internship and volunteer — Updates

Our legacy as an Organization is based on the species existence and sustainability of our wildlife population at ecosystem, landscape, national and global level. Based on that, we launched the internship program to nurture young Tanzanian wildlife conservationists to tackle the increasing biodiversity conservation challenges. However, we have not been limited to only Tanzanians, we have also joined other youths internationally and have been joined by youth from outside Tanzania through our volunteer program to learn and share knowledge and experiences with us. It’s inspiring and encouraging to observe the young and contemporary conservation leaders diving in various field of wildlife conservation; standing to help the primary conservation stakeholders, the local communities to benefit and coexist with wildlife! At this internship phase two, the LCMO team is delighted to welcome Lucia Romward, Azizi Fabian Msese and Belinda Mligo as the LCMO Field Officer Interns between May and August this year, 2021. The three won the WASIMA essay competition on the Appropriate, innovative and practical measures to reduce human-lion conflicts in western Tanzania. We also welcome Happyness Jackson and Irene Philipo as Field Officer Volunteers. Miss Happyness Jackson was born in Mpimbwe south of Katavi but still passionate to wildlife conservation. Since January she has been tirelessly volunteering to help her young brothers and sisters as well as community members during our various field outreaches. The interns and volunteers will be based in Mpimbwe and Sikonge Joining the LCMO field team in Katavi and Tabora, western Tanzania.

Jonathan L. Kwiyega, Director.

The LCMO team, Irene Philipo, Belinda Miligo, Happyness Jackson, Jonathan Kwiyega, Neema Mwaja, Bahati Hirali (first line left to right) and Azizi Msese and Emmanuel (Back left and right).Photo by Gilya Lino.

**Ms Lucia Romward**
Miss Lucia Romward holds a B.Sc. in Wildlife Sciences and Conservation from University of Dar es salaam (UDSM) (2020). She conducted research projects on Dynamics of Human- Elephant Conflicts in Villages Surrounding Ruaha National Park as part of her final year of undergraduate studies. Miss Lucia has Joined LCMO to work as Field Officer Intern. At university of Dar es salaam, Lucia was the active Vice Chairperson of UDSM Wildlife Student’s Association from 2019-2020. After graduation, she volunteered at The Lion Landscape, a carnivore conservation organization around Ruaha National Park for over two months after her university graduation. Lucia is active member of Nature Tanzania and Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania. Lucia is ambitious woman, nature lover seeking to grow in wildlife and environmental conservation carrier with the desire of becoming wildlife research and academician as well as influencing community participation in conservation with much focus to children, girls and youth.

***Mr. Azizi Fabian Msese***
Mr. Azizi Msese holds a B.Sc. in Forestry, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). He is currently working at LCMO as a Field Officer Intern working on WASIMA campaign, VIMA program and other sister programs after being selected through WASIMA essay competition. Azizi’s passion is to work with a diversity of community and educational status in the remote rural areas around reserves in order to discuss together the negative effects of killing wild animals and deforestation and come up with collective solution that halt both retaliatory and non- retaliatory killing of wild animals and trees conservation for the advantage of present and future generations.

***Miss Belinda Mligo***
Miss Belinda Mligo, has a bachelor degree in Wildlife Management (2015) and is finalizing her M.Sc. in Public Health and Food Safety from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). She is current working as a field officer at LCMO. She has worked as a research assistant at the Fondation of Pierre Fabre Project at SUA, a project based on promoting proper management of zoonotic diseases in Tanzania and Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund (EAMCEF). She is looking forward to investigate the nature and cause of the neglected zoonotic diseases, improving the knowledge of zoonotic diseases in general to local communities. She hopes to develop her career as the young researcher so she can help in discovering on new trends of diseases to help local communities and the next generation with scientific information for their studies mostly those passionate in conservation biology.

***Ms. Irene Philipo***
Miss Irene Philipo is volunteering at LCMO as Field Officer. Irene graduated from Sokoine University with Bachelor Degree in Rural Development. She has developed her skills and carrier in Community development, field activities, and research and project management since 2015 through working with Caritas Kigoma as field officer on Women socio-economic Rights (WSER) project. However, The Jane Goodall Institute as Assistant Community Development Officer on Landscape Conservation in Western Tanzania, which aim to protect endangered chimpanzee populations in Gombe Stream National Park, Supporting Biodiversity Conservation both Wildlife and surrounding Communities. She has interest in working with community and her passion lies in environmental conservation through community-based conservation.

***Ms. Happyness Jackson***
Ms. Happyness joined Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organization as the Field Assistant Officer in January 2020. She holds a BSc in wildlife management and conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). She currently volunteering at LCMO as field assistant officer in Youth and Environment Program; Vijana na Mazingira (VIMA), assisting to coordinate program activities. Ms. Happyness focuses on cultivating environmental conservation awareness among youths in schools and women for the future generation, photography and developing further career in Wildlife conservation.

Miss Happyness with pupils from Mirumba primary school south of Katavi Park during an eco-study tour at Katete Hills (phto by Bahati).

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.