All this week, “In A Flash” will feature images from the Ӱҵ University group’s trip to Rwanda.
Mandy Munro-Stasiuk, Ph. D., dean of Ӱҵ’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Pacifique Niyonzima, a Ӱҵ alumnus who is now leading Ӱҵ’s outreach efforts in Rwanda and its partnership with the , met with students at ɲԻ岹’s National Police College. Ӱҵstudents will be on the Kent Campus this fall to begin their master’s degree programs as part of the growing global education partnership between the two institutions.
A trek up the mountain
ɲԻ岹’s , which includes a range of dormant volcanoes, is located near ɲԻ岹’s National Police College. Ӱҵpark is home to 12 troops of endangered mountain gorillas. ӰҵRwandan National Police oversee security for the park and offered the Ӱҵ group a tour as their guests.
Excursions to see the gorillas are available to visitors through carefully controlled and guided mountainside tours, available by limited permit from the park.
Visitors and guides can view the gorillas in close proximity, from just a few feet away. Ӱҵtroop of gorillas the Ӱҵ group visited included two silverback males and two new baby gorillas. Bob Christy, senior coordinator, photography, in Ӱҵ’s University Communications and Marketing (UCM) department who captured these images, said, “As you climb the mountain, the gorillas are all around you. When you find them, they will come very close to you, sometimes even touching you. It’s amazing.”
Ӱҵ is looking toward including tours of the park in future education-abroad programs in Kigali.
A panoramic view, looking down the mountain from Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.