Gorilla Doctor Lecture in Uganda with Dr. Gladys Kalema
Gorilla Doctor Lecture in Uganda with Dr. Gladys Kalema. Are you a primate enthusiast interested in learning more about the endangered mountain gorillas during your trip? Well, we can make it possible by organizing a Gorilla Lecture with the World renowned Dr. Gladys Kalema before your actual Gorilla tracking day to have an idea about these incredible creatures, the work of Dr. Gladys in protecting them and improving the livelihood of communities that share the same fragile habitat with the Giant Apes. This exceptional arrangement allows her to come to your place of lodging around Bwindi forest to dine with visitors and provide the Gorilla lecture. Get an insight on what inspired Dr. Gladys to work with mountain gorillas, her professional journey, why she established CTPH, how the Organization is working with communities to improve health and livelihoods, her experience as an African woman in Conservation, and if time permits her new memoir “walking with Gorillas”. BOOK NOW
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a passionate Ugandan wildlife Veterinarian and Conservationist is the founder of Conservation through Public Health (CTPH), a not-for-profit organization that provides public health and improves the livelihoods of local communities living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as a way of promoting harmony between the mountain gorillas, other wildlife species in Bwindi, the locals, and their livestock. Her approach has greatly improved the human health and well-being of the locals, and helped to reduce wildlife poaching, the transmission of diseases to the endangered mountain gorilla, deforestation, and habitat loss.
During the Gorilla lecture, you will also learn about “Gorilla Conservation Coffee”, a project Dr. Gladys Kalema launched after visiting the local coffee farmers living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You will have an insight into how this project has benefited the local communities. After visiting the area, she got wind of how the local farmers were not receiving a fair price for their coffee hence having to struggle so hard to survive yet putting a lot of effort into improving their livelihood. This was forcing the locals to encroach into the National Park for food and fuel wood to enable them to meet their basic needs. It is on this background that she founded Gorilla Conservation Coffee which pays up to $0.50 per kilogram, which was way above what they were earning before, and in so doing, the locals will stay away from the National Park and concentrate on coffee growing and sale to improve their livelihoods.
You will be totally inspired by the Gorilla Lecture by Gr. Gladys Kalema who not only conserves the endangered Giant Apes but works to improve the livelihood of communities living around mountain gorilla natural habitats. The project also provides support to farmers through training in sustainable coffee farming as well as processing thus improving the quality and in the long run increasing their productivity. When local communities around Bwindi are supported, it becomes a win-win for the mountain gorillas and communities. The endangered Giant Apes are protected and the standard of living of communities improved.
The recipient of the 2009 Whitley Gold Award for Conservation and winner of the Sierra Club’s EarthCare Award of 2018 was the first Wildlife Veterinary Officer in Uganda Wildlife Authority. There is so much to learn about the Gorilla Lecture with Dr. Gladys Kalema and you will only be limited by time. Given her busy schedule, it is advisable to book the lecture at least 2-3 months in advance for proper planning.
