ARTICLES

BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA: CONSERVATION THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH TELE-CENTRE

In May 2005 'Conservation Through Public Health' (CIPH) built the first state-of-the-art multipurpose Telecentre at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda - home to endangered mountain gorillas. The eco-friendly Telecentre features high-speed satellite connectivity, solar equipment, voice telephony, thin client computers, laptops, scanner and printer. It enables communication for the first time in between the outside world and the local population, public health/wildlife management organizations, eco-tourists and the enterprises that support them.

CTPH envisages that this ongoing process of exposing people to the world of information will gradually empower them to identify and solve problems on their own initiatives. Therefore the CTPH Telecentre simultaneously addresses poverty alleviation, environmental degradation, and public health improvement.

The Telecentre enables Internet-based information and knowledge to be transmitted to local populations through channels like radio, power point presentations, printed materials, DVDs and Direct Satellite TV. They also make best use of these modern ICT facilities.

She said CTPH and its partners, which include the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), had contributed to the building of the laboratory early this year.

The basic computer training courses hosted at the CTPH Telecentre teach Windows, Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, and Email and Internet use. These training courses are a joint venture program in between Makerere University's Department of Women and Gender Studies (DWGS) and Conservation Through Public Health. So far 30 community members from Bwindi have graduated from the centre and were awarded a 'Certificate in Computer Studies' by the Faculty of Social Sciences in Makerere University. Our partnership with Albertine Youth Resource Centre, a community based organization, also helps in ensuring that local community residents, specifically women and other marginalized people and most importantly the Batwa Pygmies, are the major beneficiaries of these programs and services

"This center has helped me mentally because before I had only heard of computers, now after the computer training started in this center I know how to open the computer, to save documents, do some calculations, play games, insert pictures in documents and many other things," says Jovairo Akampurira who took courses from the centre.

Ayebare Ruth administrator of Kayonza Sub-County adds, "I do appreciate the services you are rendering to us here at the Bwindi Telecentre. The skills are going to benefit me especially when I am at my work of typing wherever I will be."

In an interview with Balancing for their News Update 278, 23rd October 2005, CTPH Founder and Director ICT for Development, Eng. Lawrence Zikusoka described the initial need for the Telecentre as part of the wildlife-monitoring program of the NGO. He said, "we collect conservation data from gorillas- compile data on clinical signs of gorillas, on the dung state and then use the Internet to transmit the data to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). This is time series data, which enables us to monitor the health of the gorillas. We can mitigate disease out breaks among the animals and the public by collecting, analyzing, exchanging ideas for diseases from animals to people and people to animals. We intend to compile this data and build a database so that when a disease occurs there is a long-term database system that can offer a long-term solution for diseases that reoccur both among animals and the human beings."

For more information on the CTPH Telecentre in Bwindi please visit: telecentre-bwindi

About the Author: Masha Katz, is a Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) volunteer based in Kampala and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Masha is also a fellow of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) World Partners Program.