The Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT) is delighted to announce the opening of the Bwindi Gorilla Conservation Centre at Bwindi Lodge.
The Gorilla Conservation Centre showcases the work of three long standing partners: Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust, Conservation through Public Health (CTPH) and Gorilla Doctors and celebrates 25 years of Bwindi Lodge.
The story of the Bwindi Lodge began in 1999 when Phenny Gongo, a ranger who habituated the gorillas for tourism identified the site. A simple mobile camp was set up, around where the Bwindi Gorilla Conservation Centre is today!
“The building of Bwindi Lodge was part of Volcanoes Safaris vision to become the Great Apes company Africa.
As a charter signatory to the 2005 UN Kinshasa Declaration on protecting great apes, our long-term commitment to gorilla conservation is central to our ethos and vision. The Bwindi Gorilla Conservation Centre is a practical testament to it,” said Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris.
The Centre includes space for researchers, lodge guests, schoolchildren, and local people to learn about the work of Gorilla Doctors, CTPH and VSPT.
A further space at Bwindi Bar will focus on training for community members.
“We are honoured to have the work of Gorilla Doctors featured at the Bwindi Gorilla Conservation Centre. For forty years we have been keeping eastern gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC healthy with our life-saving veterinary care. The new centre provides a wonderful way for visitors and the local community to engage with our mission, and shows a real commitment to conservation education and stewardship from Volcanoes Safaris,” said Dr Sonya Kahlenberg, Executive Director of Gorilla Doctors.
“We congratulate Volcanoes Safaris on the opening of the Bwindi Gorilla Conservation Centre, which marks a wonderful milestone in our partnership, providing a permanent space where visitors, researchers, and community members can see how gorilla health, human health, and livelihoods are all connected. We look forward to continuing this vital work together for decades to come,” said Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Conservation Through Public Health.
