In 2007, through one of DFGFI's community programs, a nursery school was added to the orphanage we support in Bingi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fifty-three children now attend the school and are studying French, Swahili, elementary English, basic mathematics, art, religion, and singing. They also receive school uniforms, baths, and hot lunches. The 153 primary school children at the orphanage receive clothes and meals and their school fees and supplies are provided. They were orphaned as a result of one or both of their parents dying from AIDS or because they were killed in the civil war. These children have experienced many difficulties, including an education often interrupted by civil war.

The parks where gorillas are protected are surrounded by communities of people whose poverty and poor health create threats to the animals and to the overall ecosystem shared by people and gorillas. DFGFI's community programs seek to create a healthy environment for both by working with local communities to develop new sources of income, health care, food and clean water, and to provide education about disease prevention and the significance of endangered species.