Archie Newton, from Bath, loves stories but finds reading extremely difficult and tiring due to his dyslexia. He has set himself a reading challenge to raise funds for the Oxfordshire-based charity Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) – inspired by his love for orangutans.
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects reading, writing, and spelling. It affects working memory and phonological processing, which makes learning to read a near-impossible task. Although Archie is 9 years old, he has the reading age of a 7 year old. Dyslexia can make attending school very disheartening – something which is true for Archie.
Felicity Lindsay, Archie’s mum, explains:
“Archie works so hard all of the time but as progress is so slow, it can be frustrating for him. By the time he was in Year 4, he had been to four different schools. We are happy that we’ve now found a school which is able to meet his needs.”
“Archie is determined to overcome this challenge. In half term, he set himself the goal of reading two tricky books, cover to cover, to raise money for the orangutans. I’m so proud of him. When he does something like this, and sees people responding so well to his videos with sponsorship or likes, it really helps to encourage him.”
Archie has been sharing his progress with friends and family through candid, light-hearted videos. Speaking about his reasons for taking on the challenge, Archie said:
“I chose this challenge because I’m dyslexic and so it’s really hard for me to read. But life is even harder for the orangutans. I love orangutans and I really don’t want them to disappear. Reading this book has been extremely tiring for me as it has loads of tricky words in it. But it has been very interesting to read. One day, I would like to read exciting books, like Harry Potter! I want to say thank you to everyone who has sponsored me – and the orangutans will thank you too!”
Rhia Docherty, Individual Giving Manager at SOS, said:
“We are thrilled that Archie has taken on this challenge and have been so impressed with his passion and determination. At SOS, we work with our frontline partners to conserve and restore rainforests in Sumatra, which are crucial for orangutans and many other species. And so every donation that Archie receives is vital to helping us protect orangutans and preserve their forest home.”
You can donate to Archie’s fundraiser here: Fundraiser by Felicity Newton : Reading for the Orangutans (gofundme.com)
About the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS)
At SOS, their mission is to protect orangutans, their forests, and their future. They support local, frontline conservation partners to engage forest-edge communities in grassroots conservation actions. Together, they protect, connect, and rewild critical orangutan habitats to enable long-term conservation of globally important rainforest landscapes.
The key to saving orangutans lies in preserving their forest home. Without this, orangutans cannot survive, and the forest would lose a key ‘gardener’ which helps maintain the health and resilience of the ecosystem. This habitat is also crucial for many unique and threatened animals, such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino, and elephant, as well as countless birds, insects, and other creatures. Therefore, by protecting orangutans, SOS also protects thousands of other species, ensuring the preservation of the entire biodiversity of the tropical rainforest.
About orangutans
Orangutans share around 96.4% of their DNA with humans. They are known by the local name orang hutan – literally ‘people of the forest’. Orangutans are highly intelligent and gentle animals. They use tools in the wild and have excellent memories, making mental maps of their forest home in order to find fruiting trees throughout the seasons. Once widespread across southern Asia, they now only survive on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
On Sumatra, orangutans face a range of constraints primarily involving restriction and fragmentation of their habitat. Farmlands, roads, and other human-made barriers can cut through natural landscapes and hamper connectivity between populations, leading to orangutans being trapped in isolated pockets of forest. Unless these fragmented habitats are protected and reconnected, there is a risk that some of these populations might disappear.
Fewer than 14,000 Sumatran orangutans and 800 Tapanuli orangutans now remain in the wild. Both species are classified as critically endangered, with the Tapanuli orangutan considered the most endangered great ape in the world.
