Opened in 2006 by founder and director Eugene Cussons, in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), its purpose is to provide a permanent and safe home for chimpanzees who are rescued from abusive and unfortunate circumstances from areas where these great apes are being constantly exploited by humans through the bushmeat trade, pet trade and entertainment industries.
Unemployment and urbanization throughout Central Africa have exacerbated the problem further by turning cities like the urban sprawl of Kinshasa into the prime market for bushmeat.