December 18, 2012
Fossey Africa Staff Carries On Holiday Tradition in Rwanda
On Dec. 13, the Fossey Fund continued a tradition begun by Dr. Fossey herself of throwing an annual holiday party at our Karisoke Research Center.
Our staff from our programs in Rwanda and DR Congo all gathered at the Fossey Fund’s new regional research center building in Musanze for a celebration of the year’s achievements. We played team-building games like musical chairs and relay racing, and some of the staff played drums, sang, and danced.
Prosper Uwingeli, chief park warden of Volcanoes National Park, and Abel Musana, research and monitoring warden of Volcanoes National Park, joined in the festivities. This year we had a couple of special reasons to celebrate. Field logistics coordinator and data technician for Ugenda’s group, Jean Damescene Hategekimana, was recognized for completing 20 years of work with Karisoke, and we also took the opportunity to give a warm send-off to post-doctoral fellow Winnie Eckardt, Ph.D., who just completed the fieldwork for her study on stress in mountain gorillas.
