{"id":13813,"date":"2015-09-06T20:00:03","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T00:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/?p=13813"},"modified":"2015-09-06T20:00:03","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T00:00:03","slug":"gorillas-in-the-midst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/gorillas-in-the-midst\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorillas in the Midst"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div id='fullscreen_slider_1'  class='avia-fullscreen-slider main_color   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first   container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><a href='#next-section' title='' class='scroll-down-link ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue877' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/a><div   data-size='extra_large'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='13931'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='false'  data-bg_slider='true'  data-slide_height='100'  data-handle='av_fullscreen'  data-interval='5'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id='fullscreen_slider_1'  data-scroll_down='aviaTBscroll_down'  data-control_layout=''  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-stretch=''  data-default-height='100'  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-1 av-slider-scroll-down-active av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-extra_large av_fullscreen   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 84.3333333333%;' ><li style='background-position:top left;' data-img-url='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-Midst-1500-1500x1265.jpg' class=' av-single-slide slide-1 ' ><a href='http:\/\/wp.me\/p63Bn8-3AN' data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><div class = \"caption_fullwidth av-slideshow-caption caption_left caption_left_framed caption_framed\"><div class = \"container caption_container\"><div class = \"slideshow_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_inner_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_align_caption\"><h2  style='font-size:20px; ' class='avia-caption-title  '  itemprop=\"name\" >Gorillas In The Midst<\/h2><div class='avia-caption-content  av_inherit_color'  itemprop=\"description\"   style='font-size:12px; '><p>by Melanie Kieve<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div id='after_full_slider_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-13813'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  no_margin flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_fullscreen  el_before_av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='border-radius:10px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '  style='font-size:16px; '  itemprop=\"text\" ><blockquote>\n<p>Facing danger at every turn, Edwin Sabuhoro saved endangered wildlife \u2014 and impoverished communities \u2014 surrounding the famed Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Now a Ph.D. student at Clemson, he is working to take this effort to other parts of Africa and the world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_three_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Tears almost brought an end to Edwin Sabuhoro\u2019s conservation career \u2014 and much, much more. As a park warden at Rwanda\u2019s Volcanoes National Park in 2005, Sabuhoro volunteered for a sting operation to catch mountain gorilla poachers. A dangerous mission \u2014 this is the same park in which Dian Fossey of \u201cGorillas in the Mist\u201d fame worked and was killed \u2014 he posed as a buyer, faced the poachers alone in the middle of the night and negotiated with them to \u201cbuy\u201d a stolen baby gorilla.<br \/>\nThe poachers, all young men, led him to the young gorilla who had been kept in a sack for five days with no food. The scene brought Sabuhoro to tears, raising the suspicion of the poachers.<br \/>\n\u201cI told them they were tears of happiness because I had wanted to own a gorilla for so long, and thankfully, they believed me,\u201d he said.<br \/>\nOfficials swooped in and caught the poachers, and while Sabuhoro was happy that the mission was successful, he was plagued as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI felt that I had done something wrong and right at the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cI had saved the baby gorilla, but also had betrayed two of my countrymen and lied to them, and now they were in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So again, facing danger, he visited the poachers\u2019 families. Sabuhoro had to have answers to his burning questions: What drove these youth to poaching? How could it be prevented?<br \/>\n\u201cWhen I arrived and asked my questions, the father of one of the teens replied with two questions,\u201d Sabuhoro said. \u201cHe asked, \u2018First, if you are part of a family with nine children who are starving to death, and you know that there are gorillas in the park, and people who will pay for them, would you not poach instead of letting the children die? Second, if you did not have this job, which provides money and the ability to survive, would you not poach yourself?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This is a narrative all too common in Rwanda and other East African nations. In a land filled with natural resources \u2014 gorgeous landscapes and animal species \u2014 its citizens often are marginalized and unable to access these resources in ways that generate income and preserve the resources for future generations. The result? Endangered species and systemic poverty that can lead to starvation and death.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_one_full  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  no_margin flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:10px; '><div  class='avia-gallery  avia-gallery-1 deactivate_avia_lazyload avia-gallery-animate avia_animate_when_visible  avia-builder-el-8  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class='avia-gallery-thumb'> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/gorilla-Edwin-poachers-talking.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/gorilla-Edwin-poachers-talking-495x400.jpg' class='first_thumb lightbox ' data-onclick='1' title='Sabuhoro met with the parents of one of the poachers.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='Sabuhoro met with the parents of one of the poachers.' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/gorilla-Edwin-poachers-talking-495x400.jpg' width='495' height='400'  title='gorilla-Edwin-poachers-talking' alt='' \/><\/a> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-Poachers-Meeting.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-Poachers-Meeting-495x400.jpg' class='lightbox ' data-onclick='2' title='The poachers gathered for a meeting.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='The poachers gathered for a meeting.' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-Poachers-Meeting-495x400.jpg' width='495' height='400'  title='Gorilla-Poachers-Meeting' alt='' \/><\/a> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-drummers.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-drummers-495x400.jpg' class='lightbox ' data-onclick='3' title='The Iby&#039;lwacu Cultural Village'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='The Iby&#8217;lwacu Cultural Village' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-drummers-495x400.jpg' width='495' height='400'  title='Gorilla-drummers' alt='' \/><\/a> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-basket-weave-1030x773.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-basket-weave-495x400.jpg' class='lightbox ' data-onclick='4' title='The Iby&#039;lwacu Cultural Village'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='The Iby&#8217;lwacu Cultural Village' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-basket-weave-495x400.jpg' width='495' height='400'  title='Gorilla-basket-weave' alt='' \/><\/a> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-EdwinMom.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-EdwinMom-443x400.jpg' class='lightbox ' data-onclick='5' title='Edwin and his mother'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='Edwin and his mother' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-EdwinMom-443x400.jpg' width='443' height='400'  title='Gorilla-EdwinMom' alt='' \/><\/a> <a href='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-WH-mtg-Obama.jpg' data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-WH-mtg-Obama-495x400.jpg' class='lightbox ' data-onclick='6' title='Sabuhoro received the Young Conservationist of the World award in 2008 and was invited to the White Houise in 2010 for a summit of young African leaders.'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" ><img data-avia-tooltip='Sabuhoro received the Young Conservationist of the World award in 2008 and was invited to the White Houise in 2010 for a summit of young African leaders.' src='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-WH-mtg-Obama-495x400.jpg' width='495' height='400'  title='Gorilla-WH mtg Obama' alt='' \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_three_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-10  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Poaching to Farming<\/h3>\n<p>Sabuhoro sought to change the narrative. He resigned his job as a park warden and began studying for his master\u2019s degree in tourism and conservation, focused on finding ways that local communities could directly benefit from the park and the mountain gorillas.<br \/>\nDuring this time, he also met with 100 poachers to come up with solutions. After consulting with them, Sabuhoro used his life savings \u2014 $2,000 \u2014 to start a Poachers to Farmers program. The money allowed Sabuhoro to buy land, and poachers rented parcels of land and bought seeds at a reasonable cost to begin farming potatoes.<br \/>\nSabuhoro left the program in the poachers\u2019 hands while he spent six months in the United Kingdom working on his master\u2019s degree, and the program took off. Farmers had enough resources to feed their families and to share as well.<br \/>\n\u201cWhen I returned, two of the poachers gave me two sacks of potatoes to thank me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt made me emotional, and it inspired me to want to do more.\u201d That something more was the creation of Rwanda Eco-Tours, a company offering educational tourism experiences that contribute to the conservation of Rwanda\u2019s natural resources. Twenty percent of the profits go back to the local communities and to sustainable tourism education efforts.<br \/>\nRwanda Eco-Tours has led to many enterprises, including Goats for Gorillas, a program inviting tourists to purchase goats for reformed poachers, and an initiative to turn poachers into volunteer park patrollers.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-12  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_fullscreen  avia-builder-el-last  column-top-margin\" style='border-radius:0px; '><\/div><br \/>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='fullscreen_slider_2'  class='avia-fullscreen-slider main_color   avia-builder-el-13  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth   slider-not-first container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><a href='#next-section' title='' class='scroll-down-link ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue877' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/a><div   data-size='large'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='14097'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='false'  data-bg_slider='true'  data-slide_height='100'  data-handle='av_fullscreen'  data-interval='5'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id='fullscreen_slider_2'  data-scroll_down='aviaTBscroll_down'  data-control_layout=''  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-stretch=''  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-2 av-slider-scroll-down-active av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-large av_fullscreen   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 66.5048543689%;' ><li style='background-position:top left;' data-img-url='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/09\/DSC_0125-1030x685.jpg' class=' av-single-slide slide-1 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-2' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><div class = \"caption_fullwidth av-slideshow-caption caption_left caption_left_framed caption_framed\"><div class = \"container caption_container\"><div class = \"slideshow_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_inner_caption\"><div class = \"slideshow_align_caption\"><h2  class='avia-caption-title  '  itemprop=\"name\" >It takes a village<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div id='after_full_slider_2'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-13813'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-14  el_after_av_fullscreen  el_before_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-16  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  \" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>One of the most transformative efforts was the creation of the Iby\u2019Iwacu Cultural Village in 2006, which allows Volcanoes National Park tourists to experience local customs of cooking, sewing, dancing, native medicine, and making tools and crafts, among other tasks.<br \/>\nBuilt by Sabuhoro and local community members with loans that Sabuhoro secured, the village now supports itself and the community though admission proceeds and souvenir sales, which are divided between community development projects and direct support of local villagers.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In just two years, the community saw a 40 percent decrease in illegal activities in the park and a 60 percent increase in community participation in park activities. Community elders began to select students for advanced educational pursuits, including some who have gone on to become park rangers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe community finally realized that the gorillas are our gorillas, and with sustainable tourism, we can care for them and ourselves as well,\u201d said Sabuhoro.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-18  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  \" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-20  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_three_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-22  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  column-top-margin\" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>The path to Clemson<\/h3>\n<p>From 2006 to 2013, Sabuhoro continued his work with Rwanda Eco-Tourism while serving on a larger scale with Rwanda\u2019s Chamber of Tourism and a nongovernmental organization focused on tourism development. His achievements garnered wide recognition \u2014 he received the Young Conservationist of the World award in 2008 and was invited to the White House in 2010 for a summit of young African leaders.<br \/>\nBut as always, Sabuhoro was looking for a way to make a greater impact on endangered species and the underserved people who share their landscape.<br \/>\nAnd that path led him to Clemson, where he began his Ph.D. in parks, recreation and tourism management (PRTM) in 2013 while colleagues continued Rwanda Eco-Tourism\u2019s work.<br \/>\nAt Clemson, Sabuhoro is studying how investments made by nongovernmental organizations, governments and other sources impact economic development and conservation in and around Volcanoes National Park. He is mapping resource allocations and evaluating their impacts on poaching, conservation behaviors, food availability, education and health \u2014 both at the community level and in individual households.<br \/>\n\u201cI want to use my research and findings to develop tools and models that can be used in conservation and community development efforts \u2014 in other parts of Africa and around the world, wherever the needs may be,\u201d said Sabuhoro, who is now 38 and will graduate in December 2016.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>During his time at Clemson, Sabuhoro has already made an impact, along with fellow East African PRTM colleagues involved in the International Conservation Caucus Foundation. In 2014, they hosted a group of U.S. Senators for a three-day Rwandan trip in which they shared about the critical role of conservation in poverty alleviation, economic development and security in Rwanda, and the subsequent impacts on the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_fifth  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-24  el_after_av_three_fifth  el_before_av_fullscreen  avia-builder-el-last  column-top-margin\" style='padding:0px 0px 0px 5% ; border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='fullscreen_slider_3'  class='avia-fullscreen-slider main_color   avia-builder-el-26  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_half   slider-not-first container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><a href='#next-section' title='' class='scroll-down-link ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue877' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/a><div   data-size='large'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='14099'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='false'  data-bg_slider='true'  data-slide_height='100'  data-handle='av_fullscreen'  data-interval='5'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id='fullscreen_slider_3'  data-scroll_down='aviaTBscroll_down'  data-control_layout=''  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-stretch=''  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-3 av-slider-scroll-down-active av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-large av_fullscreen   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 56.7961165049%;' ><li style='background-position:top left;' data-img-url='https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/09\/dance_IMG_0196-1030x585.jpg' class=' av-single-slide slide-1 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-3' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><div id='after_full_slider_3'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-13813'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-27  el_after_av_fullscreen  el_before_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>A mother\u2019s influence<\/h3>\n<p>It was difficult as a child for Sabuhoro to envision a future where he would meet an American president and lawmakers and impact countless lives on his continent. His parents fled Rwanda for Uganda during the Rwandan Civil War of the early 1990s. His father moved to the Congo to find work, and his mother raised Sabuhoro and his siblings, struggling to make ends meet.<br \/>\nWhen Sabuhoro and his siblings could not imagine a brighter future, his mother could. \u201cEven when we went a couple of days without food, my mother would say, \u2018There is hope. You are going to make it,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cShe saw hope in us, and instilled in us that we would achieve, and that only we could do it.\u201d<br \/>\nThat determined spirit led Sabuhoro\u2019s mother to scrape together enough funds to send him to secondary school (equivalent to U.S. high school). When funds weren\u2019t available to go the second year, Sabuhoro went back to school anyway, illegally, and convinced the head of the school to allow him to grow vegetables on school land to pay for his tuition.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cMy mother believed in education, and I believed in education,\u201d Sabuhoro said. \u201cHer courage kept me going.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Sabuhoro went on to graduate from secondary school and attended college in Rwanda, where he focused on law and discovered his true passion for the environment. \u201cI fell in love with the wildlife in my homeland,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew immediately that I was where I belonged.\u201d<br \/>\nWhile serving as a lawyer in Rwanda, he saw that no one was looking at how to save endangered wildlife, even though it was illegal to harm them. So, he left his law career and started his work with parks \u2014 work that has led him to Clemson and will lead him to more life-changing work in the years to come.<br \/>\n\u201cThrough my experience at Clemson, I have learned that the world has no boundaries,\u201d Sabuhoro said. \u201cIt has helped me develop a global perspective, and understand that we are all part of a global family, a global connection, a global network \u2014 and we can all work together through research and service to make the world a better place.\u201d<br \/>\n<em>Melanie Kieve is the public information director for the College of Health, Education and Human Development and the Eugene T. Moore School of Education. Photos courtesy of Edwin Sabuhoro.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-29  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><h5>Sabuhoro was featured on CNN&#8217;s African Voices series:<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[125,994,1239,1399,2269,2386,2484,2872,3057,3211],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-13813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-africa","tag-diversity","tag-features-summer-fall-2015","tag-gorillas","tag-poaching","tag-research-feature","tag-rwanda","tag-summerfall-2015","tag-tourism","tag-volcanoes-national-park"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Gorilla-1400.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13813"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}