Baraza

Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Nov 29 2007 | By: admin

Before I introduce you to Kevin there’s some good news I want to share with you from Cameroon - the Taiping 4 are going home. Who you ask? Four baby gorillas that were snatched from the forest and sold - they are going home to Limbe Wildlife Center

Bonobo’s in DRC are also in better shape with the creation of a massive 5,000 km square sanctuary called Sankuru Reserve

And, in Brazil equally important things are happening. Ever heard of Mark van Roosmalen – he just discovered a new species of manatee in the Brazilian rainforest – the dwarf river manatee. It’s adorable. You can find this and other weird (but true) animal stories on Zooillogix – don’t stick your fingers in the cage site.

Before I go let me introduce you to Kevin – an amazing Kenyan cartoonist wearing his own designer T-shirt! Kevin is an art student who is doing some work with us. We will soon be showing you here and elsewhere …. for now here’s a teaser.

There’s a prize for anyone who can guess who these four characters represent

Today is Thursday – only two more days to World Aids day. Be safe.

- Paula -

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Nov 29 2007 | By: admin

Dipesh in the Congo: Nothing quite prepares you for the drive from Mutsora to Ishango in the northern sector of Virunga National Park, DR Congo. Within two hours we traveled from the dense and humid tropical Congo forest to the stunning savannah landscape of Ishango which is located on the shores of Lake Edouard where the Semliki River flows out.

The grass is so green from the short rainy season and the Congo Cobs, a beautiful antelope is certainly not short of good food. As we approached, I saw the mass fresh water lake appear and the reconstructed Ranger’s post which overlooks the magnificent Semliki River. It’s huge!

Pods of hippos laze around comfortably cooling themselves and the occasional grunt echoes across the Savannah. The place is alive with hundreds of different bird species. I now know why Samantha says this is her favourite spot in DR Congo.

We were greeted by Atamato who I felt that I knew so well from his blog. He on the other hand, was surprised that I even knew his name. Once again, the hospitality of the Rangers was as welcoming as the twittering of the birds.

When Atamato suggested we take a ride down the river, I was up in a flash. Samantha had told me stories of elephants wading in the water and now I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this for myself.

Of course luck always plays a part in coming across wildlife and today, I could not have been luckier. Not far down the river amongst a lazy pod of hippos was a solitary elephant bathing itself. Elephants are no novelty for me as I am spoilt for wildlife coming from Kenya but this had to be one of the most spectacular sites I had come across. We slowly drifted towards the elephant and he sensibly increased his distance as the hippos curiously observed the scene.

And a ride down the river is not complete without being mock charged by Karibu the hippo, a mother of two, who like any sensible mother will do anything to protect her children. Atamato and the others know each pod of hippos like one would know their neighbours and have appropriately named them after famous Congolese singers. If only Papa Wemba knew that a pod of hippos were named after him! What an honour!

Like most places, a short visit is always a thrill and one soaks in the best but being posted here is no holiday. There is no public transport and the closest human settlement where you can buy basic food rations is over an hour’s walk away. The rangers take turns going on 5 day patrols on the lookout for poachers laying snares and other illegal activities. I can imagine it gets quite lonely out here to say the least.

A big thanks to all in Congo for opening my eyes to so much.

Tags: 122, 19, 22, 23, 33, 698

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Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Nov 27 2007 | By: admin

Paula here … in the office enjoying an ant free experience (which Ephrem, Dipesh and others could kill for right now).

Today I was sent a very disturbing story that I’d like to share. Actually the entire week has been disturbing already, and it’s only Tuesday! I’ll start with the story…

Dino of Dudu Diary sent me link to an extraordinary story – it reminded me that as much as we love and try to preserve our different cultures, it can get you into legal problems. Take this story by Tom Hays for example … it’s about a lady of Liberian decent who has been importing monkeys meat and bones (among other things) into USA – it seems that she has been doing it for many many years. I shudder to think about how many monkeys have died for the cultural and religious purposes of the African diaspora in USA and Europe. You can read it here

How could you even think about eating someone who tickles you?

I love the fact that she may get 5 years for this offense (If laws were like this in Africa we might not be losing so much wildlife) .. .but I can’t help wondering about the justice system. She’s currently serving a 2 year sentence for trying to run over a woman who she suspected of sleeping with her husband. 2 years for attempted murder, 5 for importing monkey meat….Hmmm……

Is it me, or is there something odd about this?

Talking of cars and running over things, I have another bit of bad news is about Masumi and Will who are doing a safari at the coast – helping our existing and new bloggers. Dipesh and others have described the roads (or lack of) in Congo where road traffic is dangerous … but then we don’t have to go far….

We have our own home grown flying coffins….Kenyan matatus (read over-loaded public transport system driven usually by a mad man who may or may not be intoxicated). Will was driven off the road by a crazy matatu driver who was overtaking another crazy matatu driver and basically hogging the entire road.

To save his life he pulled off the road and ate a sign board…. this minor accident could have been deadly… (well, the car is pretty messed up and may consider itself to be in Intensive Care) but there were no human injuries. The matatu drivers drove on - ignoring Will - though many other people came to his rescue.

Dealing with the police has been a major headache but it’s all sorted now (call it an education). I’m sure we will give a full update of this safari complete photos once Will and Masumi catch their breath.

It’s only 2 pm but Juliet of the Northern Rangelands Trust has also just reminded us that eating monkeys is not the only wildlife problem … we have an enormous amount of work ahead of us if we are to tackle the poisoning of predators which may be one of the biggest challenges that these animals face in Africa today. We will be letting you know about this new campaign quite soon. The pictures may shock you so for now I’ll leave you with a happy one…

We should learn from our cousins and play more!

The sun is shining outside, monkeys are playing and there is never a dull moment in this office….. I had a good chuckle at Dipesh’s expense today… his computer has died due to a virus called Kibaki. He’s a very quiet guy so you may not know that Mr. Mwai Emilio Kibaki is our current president, but he is fighting vigorously for re-election which is an extremely dirty business that will be held in less than a month. He’s doing an Obama on us and has a website (WOW!!!) but sadly for him it is infecting anyone who dares visit it…… Why weren’t the ministers this innovative and effective when in office?

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8 responses so far

Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Nov 27 2007 | By: admin

Hi Everyone. This is Dipesh again…. Yes, I’m still in the Congo

Getting around in DR Congo is no easy task for the majority of people. We are fortunate to have the support of a free European Commission flight that takes you to major areas around the country. Most roads are virtually inaccessible and when there are roads, what should only take 2 hours could take the entire day. To make things worse, there is virtually no public transport beyond the urban areas. How people move around bewilders me and gives me even more respect for the Congolese.

We took off from Goma on a small plane destined for a town in the north called Beni. We drove to Mutsora which takes about 2 hours where WildlifeDirect.org has established a base camp at the Northern Sector Virunga Park Headquarters. I am told that this is one of the most densely populated areas in the world where tens of thousands of people have resettled alongside the park boundaries having escaped the constant civil unrest in deeper rural areas. The land is fertile and green and the view is beyond dreams. As you drive along a dusty road, the range of Ruwenzoris, the Mountains of the Moon, start to appear in the east and there are streams of makeshift houses and children smiling and shouting. It reminded me so much of western Kenya which was once part of the Congo belt – the only difference was the alarming amount of soldiers every few kilometres.

As we approached Mutsora, that tropical humidity settled in as the Congo forest began to show itself in its full majesty. We drove into the Park headquarters where I was pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful reconstructed buildings which ICCN, ZLS and WildlifeDirect.org had been instrumental in supporting. And just above us hidden in the clouds was the snow capped Mount Ruwengori, Africa’s third highest peak.

Speechless, I was greeted by Ephrem who manages the projects for WLD and Kizito who oversees logistics and finances in the camp and of course Antoine, the notorious cook. We walked down closer to the omniscient sound of the river and small tents appeared through the cracks in the trees. We were virtually in the middle of nowhere and a group of dedicated conservationists are permanently based here. This is the only way that concerned organisations can ensure the protection of Virunga’s magnificent biodiversity – by being right next to it.

The primary reason for coming to Mutsora was to look into ways that we might be able to support the schools further. As you know, classrooms in two schools are nearing construction thanks to funding from the EC and support of SODERU (please see Manioc Blog for more detail). The previous classrooms are on their last leg barely holding off from crumbling down as the children sit squeezed under a jaded roof. Once again, my own life stared straight at me. The children smiled and laughed; raised their hands determined to answer questions.

I had long conversations with the teachers to explore initiating extra-curricular environmental and conservation clubs which they were very keen to get going. In addition, we looked at the lack of financial and resource support and how they manage. Teachers receive approximately $30 a month and students are supposed to pay $3 a month school fees but for most even this is too much.

Many might turn around and accuse me of sensationalising Africa and reinforcing all the stereotypes. I am Kenyan and situations like this are unfortunately all too familiar. But the bottom line is that no one deserves to live in these conditions, and if we claim to be global citizens, then it is our responsibility to help facilitate improving less fortunate lives and places. WLD will be launching an educational support campaign very soon and I personally hope to lead a fundraising campaign that will help provide basic necessities but in the long term we also hope to show that no matter how little people have, they still have so much to offer and teach all of us. So watch this space…

Tags: 122, 19, 23, 786

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Category: WildlifeDirect news | Date: Nov 24 2007 | By: admin

Hello, Jambo and Salut from Congo! I just arrived a few days ago from our Nairobi office where I starting working with WildlifeDirect.org. Every day has been a new adventure and now thanks to Jonathan, Will and Paula, we have the Baraza blog to download the ramblings in our heads!

People with money move around Goma by motorbike partly because the roads are mostly terrible

Goma, the capital city of north Kivu Province in DR Congo must be one of the most extreme places in the world. On the one hand, the environment is spectacular: the sky at night is lit up by Nyiragongo, an active volcano and the mountains surround the lake side town which trail into Lake Kivu. As we descended into Goma by plane, I could not help but think that this surely is the Switzerland of Africa.

And so it should be except for the tragic fact that Goma is situated at the heart of countless civil wars. Just 13kms away, one of the most brutal wars ever is being fought between General Nkunda’s rebels and the army. Thousands have been murdered; hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced and the fragile ecosystem of Virunga National Park which has one of the greatest biodiversities in the world is barely holding out from complete destruction.

At the heart of this extremity are the Mountain Gorillas, who, like the people are victims of a senseless human dispute. Many find it difficult to consider the welfare and importance of protecting wildlife when there is so much human suffering. In this case, however, with only 700 mountain gorillas left in the world and incidents like the July massacre when 5 gorillas were murdered, their suffering and risk of extinction cannot be ignored.

Over 120 rangers have been murdered in the line of duty in the last 10 years and the situation as you all know has become so risky that all the rangers have moved to the safety of urban areas. I met Didi, Innocent, Balemba (who blogs for the Rumangabo Youth Alliance) amongst others. What a great bunch of people! They wait patiently to be able to return to the Park but you can see their anxiety as each day passes and nobody really knows the fate of the gorillas.

Those less fortunate are amongst the most resourceful people on earth - this is a Chukudu (completely wooden bicycle), a common means of transport in Goma

Coming here has made me respect and admire everyone even more. We take so much for granted in Nairobi and complain bitterly when our internet connection goes down for five minutes. In Congo, electricity, running water and roads are a luxury let alone the internet. People live and work in here in some of the toughest conditions in the world but this has not stopped anyone from doing the best they can to protect our world heritage.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Nov 23 2007 | By: admin

Baraza – noun – a Kiswahili word meaning a particular space where people come to talk

Welcome to WildlifeDirect’s baraza!

One of the things about working here at WildlifeDirect is that it’s not your average run of the mill job. Donning a suit and tie for a daily work routine is as foreign a concept here as expecting eagles to glide pass your office window in London.

Arriving in Africa back in February, I’ve had amazing experiences, good and bad; done some extremely challenging work, and learned the value of caffeine as I sit at night, blurry eyed, over a keyboard with the generator chugging away in the background.

This is why the baraza has been started. It’s a place where we can share with you what goes on behind the scenes to make WildlifeDirect work, to share in conversations that interest us, and let you get to know a little more about the human side of WildlifeDirect.

So welcome to the baraza… we look forward to hearing from you!

Jonathan.

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