12/15/15 – After a long and exciting day of trekking, i spent time with Ildephonse Munyenyero, Manager of the ecosystem health program…who greeted me at the location of the community projects DFGFI is instituting in the areas around Volcanoes National Park.
Why is DFGFI doing projects in the community? Well…as we know, we are all in this together and there is no doubt that the local community and people – health, education, state of being will and has impacted the gorillas. Disease, destruction of the forest, poaching are just a few examples of how an uninformed, unhealthy and non-engaed community affects the well-being of the few mountain gorillas that are left.
So…as DFGFI says, they are helping people and saving gorillas – see for yourself!
First up is the Bisate Learning Center – which is a primary and secondary school that schools and educates over 900 children per year.
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the classrooms are simple, with a black chalkboard up front, and wooden desks throughout, that is the extent, except for one room (which was locked) as it’s the holidays now, houses about 10 computers for students to learn about modern technology and how to use a computer. these were donated by DFGFI.
The curriculum includes education on health/wellness and conservation so that the children are becoming familiar with how they impact their environment and the importance of the gorillas to their own livelihood.
the primary school and schoolyard are in good shape, the buildings contain no asbestos and are in relatively good condition as you can see here.
However, the secondary school still has asbestos roofs which are not fit for children or any being to be inside of. this is an open project…waiting for funding.
Then it was off to the clinic that now cares for the surrounding areas. with 6 nurses and a population of nearly 100,000, you can imagine they strain and resource constraint these women are faced with. however, this facility is a significant upgrade to what was available before – it houses separate mens and women’s wards – an HIV center, a vaccination area, a check in and consultation room, a maternity ward and very very simple if not rudimentary labor and delivery room…
Even in such conditions infant mortality rate has dropped significantly in the region. the big challenge here is that the local communities are not educated on the need to family plan. Resources here around the park are extremely limited and the region is one of the most densely populated areas in Africa! and the most dense on the mainland. therefore, family planning is critically important for local people to understand so they don’t need to move into the forest for resources and endanger the gorillas.
the clinic staff in front of “reception” holding up a big THANK YOU for the donors to DFGFI.
Then off to the the tracker housing project. There are now well over 70 trackers employed by DFGFI, who need a place to sleep, eat lunch and be near the forest. DFGFI has put up housing, a kitchen and bathroom facilities for these trackers so they can be more efficient with their time. They used to have to go home to sleep which cut out time from being in the forest with the gorillas.
you can see the mount of dirt as they are currently expanding the facility to hold the 70+ trackers, a meeting room and larger kitchen.
enjoying some well-deserved lunch!
these trackers are truly the men on the ground who know the families inside and out. they know and monitor the gorillas, and go out in the wee hours of the morning before sunrise to find where the gorillas slept last and then track the paths to find them for the day’s visitors. It’s a critically important job for a few reasons:
- the obvious – that tourists are paying to see the gorillas and that revenue keeps the park, conservation and local community engagement going (ultimately protecting the gorillas).
- the somewhat obvious – tracking, following and monitoring the gorilla behavior, health, interactions and well-being. If anything seems out of the ordinary, they contact park authorities, and the gorillas doctors. These trackers are a KEY component to the often time forensic approach to diagnosis the Gorillas Doctors must take.
- safety of the gorillas – the trackers – are also responsible for making sure they are keeping the parks safe from poachers or other threats, and will notify the authorities if snares are in place so they can be removed.
Often times, the trackers will spend 8 – 10 hours a day in the forest – tracking and monitoring gorillas. they spend 6 months with a family and then rotate which ensures a level of non complacency and objectivity. When you meet and speak with these guys, you can see they love the gorillas and have build strong relationships.
The last stop was the New maternity center – which one donor put up the funding to cover – in the neighborhood of $50k, what a gift! Now it’s up to us to get the funding for the equipment inside so that women will have proper facilities to birth and care for their newborns and receive information on family planning.
overall, i am impressed with the work that DFGFI is doing and the longterm outlook the team has on conservation. the program managers, local people who have been schooled, often times by funding from DFGFI, are passionate about their programs and efforts. the sense of pride is overwhelming, and humbling.
Learning for today: patience, and knowing/accepting good vs. perfect is key to continuing to better our world.
Goodnight from Rwanda…up again at 5AM for another trek!