Who We Are

Emmanuel Harerimana, who came from a family of poachers, now devotes his life to conservation and protecting the most vulnerable in his community. Harerimana says that his background as well as his education are what made him particularly equipped to promote conservation through education and helping the humans that live among the great apes sustainable livelihoods. In 2005, Harerimana met Edwin Sabuhoro who has held the position of Tourism Warden of Volcanoes National Park and also went on to found Ibyiwacu Cultural Village, an educational village, which is run by an ex-poachers’ association. Sabuhoro first got Harerimana involved in local conservation efforts. Once he became involved, Harerimana says, “It was really easy to understand why we should conserve these mountain gorillas… It was easier for me to understand than for my dad, who does not write or read, or. My uncles and my neighbors, and it took time to convince them of why they had to get out of the park.”

Harerimana dedicated himself to eco-tourism and conservation, recognizing that it offered a viable alternative in terms of livelihood for people who had traditionally depended on the forest to survive. In 2011, after travelling to Japan for further training in community tourism, Harerimana returned to Kinigi, where he founded the Muhisimbi Volunteer Guides Association. Muhisimbi is an amalgam of the names of the two mountains that are the homes of the mountain gorillas – Mounts Muhabura and Karisimbi. In the years since founding Muhisimbi, Harerimana has helped to support the training of more than a dozen other local gorilla and community guides. Then in 2015, he started looking for other ways to help others in his community, particularly unwed adolescent mothers whose plights are often overlooked or ignored in Rwanda. Harerimana’s mother was only 17 when she had him and faced significant shame and discrimination due to Rwanda’s deep cultural biases against unwed mothers at the time.

In 2018, Emmanuel established Muhisimbi Voice of the Youth In Conservation, a comprehensive residential and training program to house and care for pregnant teenagers and unwed mothers with their babies. Having grown up in poverty himself along with his 8 siblings, Emmanuel knows more than most about the pain of homelessness and hunger. Once he was able to earn a steady income as a gorilla guide, he wanted to help others – in particular those girls who had been rejected by their family – like his own mother once was. What started out modestly with supporting for a dozen girls, his program now offers housing and wrap around support for more than 100 girls and their babies.

Watch a video featuring Emmanuel and his work with mountain gorillas.