Pierre - His Background and Goals
Pierre Kakule, Dr Anny and a car driver.
They are looking at a baby gorilla that they have just got from poaching’ hands
I am Pierre Kakule Vwirasihikya, son of Kambere Watsumba Lukogho (dead) and Masika Stella (living). I am from a poor family which strongly believes in traditional custom.
I believe in God and pray in the Catholic Church where I got married to Dr Anny Muyisa. I am a father of seven (3 girls and 4 boys). The very last one, Papi is 3 years old.
I had worked for 15 years as Chief Warden in the Virunga National Park (East DRC) and in the Epulu reserve for Okapis at Epulu when I decided to save biodiversity at Tayna. I also worked as a high officer in the North Kivu province in Natural Conservation domain.
After my studies at Jersey Zoo in England, Durrell Wildlife Trust, I definitely decided to involve in saving the gorillas from my original Tayna area. There was no mention of the gorillas and chimpanzees which existed in the Tayna area since long ago. This was one of my troubles while reading maps of plain gorillas distribution in the world.
I then wanted to prove to the world of the existence of east plain gorillas that I had always seen myself from my very young age.
I had a bright idea to speak to the traditional Bamate and Batangi chiefs in order to create together a natural reserve that we would manage ourselves as an NGO. I didn’t easily convince them as there was no reserve of that kind in the country. They asked me how could this run.
Finally, they accepted to offer 900 Km2 gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, elephants and buffalos run. Many species are found in this transitional forest of nature conservation. That was the beginning of our action.
I then made many contacts with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International responsible in the Central Africa, Patrick Mehlman that I convinced for a site visit and who testified the viability, the existence of the biodiversity, the support of the community and the traditional sustainment of the reserve in his report.
 Pierre Kakule (in short) with DFGFI members and the traditional chiefs at a visit at Tayna.
Since then, DFGF-I (through USAID Gorilla Directive) gave funds to pay workers’ salaries and to support our developmental projects (schools, medical health centers). Our university students also got scholarship from the same sources.
In 2002, I got the prize from the American Society of Primatologists at Oklahoma City in the USA.
In 2003, I created the Union of Associations of Gorillas for Development in East of DR Congo (UGADEC). Indeed, seven other gorilla associations had joined the Tayna Gorilla Reserve as their model to achieve their conservation work.
Later, for the sake of training the UGADEC staff (guides and trackers) I nourished the idea of creating a center for conservation biology. I officially got documents from the Ministry of Education and the center is now running as a University of Nature Conservation and Development.
 Building of Tayna Centre for Conservation and Biology
Everybody at Tayna was involved in the building work of that university. Widowers, widows of the area participated remarkably and voluntarily at this construction work.
Note that the area was seriously affected by the war that most of people are widows and widowers. I then felt the necessity of building a school where 230 orphans could study as their parents (widows, widowers or paupers) didn’t have any hope for life.
 Some of our Orphans
My Conde Nast Traveler Award was completely used for this purpose.
The children are from surrounding villages (Kasugho, Kagheri, Kasinga, Kakokola, Makoka and Busigha). They are brought by widowers, widows or other people attesting how they came up to be orphans. We take them for free of charge studies and provide then with school furniture. We also pay for their school-teacher salaries.
Pierre's $20,000 award from Conde Nast Traveler Award was used entirely to build
a primary school for the orphans
The orphans are badly clothed, underfed and we thought of giving them medical treatment without any fees paid. They also live far from school, reason why we are thinking of building an orphanage for them.
A 20 hectares place not far from the university was chosen to home the orphanage. It is a safe place far from the usual places of animals. It is near some villages and the students’ boarding house as well as the staff’s home.
Classes in the new school
I believe that having an orphanage for these children is a way to save these people with no other form of assistance. Think also about their food and medical assistance, clothing, …
There has been a high diminution of mortality within these orphans since we started giving medical treatment to these children.
I hope we gather to improve the orphans’ ways of living and I am sure we can succeed despite the difficult climatic conditions. The area is very cold, and it rains all the time there, reason why we should have a well equipped house.
These orphans need food, medicines and shelter and clothing, beds,
bedding, shoes and socks
The other 300 orphans are students at our university (TCCB) and have formed a club called “The Wildlife Club”. Their aim is to vulgarize community conservation ideas. These students are chosen from secondary schools and can’t go on with studies because of shortage of money. They are at our university and lack school fees (500$ / year). Anyone of good will can come in recourse of these future Conservationists.
These 300 orphan – students or paupers are conveying the message of conservation through mesologic awareness campaigns, theatres, …
They are not necessarily sons and daughters of landowners funded by CARPE through CI.
Nowadays, 370 students are studying at the TCCB in different options:
- Conservation and area protected Development
- Research and Conservation biology
- Information and environmental communication
- Medical sciences
- Electricity
- Geology
- Economic Sciences
Pierre KAKULE VWIRASIHIKYA
TAYNA GORILLA RESERVE Coordinator
V P Conservation, International Primatological Society
Po BOX 167 GISENYI/ Rwanda , ( Goma, Dem Rep of Congo )
Tel. : 00(250)08653697 E-mail : pktayna@yahoo.fr
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