Walking With Gorillas: the Journey of an African Wildlife Vet by Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

Author:Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781956763201
Publisher: Arcade
Published: 2023-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

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We were making a name for ourselves, which didn’t go unnoticed. Royal eyes were watching, and we were thrilled to engage them in our conservation work. Against all odds, CTPH had been in operation for two years. It was high time to seek a patron who could attract more people to our mission and vision, especially Ugandans and other Africans who were not in the conservation community, to become engaged in conservation. The ideal person came in the form of a cultural leader, the Queen of Buganda, with whom I had a personal connection. Her grandfather and my father had been best friends, and I had grown up knowing Queen Sylvia and her family. I was inspired by her energy and her support of many humanitarian causes. I remember staying with her in New York, before she became queen. She was working as a public information officer and research consultant at the United Nations headquarters at the time. In 1999, when she got married to the Kabaka, King of Buganda and became the Nnabagereka, Queen of Buganda, I was lucky enough to attend her wedding, which tragically was on the fateful day that my colleague, Dr. Jonathan Arusi, was killed by an elephant during the translocation.

Queen Sylvia had continued to follow my budding career with wildlife at UWA and was excited that we had founded a nonprofit and NGO to improve the health and well-being of both people and wildlife. We were impressed by her commitment to improving education opportunities for all children and in particular uplifting daughters, earning her the prestigious role as a Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations Family Planning Association (UNFPA). Both of us were involved in the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), who had made me a model of excellence in 1999 to mentor young girls while working as the first veterinarian for the Uganda Wildlife Authority. FAWE focusses on getting more girls in school to bridge the gender gap within all levels of the education system and also provides scholarships to the least advantaged children. In 2005, Lawrence and I met her in the Buganda Kingdom offices in Bulange, Mengo, and plucked up our courage to ask her to become the Patron of CTPH. We were thrilled when Queen Sylvia accepted our invitation, more so when she mentioned that she preferred to take an active role in the charities that she supported.

We now felt that it was time to officially launch CTPH field programs, which had been operating unofficially for a year.

The launch was a momentous occasion with literally over one thousand people attending, including local leaders, Uganda Wildlife Authority, members of the local community, the media, and visitors from Kampala including my mother and Lawrence’s father, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Dako.

Queen Sylvia started off by having lunch in the Telecentre before she sent an email, then cut a ribbon. This was followed by songs and dances from Bwindi Orphans School, who performed “the gorilla dance”; Bwindi Conservation Actors and Rutendere Health

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