The kwita izina is an annual ceremony for naming newly born baby gorillas with in the year. This has become a culture and tradition in Rwanda for there famous wildlife conservation and there only weeks to this a waited enrapture day. The efforts are credited to the government of Rwanda development board and other conservation partners and the local community especially those who were former poachers’ and living around the volcanoes national park. This ceremony is mainly for the purpose of conserving the mountains gorilla inhabitants for the primate’s continuity.
The naming of these baby gorillas helps in knowing the increased number of gorillas in each family group with in the year. The ceremony was first commenced in 2005 with an aim of creating awareness of gorilla conservation among the people of Rwanda. But before the kwita Izina was started, the naming of the baby gorillas was done by the game rangers and the researchers without involving the general public. So this has enabled to indulge the general public in this event.
The ceremony has created awareness to thousands of people both the international and the local people every year. The event is usually celebrated at the foothills of the famous Virunga Mountains. Tourism in Rwanda is now one of the largest and growing sectors in Rwanda. all the conservation partners plus the Rwanda government aim at conserving the natural environment and the wildlife in it. This has led to the social, economic and environmental development and helped to control the destruction of wild life especially the famous gorilla in the Virunga Park.
The 2015’s annual kwita izina will be held on the 5th September 2015. This will be the eleventh annual kwita izina where 24 baby gorillas born with in the year will be named. This year’s kwita izina theme will be conserving now and for the future.
This years ceremony will be one of its kind coupled with another great activity of sensitizing the general gorilla number in there famous home volcanoes’ national park of Rwanda. This was last carried out in 2010 which gorillas had a growth rate of 26.3% with in a period of 7 years from the first census in 2003.
KWITA NZINA
