‘ORANGUTANS SAVED MY LIFE!’
KOBE STEELE WAS AT ROCK BOTTOM WHEN A TRIP TO BORNEO CHANGED EVERYTHING
After losing her daughter, Kristin, in a tragic bicycle accident, Kobe Steele’s grief knew no bounds. The single mum was drowning in her sorrow until a friend invited her to visit the Orangutan Foundation International on the remote Indonesian island, Borneo.
Interacting with the mellow, zen-like creatures was a much-needed salve for Kobe’s broken heart and set her on a mission to save them.
Recently, Kobe was recognised for her service to conservation and the environment, receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia for her 14-year crusade. But when people praise her work protecting the orangutans, Kobe, 62, says the animals saved her first.
“I miss my daughter every minute of every day, but knowing I’m creating a legacy in her name, I’m determined to live life for both of us.”
Kobe says she was heartbroken when daughter Kristin was crushed by a truck while cycling in Amsterdam in 2007.
“My only daughter had died at 25 and I couldn’t find a reason to continue living,” says Kobe, who hails from Bundall, near the Gold Coast. “For me, the world stopped that day. I cried myself to sleep every night for the next three years.”
After attempting to take her own life, Kobe underwent grief and counselling therapy.
Things started changing when her friend Steve, a documentary filmmaker, insisted that Kobe go to Borneo with him. Steve explained that the orangutans were going to help her heal.
Kobe, who’s an animal lover just like Kristin had been, had seen orangutans on TV and she laughed at this audacious claim.
‘I SMILED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE LOSING MY BABY’
“I told him that nothing could ever heal me and I refused to leave the house,” she says.
But Steve kept on insisting, and Kobe finally relented in the hope that going to the jungle might give her some peace and comfort.
Steve was right. The visit was life-changing for Kobe – and the orangutans as well.
As she met the orphaned and rescued primates, most between 3 and 5 years old, she fell deeply in love.
“A little girl, Krista, took me by hand. As we walked through the mud pools and puddles of water, I smiled for the first time from my heart since losing my baby,” she shares.
“There was another little boy, Faisal, who climbed up into my arms and cuddled me. When he looked into my eyes, I thought he was seeing through my soul and we made a spiritual connection. He saved my life.”
Kobe spent the next few days with the orangutans in
their playground, pushing them on their tires and swings, walking around holding hands with them, and becoming their lifelong friend.
While at first she was against the trip, soon Kobe wanted to stay forever.
After the initial visit, Kobe would return as much as she could over the next four years, and even organised eco-tours for other people to see her beloved orangutans. It was on one such tour that she met Dr Biruté Mary Galdikas, the woman who started the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI).
OFI is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of wild orangutans and their rainforest habitat.
“She told me that she was short of $250,000 in her efforts to save 7900 acres of forests where 200 wild orangutans lived,” Kobe recalls.
Wanting to repay her gratitude, Kobe vowed to help. How, she had no idea, but when she arrived home, she started Orangutan Foundation International Australia to work out what she could do. Within three months, Kobe achieved the impossible by raising the money after asking friends and friends of friends for help. The day she sent in the cheque was the day she felt whole again. “Knowing I was able to make a difference to my furry friends made me jump with joy. I felt my daughter Kristin had sent me to Borneo and given me a purpose to live. I knew I’d be spending the rest of my life dedicated to them.”
In the past eight years, her charity has raised over $3.5 million to help with the day-to-day running of the OFI. While being recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia for her conservation efforts is a huge achievement, for Kobe, the ultimate privilege is time with the animals.
“It’s an honour to be in their space,” she says.