Gorilla gazette - Issue 2

Welcome to Gorilla gazette!

Postings from the gorilla inhabitants of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, in Western Uganda.

Issue 2 : August 2021

Well, it’s me, Kabukojo again!

I was planning to invite one of the other gorillas to write this issue of the Gorilla gazette but someone took this picture of me with my son and I just wanted to show you that we gorillas know exactly what to do when we speak to our children. We bend our knees and squat down so that we don’t over power them, just like humans. At the moment this little one doesn’t have a name, but I will let you know as soon as he does. 

As I told you last time, we rely very much on the humans who live outside Bwindi  Impenetrable Forest. Some of them are rangers, like Stephen, whom I told you about. Others help as porters for the visitors who come to see us and pay them for carrying their bags and pulling them up if they caught up in the tree roots. Those villagers, who live much further away from the main entrance into Bwindi, have fewer opportunities to earn money from visitors. But, if we decide to go out of the Forest, they have to help get us back in again. While we are taken care of, they are poor, particularly the women in Nkuringo.

They were really excited when the two sewing machines, which were bought with monies donated to the Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat), and the chairs, donated by Commat Health Initiatives Uganda, arrived. They have been set up and, as you can see, the women are learning how to use them. They will be soon be making clothes for their children and other items for sale.

Sadly, the water in the water tanks ran out early during the last dry season, which meant that the women and children had to go to collect water more often. The reason that it ran out was that people had to wash their hands more frequently to protect themselves against COVID-19. While people living, for example, in Europe and North America have been fully vaccinated, here in Uganda 0.5% of the population has been fully vaccinated and it will take a long time for all the 22.1 million people, who would be eligible, to receive their doses. Meanwhile, access to clean water is very important and Commat is now fund-raising for more water tanks. 

Before I sign off, I thought that you might like to see  a picture of Busingye. He lives in the southern part of Bwindi: I live in the northern part. He is head of the family which is named after him and his name means ‘Peace’. I’ll ask him to write to you next time… So do check back to hear from him next month! In the meantime, please support Commat in helping the villagers in Nkuringo, who help us. 

Thank you

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For additional options please contact us directly at gorillas@commat.org