3 Chapter 2 An Invitation

Chapter 2 An Invitation In 1956, a letter came that changed Jane Goodall's life. It was from an old school friend named Clo. Clo's family had bought a farm in Kenya, Africa. Clo wanted Jane to visit. Did Jane think twice about going? Of course not!

Traveling to Africa was expensive. Living in London was expensive, too. So Jane moved back home with her mother in Bournemouth. She saved up money for the trip by working as a waitress. Jane was a very good waitress. She could carry as many as thirteen plates balanced on her arms!

On March 13, 1957, Jane's African adventure began. She was turning twenty-three. In England, she boarded a ship that arrived in Kenya three weeks later. From the city of Mombasa, she took a train inland. It was April 3—her birthday! After a long drive on dirt roads, Jane reached the farm in time for dinner and birthday cake.

That very first day, Jane saw a giraffe. It wasn't in a cage. It was running by the side of a road. She could hardly believe it! What a terrific birthday present that was! Jane knew that she couldn't stay at the farm for more than a few weeks. She was a guest, after all. She didn't want to overstay her welcome.

What she needed was a job that would keep her in Africa. Jane was in luck. At a party, she met someone who arranged a meeting between Jane and the famous scientist Louis Leakey. He and his wife Mary were British citizens. But Kenya was their home. LOUIS LEAKEY LOUIS LEAKEY WAS BORN IN AUGUST 1903 IN KENYA. HIS PARENTS HAD BEEN BORN IN GREAT BRITAIN. THEY WENT TO AFRICA TO TEACH THE

CHRISTIAN RELIGION TO THE KIKUYU TRIBE. LOUIS'S VERY FIRST HOME WAS A TINY HUT WITH A DIRT FLOOR. THE ROOF WAS MADE OF THATCH AND LEAKED. GROWING UP, HE FELT MUCH MORE AFRICAN THAN BRITISH. HIS FRIENDS WERE ALL AFRICANS, AND WHEN HE WAS A TEENAGER, THE KIKUYU PEOPLE HONORED HIM WITH MEMBERSHIP IN THEIR TRIBE. AT THIRTEEN, LOUIS FOUND SOME STONE TOOLS MADE BY EARLY HUMANS. THIS DISCOVERY SPARKED A LIFELONG CAREER STUDYING THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN BEINGS. ALONG WITH HIS SECOND WIFE, MARY LEAKEY, HE HUNTED FOR FOSSILS OF HUMAN ANCESTORS. THE LEAKEYS WORKED IN AN AREA CALLED OLDUVAI GORGE IN TANZANIA. (AT THE TIME, THE COUNTRY WAS CALLED TANGANYIKA.) BESIDES BEING A FAMOUS FOSSIL HUNTER, LOUIS LEAKEY WORKED HARD TO PROTECT THE WILDLIFE OF AFRICA. HE ALSO HELPED THE CAREERS OF TWO YOUNG WOMEN WHO WANTED TO STUDY WILD ANIMALS IN AFRICA. ONE WAS JANE GOODALL. THE OTHER WAS DIAN FOSSEY, WHO BECAME FAMOUS FOR HER WORK WITH GORILLAS. GORILLAS IN THE MIST IS A MOVIE ABOUT DIAN FOSSEY AND HER WORK.