My name is Janet, and I'm an orangtan babysitter at the BORA rescue centre in East Borneo. I have the most special job in the world. I help orphaned baby orangutans find their way back to the wild!
And I couldn't do this important work without you. Your support helps these babies recover, find their confidence, and thrive. Because of you, every rescued infant has a second chance at life in the wild.
Today, I’d love to share with you exactly why your support is so important.
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The photo above shows me and Felix at Baby Jungle School. Rescued orphans like Felix often arrive at our BORA rescue centre scared, weak, and alone. Traumatised from being ripped from the forest, and locked away in tiny cages.
Having lost their mothers, they often express their distress through constant crying, tantrums, and an intense need to be held. There are days when they refuse to be put down at all, clinging to us as if we're their only lifeline.
Because, being taken from their mothers robs them of the love and safety they need to grow. It steals their chance to learn the skills they need to survive in the wild. And the confidence they need to be themselves.
In the wild, young orangutans stay with their mothers for eight to eleven years, learning how to forage for food, build nests, and climb high into the canopy where they belong. Navigating the wild is a learned behaviour. But for these rescued orphans, their mothers–their teachers–are gone.
They aren’t just animals; they’re individuals with personalities, fears, and the potential to rebuild their lives. As a babysitter, I get to nurture that potential–helping them grow from helpless infants into confident, wild orangutans. It’s the most meaningful work I could imagine.
And this work is made possible by you.
Young Pansy feeling confident to climb at Baby Jungle School. All thanks to you!
You might think climbing comes naturally, and easily, to an orangutan. But for rescued babies, it doesn’t. As my teammate Rara says, “climbing is an orangutan's basic behavior, but for the orphaned babies, it is totally different. They would usually stick with their mothers, hug her tightly. But when they lose their mom, they also lose their self-confidence.”
As babysitters, it’s our job to provide the love and care they need to feel safe to be themselves again.
“When the babies can climb, ignore their babysitter and explore the canopy–it really makes me proud. It means that I have helped them to rebuild confidence,” says Rara.
Just like us, orangutans feel fear, grief, and loss. But with your support, they can feel hope, safety, and joy again. You give them the time and care they need to learn, play, and discover who they are meant to be.
Thank you for giving these babies the courage to climb–and the wild future they deserve. 🫶
Program: Borneo Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA)
Location: East Borneo, Indonesia
Program Partner: BORA is a collaboration with our COP partners, and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳