![]() “They understand that women can bring something more in the organization, which is good because it is hard for women to find good work here in Congo. “The Fossey Fund employs women like me, and not only for jobs like cleaning and cooking,” Grace says. Grâce is proud to be part of the Fossey team. In December 2020, she completed her master’s thesis, “Contribution of the activities of DFGF to the socio-economic development of the population of Nkuba in the Walikale territory.” While she enjoys accounting, she also wants to expand her knowledge of gorilla conservation and hopes one day to join the patrols in the forests of Nkuba. A single mother of two, she worked full-time as our human resources and finance assistant while simultaneously completing her master’s degree at the ISIG institute of Goma. Passionate about sustainable development, Grâce came to work at the Fossey Fund office in Goma in November 2018. But I hope there will be more women working at the base in the future.” ![]() “It is difficult to hire women here in Nkuba,” she explains, “because most of the work is carried out in the forest, where conditions are tough. Things are changing, though, thanks in part to the Fossey Fund, which pays school fees for many young girls in Nkuba, and with the help of strong-willed and courageous women like Divine. This is a crucial issue in Nkuba, where most girls do not finish primary school. “I enjoy all of the tasks that are part of my job here in Nkuba, because it allows me to get closer to the community to which I belong and raise awareness about the importance of educating girls as well as boys,” she says. Thanks to Divine, our teams know they’ll have enough to eat when they leave for their two-week patrols in the rainforest. A skilled manager, she has become invaluable to the team, taking care of daily logistics at the base. Drawn to the values and projects of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Nkuba, where we protect her beloved forest and the critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas while also supporting local community development, Divine joined our organization in October 2019. Although she loved living in the city, Divine aspired to return to her home region, where she hoped to use her skills to improve the conditions in which people live in this remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a young girl, she went to live with relatives in Bukavu, where she studied to become a nurse. Since she was a child, Divine wanted to study and become an independent woman.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |