Kiama businesswoman Fiona Kennedy is campaigning for change when it comes to the plight of endangered orangutans.

The Race to Save The Rainforest fundraising event will be held at Kiama Surf Club on Sunday, 16 November to raise funds for orangutans in Borneo.

The Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) was founded by Kobe Steele and Dr Birute Galdikas, who is one of Professor Louis Leakey’s renowned ‘Trimates’ alongside philanthropic pioneers Diane Fossey and the recently deceased Jane Goodall.

“They’re only in Borneo, nowhere else. And they are divine. This organisation is all about rescuing them and getting them back in the wild,” said Kennedy, who was the OFI’s first sponsor.

Kennedy was born in Ipoh in Malaysia and witnessed first-hand the devastating impacts of deforestation, which continues to be a major threat to the livelihood of the primates.

The extraction of palm oil rids uproots these animals from their homes and often leaves them motherless in the aftermath.

“They’re damaged mentally and physically, they’re traumatised. Plus their immune systems are terrible.

“And if you don’t know how to look after them or teach them to go back into the wild, they don’t,” said Kennedy, recalling an instance where an orangutan was running around the city in a nappy.

Kennedy returned to the Borneo jungle in April with her husband Lance Carr and beekeeper Rachel Peedom, of Bee Inspired.

The trio spent two days at the OFI Care Centre, where Kennedy was reunited with five of her sponsored orangutans.

She likens the behaviour of the endangered species to young humans: energetic, cuddly and endlessly entertaining.

The solution to getting these vulnerable primates out of their cages is a ha-ha structure, which is a costly enclosure where one male is placed among three females on contraceptives to help them acclimatise to the dynamics of living in the wild.

The night’s proceeds will go toward building these enclosures and purchasing portions of the rainforest to prevent the continued destruction of their natural habitats.

The 16 November event will be held upstairs at Kiama Surf Club from 3pm-5pm. For $75, attendees can enjoy silent auctions, raffle prizes, cocktails, music and good food.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1449096 and donations can be made to the OFI at https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/donate/.