18 May 2015 - Santa Monica, CA - OURF Headquarters. The Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) announced that seventeen students from the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh as well as the province of West Kalimantan will receive the 2015 Orangutan Caring Scholarships (OCS). Ceremonies to honor the students will take place in the cities of Banda Aceh (Sumatra) and Ketapang (West Borneo) in late May and early June. The scholarships are competitive, multi-year tuition awards that enable students to earn degrees in the fields of biology, forestry and veterinary science.

The programs was started by OURF and the Orangutan Information Center (OIC) in 2006 for Sumatra and later with Yayasan Palung in 2012 for West Kalimantan. These two locations were chosen as orangutans are only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. OIC and YP implement the program in country and OURF provides oversight and funding through various sources such as The Orangutan Project (Australia), Orangutan Outreach (USA) and the Animal Health Foundation (USA).

The OCS benefits both the college student and the orangutan. Students clearly benefit from the funds givien in the name of the orangutan. They conduct research about orangutans, their biology and health, and their habitat. Once they graduate, these students become advocates for the species, and many go into fields related to their degree. OURF President Gary Shapiro stated, "We hope that these scholars can contribute to the effort to preserve and protect the Sumatran orangutan populations and their habitat through their research and their academic activities."

Since the inception of the OCS, 77 scholarships have been awarded. Forty-four of those recipients have graduated. Following the ceremonies for 2015, 94 scholarships will have been given out.

OURF President Dr. Gary Shapiro will attend the first set of ceremonies in Banda Aceh in late May to co-present twelve awards with Panut Hadisiswoyo, OIC founder and 2015 Whitley Award winner. Shapiro will later fly to Ketapang to co-present five scholarships with Richard Zimmerman, president of Orangutan Outreach who has been funding the Bornean scholarships along with Yayasan Palung program leaders.

"It is hard to overestimate the importance of this scholarship for providing an opportunity to needy students and their families who will benefit by this award in the name of the orangutan" said Shapiro. "Besides receiving an opportunity to earn a degree, the student's extended family will see orangutans as a symbol of pride - not an animal to be laughed at or feared. The program also builds an important philanthropic bridge between cultures who may not fully understand or appreciate each other."

For more information, contact OURF or visit www.orangutanrepublik.org.

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