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A
tough old bird’ is how Dr Jane Goodall describes
herself – and she proved it during her recent
whistle-stop visit.
Despite arriving in
SA with a fractured and dislocated shoulder,
together with a couple of cracked ribs, Jane
insisted on keeping to her hectic schedule.
She
addressed Roots & Shoots gatherings at the
Johannesburg Zoo and
Kirstenbosch
Gardens
before visiting JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden near
Nelspruit.
Jane Goodall with Sue Slotar (left), executive
director of JGI SA, and JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden’s
Nenine de Klerk, Arno
Pietersen, Jaques Viljoen and Jessica Ney.
At the Zoo, Jane talked of
her passion for youngsters all over the world to
take up the challenge of making the world a
better place. Entertainment was provided by the
Lehai Church Choir and the Kliptown Youth
Group’s gumboot group, both part of Roots &
Shoots, as well as Duduzilu and the Young
Talents.
Jane
with journalists Noor-Jehan Yoro Badat of The
Star (left) and
Sheree Béga of the Saturday Star.
Jane then flew to
Cape Town
where, during a breakfast meeting at
Kirstenbosch organised by the
Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
(WESSA), she talked
movingly about her life with the chimps in Gombe.
In
Nelspruit, Jane’s first stop was at the hospital
to have her shoulder x-rayed again.
She had been injured when
she reached for a rock while climbing a steep
trail in Gombe, prior to visiting
South Africa.
Unfortunately the
rock was not anchored, and the two tumbled
downhill until the rock landed on Jane’s chest.
When he examined her
x-rays, François Theron - physiotherapist and
good friend to the Sanctuary - pronounced Jane
the luckiest lady alive.
Although her
injuries were bad, she would not need an
operation.
He did say,
however, that she would however need
physiotherapy and must take it easy for a while.
“He obviously doesn’t know her very well!”
quipped Sue Slotar, executive director of JGI
SA, on hearing of his recommendation that Jane
slow down.
“Jane went on to talk at the morning tea
for all those who had adopted chimps during
June,” says Sue.
“Everyone was thrilled and she had photographs
taken with almost everyone there. She is
amazingly generous with her time, even when she
is far from 100% well.”
(See
http://www.janegoodall.co.za/adoptachimp.asp
for more about our Adopt-a-Chimp programme.)
Jane then left to fly to
Congo Brazzaville.
"Although we had a
terrible tragedy during the time she was here,
it was still a successful trip for Jane and she
went away happy and confident about JGI SA and
what we are doing,” says Sue.
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