So a couple of weeks ago, my wife, Portia, went to Rwanda.
She was there for the groundbreaking ceremony
for my campus that we're building for the Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund to help protect the mountain gorillas,
and it was an incredible experience.
And I want to show you more of what
happened because it's amazing.
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
After 52 years, we are finally about to build a permanent home
for gorilla conservation in Rwanda.
I have had the privilege of working with the Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund for the last 17 years.
Rwanda feels like a second home to me,
and the people I work with are my family.
We did it!
So here's the road.
This is the education center where
we'll have classrooms, a library, and a computer lab.
In the Ellen DeGeneres campus, we
are creating something for Rwanda that is incredible.
It's beautiful, significant, and a sign of our commitment
to Rwanda and its people.
[MUSIC - ED SHEERAN, "CASTLE ON THE HILL"]
We are going to see a family called Muhoza.
It's a new family.
This family was formed in 2015.
From here, like 40 minutes.
Is it concerning that I'm tired already?
Three babies are in this family, and two mamas are pregnant.
(SINGING) I was younger then.
Take me back to when I--
So they are still taking their breakfast.
Like fifteen feet away from us.
This whole thing came about because I thought,
what on earth do you give the woman who has everything?
So I thought, the best gift that I
could give her was a way to connect her past to her future.
As a little girl, seeing that brave woman,
a scientist who left her comfortable life
to set up a tent in the Rwandan forest
to save a species on the brink of extinction,
was transformative for Ellen.
It made her see the world differently,
and it made her see her place within it differently.
I gave this gift to Ellen because we both love
and wanted to protect gorillas.
After coming here, however, we fell in love
with the country and its people.
This is the tracker's house.
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
These are the guys who actually do the work.
They're here every day tracking gorillas.
So this campus isn't for me or for Ellen.
It's for the people of Rwanda.
It is my hope that the campus will serve as a catalyst
to encourage us to dream bigger, to know that we too can make
an impact, and that all of us can become trailblazers just
like Ellen and Dian.
(SINGING) Over the castle on the hill.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
You guys are so sweet.
Thank you.
[CROWD CHEERING]
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I am so proud of this project, and I'm proud of my wife.
And I can't wait to get back there.
I was so jealous that she went, but I had to work.
But Rwanda, I hope you get a chance to go to that country.
The people are amazing.
It's a beautiful experience to witness those gorillas so close
up, so.
Especially once my campus is built, I hope everybody comes.
We'll be right back.