Page 16 - Local Voices, Local Choices Excerpt

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Clockwise from top left: Fatuma Kifumu, Gabo Paulo, Hamisi Mkono, and Yahaya Almas.
roughly 50 PhD and master’s qualifications. For the most part, however, these have been the findings published by foreign scientists continuing Jane’s legacy in the search for answers. And these discoveries were made possible by the profound and unpublished understanding developed by the many local people who have been employed as field research assistants for decades. Although the study of chimpanzees at Gombe predates the launch of TACARE by many years, both projects are founded on valuing the skills, knowledge, and determination of the local people. Even now, at Gombe, field researchers from nearby villages carry out the task of follow- ing and observing the chimps from dawn till dusk every single day, along- side Tanzanian scientists working closely with their partners in academia to continue Jane’s vision.
Gabo Paulo Zilikana is one such field researcher. Towering over the average person by head and shoulders, Gabo could easily be mistaken for a professional basketball player on vacation. A man of few words, he has