My name is Mfitumukiza Miel, Mfitumukiza means “SAVIOR” and Miel means “HONEY”
Having been raised in a poor family of the poachers for wild meat, am a witness for both poaching wildlife and conservation of wildlife. Long time ago when I was a young boy, I used to be a poacher and informer of my family members at the same time I pretended to be friend to wildlife rangers, I was like an intermediate and easy boy to link wildlife rangers to community members.
It was in the year of 2003 when I was 14 years old during my primary P.7 vocation when I could see some students from different schools coming for study tours and I could admire their life, from that time I started to developed passion and love for wildlife. Under the transition process , I was more close to the rangers to the extent of setting me as a spy to the poachers, they could send me to spy my family members and I instead taught and convinced my family members to stop poaching sensitized them importance of wildlife is to the entire world , I could tell them not to consider animals as food because wild animals attracts tourists and people can get proper jobs and more income is generated, I was able to transform most of my family members whom I can’t mention on air.
In the year 2007 during my senior four vacation, I visited the office of wildlife ranger’s manager at the national park enquiring about how we the students from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park can have access to the Park tourist activities. He advised me to mobilize some of the students in our village and other villages surrounding Mgahinga gorilla national park and form an association. I followed his advice and I mobilized the students who are the neighbors to the park and we started “wildlife students association”. We could subscribe some little money for togetherness end of year parties, have tour in the national park of Mgahinga, we could walk through the forest, hiking the mountain and have parties inside the National Park to appreciate the God given nature.
In the year 2008, I was given an opportunity to work as a support student staff (student porter) for carrying tourists bags where I could earn some money to cater for my scholastic needs and I finally got sponsor who paid for my school fees for two years at my advanced certificate of education.
In the year of 2010, The warden tourism in MGNP by the names of Amusa Chemonges recommended me to one of Golden monkey research team which was headed by Sandrah E.Gray from UK to work with her as a research assistant for golden monkeys and habituation.
Having been acquired knowledge and skills from the mentioned expertise, It was 2011 when I was recruited as wildlife ranger and I was posted to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to work as mountain Gorilla Tracker and after three years I was elevated to guiding department up to date.
The management for the association had a slide back due to limited time for committee members and financial crisis.On January 31st 2019, I happened to meet two potential American ladies ( Linda La & Dona D) who promised me to support the project that we had on our pending Mandates. Some new members voluntarily joined like jack B, Nsengiyunva Sam, Irankunda Shallon , Lena M, Rose Ira and Ntibiringirwa J among many others voluntarily joined the CBO. we registered the Organisation as UMABANO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION INITATIVES (UWCI). Which is meant to support Human and protect wildlife.
Around 2019 we launched a sewing centre and advertised for free training of the young girls who couldn’t manage to continue with their education due to lack of financial support and family back ground. Twelve (12) turned up and trained for five (5) months after training they were empowered with sewing machines and starting capital as a free interest loan to be paid back without interest. So far about ninety seven (97) ladies have successfully trained with UWCI and have been fully empowered following the first criteria.
In the year of 2020, under covid19, there was a number of registered poaching activities with in the protected areas of Mgahinga gorilla national park and Bwindi Impenetrable national park because people had no access to the Markets, UWCI gave out food relief equivalent to ten (10) tons of maize flour, five (5) tones of beans, one hundred boxes of soap and seventy (70) cartons of salt, to the communities surrounding the two national park and around three hundred fifty ( 553) house holds benefited from the program.
In the year of 2021, there was a massive land slide around Mt. Muhabura and about 30 homes were destroyed. UWCI managed to give a relief of jerricans, source pans and hoes to the affected households.
Since 2019 up to date, UWCI has been organizing young pupils from the schools neighboring the national parks for conservation education campaigns, this is normally done each year to empower young generations with skills and conservation knowledge. We target young generation while preparing for their health and wildlife future.
The year 2022 UWCI Partned with two bee keeping groups and we helped them to establish SMART HONEY PROCESSING AND PRODUCTION We managed to donate two Honey press machines, ten(10) bee suits, about 15smokers ,1000’s of packaging tins and start up capital.
UWCI empowers different groups and individuals with microloan start up and boosting a variety of projects like Agriculture,retail and tailoring shops among others.
We have several wildlife conservation projects that are under the progress and others can be determined the funder and initiated basing on resource availability and the need, more and more shall be discussed on info@umubanowildlife.org/ umubanowildlife@gmail.com
UWCI also thought of establishing a tour and travel company offering exceptional wildlife travel experiences in Uganda and Rwanda. This travel company is mean’t to support UWCI community conservation projects. www.ubumwegorillatours.com