We know that the engagement of the local communities in conservation requires their daily consultations, which again requires commitment of professionals to lead and learn from them. While LCMO feels eased of Charles Ndandala’s new chapter, we are at the same time excited to introduce three young conservationists who have joined us at LCMO to share and apply their classical and theoretical experiences and bring forth their passion as well as learn in regard to wildlife conservation practices and program operations for the lasting conservation and community –wildlife coexistence. Ms. Neema Mwaja, Mr. Gilya Lino and Ms. Prisca Luvanga become our first prototype of our newly established internship program intending of raise and develop conservation careers of our fellow young conservationists in Tanzania. We expect them afterward to join our conservation efforts to tackle conservation issues: human-wildlife conflicts, climate change impacts, poaching and habitat loss all which contribute much into the increasing species migration and or loss whose final results being extinction of species. We wish we had enough resources to support more conservation ambitious graduate youths! Our plan is to recruit at least one intern in every three months through this program. We appreciate so much Nomad Tanzania Trust and National Geographic for supporting this program and promise all our supporters that we are committed and we will continue to passionately work hard and engage the locals adjacent our reserves to promote human- wildlife coexistence and improvement community livelihoods for the better present and future world. Dear Neema Mwaja, Gilya Lino and Prisca Luvanga, We are delighted to warmly welcome you at LCMO, in the southern Western Tanzania landscape. With you, the LCMO mission and Vision will be kept alive.
Gilya, Prisca and Neema on the their first conservation education outreach at Mabambasi village, in Mpimbwe held on August 8,2019. Photo by Jonathan Kwiyega.
Ms. Neema Mwaja
I a m Neema Simon Mwaja, a graduate with BSc wildlife management at Sokoine University of Agriculture since 2015! Previously, I have been working with different conservation organizations such as Serengeti National Park including (Ikorongo and Grumeti game reserve, and Maswa game reserve), Ngorongoro conservation area authority, and World wildlife Fund for nature (WWF), and Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund (EAMCEF). This course involves extensive field visit and survey on protected areas as well as extension education to local communities on why they should participate on conservation issues resolution. Currently am working as Interns project officer at LCMO working in villages bordering Katavi National Park, during this project I am interested on improvement process of the conservation service in community livelihoods.
Mr. Gilya Lino
As Volunteer at LCMO, Mr Gilya Lino will assist Program Managers to oversee all indoor and outdoor activities. Gilya holds BSc Wildlife management and MSc. Ecosystem Science and Management from Sokoine university of Agriculture, Morogoro. Nevertheless, he has attended several short courses related to conservation, including Certificate of Climate change online course, at Cornelly University in USA, Certificate of East Africa Ecology and Evolution at Udzungwa and Mikumi National Park. Under Copenhagen University, Training on Social and economic implications of Community based Conservation in Kenya and Tanzania at Nairobi University. Gilya’s passion lies on Livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and climate change
Ms. Prisca Luvanga
Ms Prisca Luvanga is a graduate from Sokoine University of Agriculture pursued BSc in Wildlife Management. With notable achievements from different experiences, she has worked with UNHCR in Kigoma region, Kasulu District at Nyarugusu refugee camp as project officer where she worked to promote environment protection. Ms Prisca has worked as research assistant in Chunya coal mining plantation collecting data on environment assessment to discover what will be the effect on environment when the plantation will be constructed. As an intern, her expectation is to co-work with the LCMO team to convey conservation message as we lead the locals while learning from locals as means to halt the lion killing in villages that are around the protected areas including the strengthening good environment conservation practices among communities around third largest Katavi National Park in Tanzania.