Tshiaberimu

Category: Communities, Gorillas, Rangers, Research, Tourism, Tshiaberimu, Virunga National Park | Date: Sep 16 2009 | By: tshiaberimu

 Hi,This is Tuver

On behalf of Mount Tshiaberimu guards ,ICCN staff in this sector of Virunga national Park and Gorilla Organization Staff,i thank’s all off you for all donations we gate via wildlifedirect.

We are happy to continue our work and protecting this gorilla habitat whith your support.

Thank’s and we still need your help and more support.

Tuver Wundi

The Gorilla Organization Communications Manager

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Category: Communities, Gorillas, Tshiaberimu, Virunga National Park | Date: Sep 16 2009 | By: tshiaberimu

Hi,This is Vhosi

Tsangyamuyi is a farmer from Burusi village close to Mount

Tshiaberimu in eastern Congo DR. She has benefited for over three years from the Gorilla Organization-funded programme which shows locals how to grow their own vegetables and trains them in sustainable and pig farming.

As a widow and a mother of five, courageous Tsangyamuyi has benefited from the Gorilla Organization’s livestock distribution scheme. She was given a pig which gave birth to eleven healthy piglets. Villagers now recognise her as a dedicated and experienced farmer within the Burusi village.

Not only does Tsangyamuyi have plans to buy iron roofing sheets to improve her home, but she can now pay for school education for all her five children, where as before she only could pay for two. Some of the pigs will be sold to buy seeds to grow more vegetables and she will use the remaining pigs’ manure to fertilize the crops, a farming technique she was taught as part of the programme.

Tsangyamuyi’s success is a clear testament to the large amount of work the Gorilla Organization has undertaken and the success they have achieved in maintaining the protection of the gorillas from human encroachment and to alleviate poverty in the local communities.

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Category: Communities, Research, Tshiaberimu | Date: Sep 03 2009 | By: tshiaberimu

Hi,this is Vhosi

The war in DR Congo may be over, but the impact will be felt for generations. Years of turmoil have stretched things beyond their limits.

I have recently been spending time in Ngitse, a village close to Mount Tshiabirimu, where there is a high rate of widows and young unmarried women who have many children.

Many of the young women were raped or sexually abused by soldiers or militiamen, then they got pregnant and had children from unknown fathers. We have found out that, around Mount Tshiabirmu, over 500 young women were raped or were sexually abused as a result of the war. As a result, more than 1500 children were born. This information is from only three out of the eleven villages surrounding Mount Tshiabirimu, so the real figure is likely to be much higher. 96% of these young women are illiterate, while 82% of their children are not going to school. According to the local health centre the rate of those that tested HIV positive is five per cent (figures are from 2006).

In our research, 95% of the sexually abused young women are in charge of their mothers who are widows. I met one widow in Ngitse village called Irena who is caring for nine children, among them five orphans.

In this small area, little squares of farmland cover the steep slopes of the hills which provide living to thousands of local farmers. 30% of local people are landless and almost 80% of them are in land conflicts. Such situations may create conflicts between local people and the gorillas’ habitat forcing people to do things that will help them to survive for the present, even though they know they are creating problems for the future.

The impact of the war in DRC is still being felt here. The important thing is to remind the world of what happened, and to never let it occur again.

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Category: Communities, Gorillas, Tshiaberimu | Date: Jun 26 2009 | By: tshiaberimu

Hi this is Vhosi, Social Assistant at Mount Tshiabirimu for the Gorilla Organization.

During the first week of June, we observed an ‘Environment Week’, packed full of activities including tree-planting, conferences, film screenings, the airing of broadcasts, drama, and talks with students. The focus was both combating climate change, and promoting the Year of Gorilla 2009.  With the active participation of 72 children from Tuvuke and Buswagha primary schools, in addition to 42 members of SAGoT (Solidarité des Amis des Gorilles de Tshiabirimu) in the villages of Burusi and Buswagha, we planted 1,080 trees as a gesture towards combating climate change. We also distributed 20,087 trees to 80 members of SAGoT, which are to be planted around the gorillas’ habitat.

Children from Burusi

The city of Butembo is 60km from Mt T, and its inhabitants consume around 30,000kg of charcoal weekly. Here, we organised a 6km walk at which 120 children from Katsya Primary School carried tree seedlings through the main street of Butembo. Other participants on the walk were The Urban Environment Conservation Authority, members of the ANR (Appui au Reboisement National) and the ACEKAVU (Association des Consommateurs de l’Eau de Katwa et Vuthetse).  The walk ended at the Mayor’s office in Butembo. The Mayor of Butembo welcomed the walkers and congratulated the initiative. He said, “Motor vehicles dominate our economy too greatly. And they, along with the felling of trees have a tremendous impact on the environment. Caring for the natural environment, for example by planting trees, is very positive. This is especially the case when children are involved in the activities, as we need to invest in the future for the  benefit of future generations.” He then led us to the area where we were to plant 1,700 trees (donated by ACEKAVU and ANR) with the help of the UN and police urban officers. The tree-planting took us five hours.

We involved local authorities because transforming hard-set attitudes requires a concerted campaign that is backed by Government and led by NGOs. And effective community groups must act as a catalyst to others. Such education not only increases knowledge, but also improves awareness of the value of trees as an integral part of the natural environment and as an important element of our cultural heritage. This awareness can then be passed on by the students to other sections of the community. The passing on of knowledge from people who have received education to others is an important part of education campaigns. Therefore, we invited three speakers to speak at a conference, with an audience of more than 250 students from four local universities in Butembo City.

In his speech on ‘Climate change - causes, consequences and salvation’,  Professor Vyakuno of the Université Catholique du Graben said, “The forest lights up our life. We are dependent on its bounty for our health, happiness and progress. Deprived of it, we suffer. Deprived of it, we are in darkness. So let us keep the light burning by keeping our forests ever green. The forest is life itself, and our life too. Therefore, we need to plant trees wherever forests have been destroyed”. Then, he congratulated the Gorilla Organization on having led the children and others in the tree-planting effort and for organising the conference.  Dr Mundama, in his speech on the carbon process, invited students to participate in conserving the Earth’s resources. He warned that damage to the vitality and diversity of nature, along with a rapidly increasing population and  the demand for resources are intimately related to poverty and a sub-standard quality of life that affects everybody. He added that we need to be aware of these problems and to identify actions to stabilise population growth and moderate consumption.

Finally, Jean Claude Kyungu informed the students about the illegal fisheries on the west shores of Lake Edouard. He warned that this illegal fishing not only affects the biodiversity of Lake Edouard, but also the economy of local communities and so the vitality of other ecosystems such as Mt T.   We then screened an exciting film about the Great Apes to the attendees.

Two days later, I took two students from Butembo on an education campaign in Masereka Village. There, they were able to pass on  in the local language those messages that they had learnt from the conference in Butembo to more than 500 villagers. The celebration of Environment Day was bright and colourful, with traditional dances and drama being enjoyed by all.  Esdras Kisonia, one of the two students who took part in this education campaign, has dedicated two poems to nature conservation - one regarding the preservation of gorillas and the other regarding the importance of tree planting to combating climate change.

Kyondo, 9th June 2009

Vhosi Jean de Dieu.

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Category: Communities | Date: May 02 2009 | By: tshiaberimu

Hi this is Tuver

Jean Claude has informed me that the population of Kisoni village, on the outskirts of Mount Tshiaberimu, recently handed-over a blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) to ICCN rangers after she ventured out of the forest and was held captive by individuals in the village.

The ranger Kataps, while walking in the region, noticed the monkey, which was being taunted by local boys. Soon after local villagers called ICCN to help them release the captive monkey. Rangers were very happy to witness such good relations between the park and people, enabling them to help the captured monkey in the village of Kisoni.

On this picture Kataps and I at Mont Tshiaberimu

The health of the monkey was then monitored in Burusi (the entry point to the forest of Mount Tshiaberimu) and she was soon after released to join other blue monkeys, and is now starting to settle back in to the wild.

This act of collaboration between population and park has really pleased the authorities of the ICCN, the Director Norbert Mushenzi, expressed particular appreciation of the gesture by the community, especially following recent unfortunate events.

In my opinion these acts show the great ways communities have collaborated with the Gorilla Organization, in partnership with ICCN, since 1996 to help protect this part of the Virunga National Park, and offers great promise for the future.

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Category: Communities, Gorillas, Tshiaberimu, Uncategorized, Virunga National Park | Date: Oct 29 2008 | By: tshiaberimu

Hello, this is Jean Claude. Sorry for the delay in my post, last week I was in Kampala, Uganda for the Gorilla Organization’s annual strategy meeting.

I have some sad news. On Thursday October 23 2008, Mwami Kalemire II, head of the chiefdom of Bashu, departed this world after a month in hospital.

Mwami Kalemire was a valiant fighter for ICCN, he was a man of value, peace and reconciliation. Mwami Kalemire, Grand Chief of Nande, was also the leader who controls Mount Tshiaberimu. He has championed the cause of the Virunga National Park and in particular Mont Tshiaberimu.

I attended the burial ceremony along with a huge gathering of Mwami Kalemire’s supporters including the Governor and a strong delegation from Kinshasa, Goma, Masisi, Walikale and Uganda.

Mwami Kalemire, a great supporter of gorilla conservation did not die alone. The same day the wife of late conservator Mesi’s father and Madame Scheidegger of Flora Fauna International also passed away. It was difficult for me to represent ICCN and the Gorilla Organization at all of ceremonies Thursday on Sunday 26 October, it was a very sad day. But it was important for me to say goodbye to them all and I succeeded to be everywhere. May missing souls depart in peace ….

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Category: Communities, Gorillas, Tshiaberimu, Virunga National Park | Date: Oct 02 2008 | By: tshiaberimu

Hello, this is Jean Claude. On 18 September, as we traveled from Mulango Patrol Post to Burusi Patrol Post, we received a phone call alerting us to the presence of a lion in the Nguli valley towards Vihyo village.

The local population at Nguli had heard the roar of the lion and in the morning awoke to find that 13 goats had been killed. The community called the head of the Mount Tshiaberimu patrol post and also contacted the army to register the case.

Following the call I contacted ICCN’s Director Mushenzi, to ask for advice and he agreed with our suggestion to chase the lion away by firing shots in to the air.

We had to inform the whole population before we took action to ensure that they were not alarmed by the gunshots and to avoid panic.

Unfortunately this operation did not work as the lion resisted.

The next day one man Mr Kamuda was injured as the lion bit him in the leg. He was treated at the local health centre. In addition four of Mr Dokoro’s goats were found dead and three belonging to Mr Shiriki were also killed - totaling 20 all together.

The following day we again tried to drive out the animal with the help of the army. On the fourth gunshot the lion jumped on a soldier, but as the solider fell to the ground he retaliated and shot the lion. The lion became enraged but eventually, after the seventh shot, the lion succumbed and was carried away by the local people.

We did our best to move the lion safely without killing it, and it is sad that the animal lost its life. We are working hard with the communities in this area to improve their livelihoods and reduce encroachment on the forest so that they are able to protect the forest and the animals living there.

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Category: Communities, Tshiaberimu, Uncategorized, Virunga National Park | Date: Jul 30 2008 | By: tshiaberimu

Hello this is Jean Claude. Working with the local communities living around Mount Tshiaberimu is an extremely important part of our work to protect the gorillas and the forest. We help to build the capacity of the local people so that they can live in harmony with the forest and protect the habitat for the gorillas.

I frequently visit local villages to keep them informed of our conservation work and raise awareness for the protection of the forest. Last week I visited the village of Kasundi not far from the ranger patrol post at Burusi and on this occasion I was able to deliver 30 iron roofing sheets to help the village construct a health clinic.

The population of Kasundi is very much involved with the protection of the forest and appreciative of the conservation work that we are doing. When we arrived last week with the new roofing sheets the population welcomed us with dances to thank us for our work.

I will write again soon with an update on the health of the gorillas.

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