be grateful for your support to the fundraising and help in spreading the word about Virunga’s fundraising efforts by sharing the news with your networks and connections. To raise the money the message needs to go far and wide. US taxpayers can make a tax deductible donation via virunga.org. For all other countries, donations can be made via the Virgin Money Giving fundraising page. If you are a UK taxpayer, you can also maximise your donation using Gift Aid (25p will be given to every £1 you give).
And if you can share the news on social media here are some suggested templates, though your own personal voices are always the loudest within your communities:
Can you help @gorillacd raise $1 million to safeguard #Virunga for the future? Find out how you can support:
http://virunga.org/news/marathon
Help @gorillacd raise $1 million for the families of rangers who have died protecting Africa’s oldest national park:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/VirungaMarathon
In 2015, 9 Bedford Row International advised Virunga National Park to take a bribery and corruption investigation into wrongdoing allegedly connected to the activities of British company Soco International:
Image source: virunga.org and virginmoneylondonmarathon.com (©LCadd-for-virunga.org)