Many Africans will swear that what the continent needs now is rapid development in the provision of basic amenities such as good roads, housing, adequate supply of potable water and electricity. Only a tiny minority, perhaps the affluent and the elite, will agree that having zoos or wildlife in the country can be helpful to good living.
We gather that American TV talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, is scheduled to visit Rwanda in June to kick off the building of a Gorilla research centre. It is aid that the Ellen DeGeneres and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, was a gift given to the TV host by her long-term partner, Portia De Rossi.
The centre will be the permanent home in Rwanda for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The organisation has been extensively working to protect the endangered mountain gorillas for the past 50 years and the TV host said she was looking forward to embarking on the project.
In Ellen’s words, “I am trying to build this campus in Rwanda to join the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. I can’t wait. We are leaving in June and we are going to visit the site where we are going to see the gorillas. Just seeing them is going to make me very happy”.
Ellen DeGeneres, who has been honoured for her work with animal conservation, said she was full of respect for conservationist, Dian Fossey, since she first saw her on the cover of an acclaimed national journal.
She expatiated, “I have been in love with animals since I was a little girl and especially the gorillas and all the animals in Africa that need protection but specifically, Dian Fossey for some reason touched me and I remember reading about her in the top journals”.
