(Posted 02nd January 2025)
The Morrises are our most recent guests — an American family living in Moshi, Tanzania, where Wade teaches at the United World College East Africa. These colleges bring students from different countries together to promote peace and sustainability (much like the Illumineers pitched at the end of this newsletter). It was a lovely surprise to hear about his place of work, because their sister United World College of the Adriatic supported our projects in Uganda over a decade ago.
Despite coming from such an outstanding school, the family couldn’t help but be a little jealous at the impressive campus of the Virunga Valley Academy! My youngest son (in chequered shirt) has been studying here for four years, and the library/art room tower is one of his favourite spots.
As I write this, the Morris bunch is off exploring Nyungwe National Park, their second big Rwandan destination. Earlier, they hiked and boated the Congo Nile Trail for three days, becoming quite the spectacle! Their 9-year-old, Eliza (in red), was the youngest Muzungu (“white person”) locals along the trail had ever seen, drawing curious crowds wherever they went.
Would you also like to entertain Rwandans as they provide you with an adventure for the ages? Catherina from Italy is eager to get some company from 4 to 14 February 2025 — for the whole trip or just a part of it!
“You are what you read and the company you keep” the saying goes. I’ve always been a bit of a loner, happiest with a great article in my lap or a podcast in my ears. The people I feel closest to — those who stimulate my brain best — are scattered across the globe, making most of my socialising a screen-bound affair.
That’s why I started Gorilla Highlands Unpacked a month ago: a space to connect us all and offer a more stimulating media diet. Social media giants prefer to shower you with empty entertainment or outrage-inducing stuff with a paralysing effect. Not GH Unpacked; it’s designed to inform, inspire and spur active engagement.
To be part of this community you’ll have to sign up for Bluesky. It’s an app/website with over 25 million users successfully reclaiming the space once held by Twitter. (In fact, Bluesky was created by the original Twitter team and became independent just before Elon Musk crashed in.) Registering takes two minutes only, and if you’re mindful of screen time, even engaging once a week can keep you in the loop.
On the other hand, if your preference is for tour-related stuff, Gorilla Highlands Travels might be for you. These updates are published on our website every Wednesday and reposted on Instagram and Facebook on (usually) Thursday.
Lastly, for those who are curious about the personal adventures of Miha Logar (the writer behind this newsletter), these days I share a monthly photo album of six carefully curated pictures on both Instagram and Facebook.
… Seriously, choose what suits you best and be with us more than a few times a year! We aren’t boring at all.
Have the topics above piqued your curiosity? How about getting on a Zoom call to discuss our plans for 2025? We’ll cover our:
1. responsible tourism and client relations
2. media strategy
3. youth program
Date: Saturday, 11 January 2025 (yeah, that’s 11/1 or 1/11 and easy to remember!)
Time: 5pm London/6pm Vienna/7pm Kigali/8pm Kampala/9am San Francisco/12pm New York
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82162331316?pwd=CRUUAaaHgrl76gufwO9Ms0pRxoYia2.1
Meeting ID: 821 6233 1316 Passcode: 497059
This will be an introductory presentation, followed by a chance to join/support any of the three specialised teams — if you are so inclined. Of course, there’s no obligation; the call can simply be a yearly catch-up for you.
One of our teams has taken over the final section of this newsletter. (You’ve heard of “Youth Spaces” before, “Illumineers” is simply a new, cooler and more fitting name for it).
Before I pass the mic, I’d wish to personally thank Alenka Seher for her generous €800 donation and Susan Robinson for contributing $500 towards our next Friendship Camp. (And no, you don’t need to donate such large amounts to make a difference — even the smallest contribution helps!)
For two years running, teams of young Rwandans have come up with all sorts of projects — integrating beets into the local diet, making trash into pavement and even poop into energy. Through intensive workshops, they developed their sustainable business concepts into viable pitches — and developed their confidence and leadership skills along the way!
For example, Providence (age 20) and Joshua (22) worked together on a biogas project. Using the skills they learned, Joshua has started a chicken farming business and is now selling eggs, earning cash for his family and improving local nutrition. Providence, meanwhile, broadened his horizons after being accepted to attend a youth conference on sustainability in Ghana.
The Illumineers youth program gave both of them a burst of new skills and optimism, and Joshua and Providence say they are eager to pursue the many opportunities that life has to offer.
The young people in our workshops face greater challenges than ever to take care of the incredible biodiversity around them — but they give us boundless hope in their leadership and creativity.
Now we need your help to keep this work going and to launch this fantastic initiative in Uganda: with a Friendship Camp for the youth across the Gorilla Highlands region to build peace among the three nations and collaborate on environmentally-friendly projects.
The camp’s hands-on curriculum will cover environmental protection, sustainable development, entrepreneurship, conflict resolution and more, and help the kids forge lasting bonds with young people across boundaries.
Your support for Illumineers is life-changing for the young people in the program. It also helps keep gorillas and their habitat safe for the long-term by teaching the skills and environmental awareness to protect them. The volunteers who train at the camp are experts in their field and offer state-of-the-art education to help these young people grow and meet the challenges ahead.
Click here to make your donation via GoFundMe; any amount no matter how humble will make a difference — you can find some examples on the website. If you would like to donate another way, please let us know by responding to this email.
Be a part of something big in 2025! Happy holidays and a wonderful new year to all!
