Articles
8th ANNUAL KWITA IZINA, RWANDA - GREEN TOURISM
June 16, 2012 marked the 8th annual naming ceremony and as Vice President in Charge of Travel Agencies for Rwanda Tours and Travel Association, I had the privilege of attending this ceremony. As you are all aware, Rwanda has taken immense steps to turnaround the near extinction of the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
A notable achievement in Rwanda’s tourism is the 26.3% growth in the population of gorillas since the last census in 2003. As a means to conserve and protect the region where the mountain gorillas live, Rwanda Development Board -Tourism and Conservation (RDB) launched the first ever public Gorilla Naming Ceremony in 2005 under the theme, "Ensuring the Future of Rwanda's Mountain Gorillas". A corporate client or an individual has an opportunity to adopt a baby gorilla by sponsoring it and then has the unique opportunity to name the baby during the ceremony.
This year the theme was ‘Sustaintainable Tourism for a Greener Economy’’
Thanks to RDB and the Ruhengeri district’s efforts, more than 500 gorillas live in the Virunga Volcanoes today, which spans Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Here is why it’s so important to protect their numbers. Mountain gorillas have a slow rate of reproduction. Females give birth for the first time at about age 10 and will have more offspring every three to four years. A male begins to breed between 12 and 15 years, when he is in charge of his own group. Ability to conceive for only about three days each month, the average female normally produces a single young.
This year’s event started with the arrival of the Prime minister and other dignitaries followed by the National Anthem and the Traditional Rwandese dance. The mayor of Ruhengeri then addressed the crowd after which the prime minister spoke and named the first baby . This was then followed by the other sponsors which included namers from various organizations in Rwanda.
A total of 19 baby gorillas were named out of which one was a pair of twins born to the Susa gorilla family. A mother gorilla was also named this year. Children dressed up as baby gorillas entered and went up to to the stage waiting to be named. The namers were dressed in the Rwandan traditional attire and were asked to take up the stage, introduce the baby they were going to name, the date of birth of the baby, which family it belonged to, its mother’s name and finally the meaning of the baby’s name itself.
This was also the first year where a young girl aged 7 years got a chance to name a baby gorilla. During the celebrations held before the actual ceremony, drawing competitions were conducted for 6- 8 year olds. This young girl won that competition which allowed her this very special privilege.
Ironically, she named the same infant that we saw and visited with on our trek to the mountains in February, 2012. The baby belongs to the KURYAMA family and the this little girl named the baby IMAMO meaning ‘TRUTH ‘. I was truly overwhelmed.
All in all it was a memorable experience for all of us present there. Various artists from Kenya and Uganda performed to the thrilled crows. The ceremonies ended with lunch for all the invitees.
