Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Mar 18 2008 | By: Julie

Thank you, Theresa, for your contribution! We raise funds to do our work and Team AoC truly appreciates your help. The areas where support is most needed are for staff salaries, art materials, and printing costs for art to be displayed. So again, thank you, Theresa.

Jean de Dieu NGIRIRA, a member of the Karisoke Research Center staff, was our guest speaker at Shingiro’s class. Jean de Dieu is both a gorilla tracker and a gorilla caretaker. He works diligently to protect the gorillas in the forest as well as the group of orphaned gorillas who live at the Interim Quarantine Facility in Kinigi, located just next to Parc National des Volcans. This facility is run by several partners, including MGVP and Karisoke.

At Shingiro’s adult AoC class, guest speaker Jean de Dieu NGIRIRA, discusses the importance of protecting the forest.

Because he lives in Kinigi with his family, Jean de Dieu understands how the community feels about the gorillas and gorilla ecotourism. He encourages the people he meets in ways that he knows they can succeed. At class - as he does on a daily basis - Jean de Dieu explained that Rwanda benefits greatly from gorillas through the money gained from tourism which pays for water tanks, health centers, and schools, and creates jobs. For this reason, he stressed that it is in everyone’s best interest to protect the gorillas and their habitat.

Class members asked lots of questions. A Shingiro community health worker asked guest speaker Jean de Dieu if gorillas have the same problems as people do when they give birth. He said no, they rarely have problems giving birth, plus no one is there to see it. A young man who said he is a traditional healer expressed frustration because he said the herbs he needs for his traditional healing practice are in the forest. He also asked Jean de Dieu if traditional healers can help gorillas who are poisoned. (Many Rwandans believe that illnesses come from poisons.) Jean de Dieu quickly explained that we can leave that up to the veterinary team run by MGVP. (please click here to see Dr. Lucy Spelman’s work in Gorilla Doctors.) They intervene with anesthetic and medicine delivered by darts if needed - and rarely.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and depressed by these beliefs about poison. People sicken and die here from the same diseases that affect people all over the world. Poison may be one of them but it can’t be the only one.

A community health worker at Shingiro AoC class.

A young man taking the AoC class at Shingiro is a traditional healer.

Then onto the art exercise for the day.

Eric asks volunteers to come to the chalkboard to draw basic elements of shapes.

Students listen to Eric’s instructions and practice line drawing.

Here, again, are more places to see great artistic expression from
Art of Conservation students if you find yourself in Rwanda…

Pelagie MUKANYANDWI, Executive Secretary of Nyange Sector, is standing in front of watercolors of reptiles made by people of her community. She is one of the project’s biggest fans and we think she is one of the coolests!

On the road to Kinigi, banners are displayed with the children standing in front of the art and having fun.

Julie

Tags: Art of Conservation (AoC), Gorilla Doctors @ WildlifeDirect, Mountain Gorilla Vet Project, Inc. (MGVP), Rwanda Park & Tourism (ORTPN), Team AoC (Team Art of Conservation)