Travel to Uganda and Japan Highlight New LEAP Offerings

SOURCEThe Mirror | September 18, 2024 by 

The new school year is upon us. Our unique lifestyle at school undergoes constant changes throughout the year, but Northwood doesn’t just look to change things; the community also looks to make additions. Some notable additions this year are the LEAP program’s two newest offerings.

Nagano is called a “powder paradise.” Photo: http://www.go-nagano.net.

LEAP is a one-of-a-kind program in which students get to experience going somewhere in the world or learning a new skill. LEAP offerings stay mostly the same, with many courses being around for years. There are, however, usually one or two unique course offerings that change every year. This year, those two new options are a skiing and cultural trip to Japan, designed by senior Gus Garvey ‘25; and a trip to Uganda where students will walk with gorillas.

The first of the two new courses is a trip to Japan, where students will get to ski while experiencing Japanese culture. What makes this LEAP so interesting is that it was designed by a student—senior Gus Garvey. Last year, Gus decided to create this course as his PEAK Pathway. PEAK Pathways is a year-long project where students learn about topics they are passionate about, then build a project around those interests. Gus had a passion for creating this trip as he is of Japanese descent and loves skiing. He shared, “This LEAP will be half skiing, half cultural. Students will get to experience Japanese culture from a variety of different perspectives—from the slopes of rural Nagano to the bustling melting pot of Tokyo.” He also shared his excitement to educate his fellow students as part of the trip: “In addition to having an excuse to go to one of my favorite places on earth, I also hope to provide valuable insight and guidance to the rest of the group due to my experience there.”

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is the parent of Northwood alum Ndhego Zikusoka ’25 and the spouse of Lawrence Zikusoka ’93.
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is the parent of Northwood alum Ndhego Zikusoka ’25 and the spouse of Lawrence Zikusoka ’93.

The second new LEAP is a trip to Uganda. This is possible because of an alumni connection with Lawrence (’93) and Ndhego Zikusoka ‘24. Lawrence Zikusoka’s wife, Gladys, is a world-renowned health and research expert in Uganda. Northwood decided to use this connection and transform it into an opportunity. This LEAP will be led by Ms. Fagan and Mr. Spear.

“We’re going to fly to Entebbe, a city in Uganda. And then, we are going to drive halfway across the country to spend a night in Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we will go on a game drive and meet employees of Dr Gladys’s non-profit health organization,” Fagan said.  This trip will focus on discovering the relationship between humans and apes; specifically, how viruses can be transmitted from humans to apes and vice versa. “We will also have a day where we trek in the jungle and follow a troop of gorillas. This is something that you need a permit for, so it’s a really cool and unique opportunity,” said Ms. Fagan.

Students will begin signing up for LEAP courses in the coming weeks.

Kalema-Zikusoka speaks for endangered mountain gorillas

source: | Saturday, September 21, 2024 By BAMUTARAKI MUSINGUZI

What you need to know:

  • Dr Kalema-Zikusoka, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), says the great apes “exhibit emotions and behaviours similar to humans, which makes them incredibly fascinating to study and work with.”

 

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka says she “felt a deep connection” after her first encounter with mountain gorillas. It was in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and she was “conducting research as a veterinary student at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London.”

At once, she was intrigued by the “gentle giants” if anything because they are “highly intelligent and social animals with complex family structures.”

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), says the great apes “exhibit emotions and behaviours similar to humans, which makes them incredibly fascinating to study and work with.”

Such is the uniqueness of gorillas that their survival, says Dr Kalema-Zikusoka, “affects the health of the entire forest environment.” Conserving them is, therefore, a no-brainer, at least in the book of Kalema-Zikusoka. The forest ecosystems whose health the great apes maintain “are vital for the broader environmental services that benefit both local and global populations.”

More than just apes

Then there are the economic benefits. Dr Kalema-Zikusoka chooses to use the adjective ‘profound’ when describing them. “Twenty percent of the park entry fee and $10 (Shs37,000) from every gorilla permit is put aside to support community development.”

The increase in the number of mountain gorillas from 650 to 1,063 across the past 27, commendable as it seems, feels like a drop in the ocean. Dr Kalema-Zikusoka, who has the distinction of being Uganda’s first wildlife veterinarian, is not under any illusions. Her gentle giants— found only in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—remain “endangered or critically endangered.”

“Another significant threat particularly as the population of mountain gorillas is grows due to successful conservation efforts, is reduced habitat due to high human population growth rates and agricultural expansion,” she says, adding: “Poaching, although reduced, still remains a threat in some areas. Addressing these threats requires a multifaceted approach, including disease prevention, community engagement and habitat protection.”

Park rangers, whom Dr Kalema-Zikusoka describes as “the frontline defenders of our natural heritage”, cannot be celebrated enough. They help preach the gospel of conservation and “working collaboratively to find sustainable solutions to human-wildlife conflicts.” They do all this under challenging circumstances.

“Through the support of generous donors, CTPH trains the rangers to monitor the health of gorillas and other wildlife, including preventing disease transmission between people, wildlife and livestock through a One Health approach,” Dr Kalema-Zikusoka discloses.

“CTPH works with the rangers to offer health and veterinary services to ensure both the rangers and the wildlife they protect remain healthy. With support from donors, CTPH also supplies equipment and technology such as GPS devices, camera traps and communication tools, including smart phones to enhance their ability to monitor and protect wildlife,” she adds.

Conservation is key

CTPH promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, gorillas and other wildlife to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around Africa’s protected areas and wildlife-rich habitats.

“We founded CTPH in 2003, after recognising the interconnectedness of wildlife health, human health, and conservation. While working as the first veterinarian for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, one of my first cases was a fatal scabies disease outbreak in then critically endangered mountain gorillas, which was traced to the local community living around the park,” she says.

She adds: “This made me realise it was not possible to keep the gorillas healthy without improving the health of their human neighbours. By improving the health of people and animals together, we could protect the gorillas, creating a win-win situation.”

During a tour of the lab at the Gorilla Health and Community Conservation Centre where most of CTPH’s work takes place, the CTPH Wildlife Health and Laboratory technician, Annaclet Ampeire, says their laboratory is a research facility and it helps them in gorilla health monitoring.

“Every month, we monitor all the habituated gorilla families in Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks through non-invasive faecal sample collection from gorilla night nests for analysis in this lab to find out if there is a zoonotic disease outbreak,” Ampeire reveals.

“We do this as an early warning system to detect possible zoonotic diseases that may be transmitted from humans and livestock to gorillas, and vice versa. If we find zoonotic diseases that have been transmitted from humans to wildlife, we carry out two community interventions. One, we collect livestock faecal samples, analyse them and treat the livestock. Two, we collect human stool samples together with medical staff of the nearby health centres, analyse them and treat the people,” Ampeire adds.

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka says CTPH’s work revolves around collecting gorilla faecal samples. The samples, she adds, “provide invaluable data on the health of the gorilla population.” This includes, but is not limited to “the presence of disease-causing pathogens, stress levels, and their diet.”

By regularly monitoring such indicators, CTPH can take proactive measures to prevent disease outbreaks “particularly between people, gorillas and livestock.” It can also “ensure the long-term survival of this endangered species.”

Empowering communities

CTPH also runs an initiative of Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs). Dr Kalema-Zikusoka says: “VHCT coordinators are the backbone of our community-based health and conservation initiatives. They are responsible for training and mentoring village health and conservation team members, facilitating health education, and ensuring both human and wildlife health are monitored and addressed at the community level. Their work is vital in bridging the gap between conservation and public health.”

She adds: “They also collect quarterly data from other VHCTs, which our community health and conservation field officers then send to our monitoring and evaluation department for central management and decision-making. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a section of VHCTs were trained to become members of the village Covid-19 taskforces and led the taskforces in 59 villages to carry out community surveillance, referrals and home-based care as per the Ministry of Health guidelines.”

Kate Namusisi is a VHCT coordinator. Before entering her home in Kwenda Cell, Buhoma Town Council in Kanungu District, she requests us to wash our hands using the tippy tap hand washing device placed in her compound.

“It is important to wash your hands before entering one’s house to avoid transmitting germs or other disease organisms,” she says.

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka describes Namusisi as “an exemplary and trusted leader in her role as the VHTC team coordinator of Mukono Parish in Buhoma Town Council.” The two have worked together for many years.

“The VHCT programme has had a significant impact on both human and gorilla health. By improving access to healthcare and health education in remote communities, we’ve seen a reduction in disease transmission between humans and gorillas,” Dr Kalema-Zikusoka says, adding that communities have been empowered along the way, with VHCTs growing from 26 in 2007 to 430 this year.

Influences

While growing up, Dr Kalema-Zikusoka was surrounded by pets and would eventually become a veterinarian in her adulthood. After graduating as a veterinarian from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London, she returned home to become the first wildlife veterinarian for the Uganda National Parks (UNP), now Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). She also set up the veterinary department at UWA.

“I grew up with lots of pets at home – the usual cats and dogs, and they became my companions. When they got sick, I hated seeing them suffering and would miss school to go with my mother to get the animals treated at the small animal clinic at Wandegeya in Kampala. By the age of 12, I had decided that I wanted to become a veterinary doctor,” she says

“When I was in Senior Six at Kibuli Secondary School, I got an opportunity to revive the wildlife club as the chairperson. We took the students to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a magical time and a turning point in my life where I decided to become a veterinarian who can also bring Uganda’s wildlife back to its former glory. This deep empathy for animals, combined with a passion for science, eventually led me to pursue veterinary medicine as a way to make a tangible difference in their lives,” she adds.

Dr Kalema-Zikusoka met her future husband, Lawrence Zikusoka, in North Carolina, and they got engaged in March 2001. Gladys and Zikusoka had their traditional introduction ceremony (kwanjula) at her ancestral home in Kiboga District on July 28, 2001. They got married at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala on August 4, 2001.

“Balancing family life with my work at CTPH has been challenging, but I’ve managed by trying my best to stay organised, prioritising tasks, and relying on a strong support system. My family understands and shares my passion for conservation, which makes it easier to manage these dual responsibilities,” she says.

She adds: “My husband is one of the founders of CTPH and was the first donor, so he understands and appreciates my journey in conservation. We intentionally engage our two sons, Ndhego and Tendo in our conservation work, and they have developed a passion for animals and nature, as well as developed long lasting relationships with the local children at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.”

 

 

Keeping Gorillas and People Healthy

Wildlife veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka on integrating healthcare for human and nonhuman communities.

Nearly three decades ago, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka became Uganda’s first national wildlife veterinarian. At the time, hardly any women worked in conservation in the country and no female rangers operated in the field. At just 25 years old, and freshly-graduated from the Royal Veterinary College of London, she established the veterinary unit at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). She’s been a trailblazer ever since, working to protect the country’s wildlife — in particular, its declining mountain gorilla populations — while safeguarding local communities as well. She has been instrumental in popularizing a community-based “one health” approach to conservation.

Without African leadership, environmental programs in the continent are unlikely to last long, says Kalema-Zikusoka. Photo by UNEP / Kibuuka Mukisa.

Her early years as a wildlife vet with UWA laid bare the reality that many people, mostly underprivileged, share habitats with gorillas in Uganda’s montane forests and that has health implications for the great apes. For example, a 1996 scabies outbreak among gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park pointed to human-wildlife disease transmission. Caring for the diseased animals left Kalema-Zikusoka contemplating the importance of supporting the health of local communities, too.

First-hand experiences like this planted the seeds of Kalema-Zikusoka’s pioneering conservation work and inspired her to found Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2003 to address badly-overlooked health and sanitation needs in forest-adjacent communities, mitigate disease transmission from humans to gorillas, and support local livelihoods.

Some 20 years later, her efforts are paying off. From around 650 in 1996, the total mountain gorilla population has grown to over 1,000.

Kalema-Zikusoka has been widely recognized for her work, earning the 2009 Whitley Gold Award, which celebrates advocates of biodiversity, and UNEP’s 2021 Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation. She was named one of BBC’s 100 inspiring and influential women in 2023 for her work to mitigate the impacts of climate change on gorillas. Her memoir, Walking with Gorillas, was published last year. Kalema-Zikusoka spoke with me recently about the importance of African-led conservation work on the continent, the unique role of women in the field, and the dangers of overreliance on tourism dollars to support environmental campaigns.

What are the key lessons you have learned over the years about sustainable conservation with long-lasting impact?

As an NGO, we’ve learned the importance of engaging the government through meaningful discussions and not just telling the government what it should be doing. I worked for the government for four-and-a-half years, and NGOs can sometimes be seen as arrogant. Have a discussion with those in government to explain the mission of the organization and what you are trying to achieve. [At CTPH] we organize strategic planning workshops and consultations to get buy-in, otherwise the government will not support the work.

It is also important to engage communities that interact directly with the wildlife and stand to benefit the most from living next to wildlife. Don’t force your ideas down people’s throats, but discuss the problem and let them come up with the solution. Without meaningful engagement, local people cannot become conservationists and protectors of wildlife.

Why are African-led efforts in environmental issues important?

Because that’s the only way conservation efforts will be implemented and work in the long term. Many people have come in and out of Africa imposing their ideas, and some are very good. But without African leadership, these programs are unlikely to last long. Investments are needed to train local people; otherwise they will not realize their potential. Africans in conservation programs can become project leaders or become local and national leaders. It is important to develop local leadership. If not, talented people will leave conservation and join other sectors with better opportunities for career promotion.

Kalema-Zikusoka realized early on that protecting the health of great apes meant supporting the health and well-being of communities that share habitat and interact directly with the wildlife around them. Photo by UNEP / Kibuuka Mukisa.

In what ways are you driving African-led initiatives in great ape conservation?

For many years, I attended conferences of the International Primate Society (IPS) in Europe or America to talk about primates in Africa, but there were hardly any Africans present. They couldn’t afford to travel or were not promoted enough at their organizations to speak at international conferences. For this reason, I started the African Primate Society (APS) in 2016, with other primatologists, including Dr. Inza Kone from Ivory Coast, Dr. Ekwoge Enang Abwe from Cameroon, Dr. Riashna Sithaldeen from South Africa, and Dr. Rachel Ikemeh from Nigeria.

The first APS conference in Ivory Coast had about 150 delegates, and 80 percent were African primatologists. They gave scientific talks, presented abstracts, and spoke about their work. At the Uganda conference in 2019, 85 percent of the 300 delegates were native Africans. I believe the public in Nigeria, for example, is going to be more convinced by a Ugandan researcher than by somebody coming from [the West]. That is why it is really important to have more African-led conservation efforts.

What is the unique role of women in wildlife management, conservation, and veterinary work?

When I started, there were hardly any women in conservation and no female rangers. Ugandan society did not encourage women to live in remote areas and do dangerous work, like following wildlife or carrying guns.

But conservation requires collaboration with many sectors, such as affected communities, local authorities, the government, the private sector, NGOs, community-based organizations, and others. At CTPH we collaborate with healthcare workers to improve community well-being and we work with sectors such as environmental, tourism, and farming to achieve our conservation goals. I find that women are more holistic, less competitive, and willing to work with different stakeholders and to learn from others.

In villages and communities, women are more engaged in healthcare. Conservation linked to healthcare gets more women involved in wildlife protection, which helps us to achieve gender balance. At meetings with reformed poachers, some wives admitted to encouraging their husbands to poach animals to put food on the table. So, it is not enough to look at wildlife. We must look at the structures of communities and families and what drives people to do what they do.

 

Women invest in families and communities for the long term. They are willing to speak up in a crowd and want to educate their girls because they now see female role models and women doing things out there. Today, 4 out of 15 wildlife vets in Uganda are women and approximately 20 percent of wildlife rangers are female. If you look at primate research around the world, the longest studies were started by women. Dr. Jane Goodall began chimpanzee work in Gombe, Tanzania, in 1960. Birut Galdikas’ research on orangutans in Borneo is coming on 50 years now. The late Dian Fossey’s gorilla study program in Rwanda is still going strong [nearly 60 years after she started it]. Women are more likely to stick to one thing and see it through.

Tourism remains a key economic driver. How do you see the balance with conservation going forward?

I would say that tourism is still a necessary evil. Conservation efforts in partnership with tourism are bigger and more sustainable because of the tourism funds. In Uganda, by an act of Parliament, 20 percent of national park entry fees and [funds from a] $10 per gorilla permit in Bwindi [Impenetrable National Park] goes to the local community.

Tourism reinforces government efforts in monitoring wildlife and uplifting communities. Ninety percent of tourism staff in Bwindi are from the local community. Tourism that engages local communities sustains conservation efforts better because families benefit from viable income, and they protect animals rather than hunt them.

It is also important to promote local entrepreneurship, such as people who make crafts, sell food, provide accommodation, and do community walks. Our organization brings visitors to the Gorilla Conservation Coffee farmers because a responsible tourist does not only visit gorillas but spends time with the community. When the community meets the tourists, they are less likely to poach.

The negative side of tourism, however, is overreliance, and the pandemic showed this. When tourism stopped, poaching was high in places like Bwindi where people were totally dependent on tourism to survive. A well-known silverback gorilla called Rafiki was poached in 2020, which would not have happened except for the pandemic. We realized that many people were not getting enough to eat and had gone back to bushmeat hunting. Our solution was to provide fast-growing crop seedlings, and the locals have continued to plant even when tourism returned. The pandemic was a wake-up call about relying solely on tourism for conservation efforts.

 

We must also take care that tourists do not make gorillas and chimpanzees sick with respiratory diseases. During the pandemic, we led advocacy efforts with the government for visitors to wear masks when visiting great apes, to keep a respectable distance, and to make sure tourists are healthy by taking their temperatures. The practice has continued beyond the pandemic to protect wildlife from human diseases that could wipe them out.

She also believes that local people will become conservationists and protectors of wildlife only if they are given the agency to discuss the problem and come up with solutions. Photo by Jo Anne McArthur.

Sustainability is key for wildlife conservation. How successful has upscaling the Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCT) initiative, which trains community volunteers to deliver public health services and conservation education to local communities, been?

What makes VHCTs sustainable is using existing health structures. Community health workers are everywhere, and we can train them in conservation services as well. The system is set up so that NGOs and others who are interested can support village health workers or conservation work. Wherever you have health issues you also have environmental issues.

In Mount Elgon National Park, in eastern Uganda, we don’t have an NGO partner on the ground, but we work with the local government. This comes with its challenges, but we structure it in such a way that the initiative is owned by the government. In the Budongo area of western Uganda, we work with the Jane Goodall Institute, which has really embraced the program. The program has expanded to Virunga National Park in the DRC. VHCT staff in the Mount Tshiabirimu and Mikeno areas have continued working through the rebel activities, visiting homes whenever it is safe, to improve health, sanitation, and hygiene. Somehow we have kept it going, although we need more families [participating] in DRC like in Uganda. We are looking to introduce VHCTs in other countries with gorillas. The challenge is introducing and sustaining the project without needing to provide additional funding.

The current global gorilla population is just over 1,000. What is the ideal number and what needs to be done to achieve this?

We’re glad the gorilla population is growing, but they are still very few. Continued efforts are needed through conservation, veterinary care, and community engagement. Healthcare is a good entry point for conservation programs because then people feel that you don’t only care about wildlife. As community health improves, gorillas will fall sick less often from human diseases.

We must continue looking at livelihoods and making sure communities benefit through eco-tourism. CTPH has created a policy brief on channelling tourism resources to conservation in all African countries with great apes, alongside mask-wearing, safety, and encouraging tourists to visit communities.

More space is needed for gorillas because their numbers are growing, but there isn’t enough land. We must expand protected areas by encouraging people to sell their land to increase gorilla habitats. We have done it in Rwanda and are starting to work on it in Uganda.

How does the Ugandan public view gorillas and wildlife conservation?

Generally, the public is more appreciative of our natural assets, habitats, and conservation efforts, especially around gorillas. People appreciate the role of gorillas in bringing back tourism and lifting people out of poverty. When CTPH started, people wondered why we were integrating human health with animal health and conservation. Now they realize it’s important to do it together for long-term outcomes. We now have a gorilla picture on the 50-shilling note.

Your career has not been easy. What keeps you going?

The feeling that I’m making a difference, that the situation for wildlife is improving, and that communities are appreciating wildlife more. Seeing more youth and women in conservation gives me hope. Watching the number of mountain gorillas growing means our work is making a difference and it is worth continuing with the struggle. Local leadership can improve, but when communities that once hated wildlife now appreciate it and want to see tourists in parks, it gives me hope.

Having Ugandan role models championing conservation efforts makes people want to protect wildlife and realize it is not for foreigners but for us, our children, and grandchildren. I want to encourage more role models, especially women in leadership and conservation, and to challenge things even if it involves going against societal norms. Also, my faith in God keeps me going, because it can be depressing when things go wrong. This work is a calling, and we just have to keep going.

 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.