Prince Emmanuel de Merode and Anthony Caere to receive prestigious award
The Belgian pilot Anthony Caere, who took part in the awe-inspiring VRT programme 'Flying Doctors', has won the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Award, together with Belgian Prince Emmanuel de Merode. Both men have received the award for their outstanding work in, in Eastern Congo, where they are protecting mountain gorillas threatened with extinction. The Albert Schweitzer Award will be officially presented on the 22nd October in the Beverly Hilton hotel in California.
Both Prince Emmanuel de Merode and Anthony Caere will receive the prestigious award from the ‘Last Chance for Animals’ (LCA) foundation, for their risky work in the Eastern Congo National Park. The park is under constant threat by poachers and armed militias. In the space of 10 years, more than 150 rangers have been killed during the course of their work. The LCA fundraising evening is therefore devoted entirely to the Virunga Park and the protection of mountain gorillas.
As a biological anthropologist, Prince Emmanuel de Merode has always been fascinated by the fauna and flora of Africa. The Congolese government appointed him as director of the Virunga National Park in 2008, making him the only non-Congolese who can exercise judicial power in the Congo. Since his appointment, the population of mountain gorillas in Virunga Park has steadily increased.
Anthony Caere has been a pilot for many years with Doctors Without Borders. For the Flying Doctors television programme, which was supported by the Belgian Development Cooperation, the Belgian pilot had to transport a number of young doctors to Virunga Park. His presence facilitated the rangers' work to such an extent that he was promptly appointed as the head of Virunga's Air Wing. Anthony Caere patrols above the park on a daily basis to support the rangers on the ground.