Strong communications between the different parts of the park is critical to our work. I am in charge of the radio hub at Rumangabo Station and I am proud to be a part of this team.

In 1998, I was a gorilla guide in the Mikeno sector. My job was to follow the daily movements of gorilla families so that we could bring tourists to see them. We also monitored their health and behavior.

Even this was sometimes a dangerous activity. One day, while we were following a gorilla group near Bikenge, we ran into a group of FDLR rebels. We exchanged gunfire over the course of several hours and were slowly pushed further and further away from our patrol post. By the end of the battle, we found ourselves 26 kilometers from our post. Tired and afraid of bumping into more rebels, we decided to spend the night in the forest. From this story alone, you can see that our mission is not an easy one, but I promised my kids that I would do my best to protect Virunga National Park and that is exactly what I will do.