In celebration of Women’s History Month – and thanks to the generosity of Gertrude Irene Marsi of Santa Barbara, California – we are pleased to report the initiation of a new scholarship.  The initiative, launched with our partner The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project (BCCP), supports education of young women in Uganda.

The Gertrude Irene Marsi Scholarship[1] sponsors young women who are nearing or attending secondary school (the equivalent of high school) and whose families are forest owners working with BCCP. Several members of Mrs. Marsi’s family visited Uganda with Friends of Chimps in 2017 and have helped support the creation of this scholarship.  The first three scholarship winners were announced in February. (see below).

Gertrude Irene Marsi

How it Works

BCCP has been working with local farmers to reduce deforestation by contributing to their children’s school fees; in return, the families agree not to harvest trees or cut forest.  Currently, school assistance is being provided to 54 family members of forest-owners.  This new scholarship will help BCCP extend its outreach, and recognizes the special importance of secondary school education for young women of this region.

Local residents place a high value on education but affording school fees, uniforms and supplies can be challenging.  Harvesting trees is one potential means of covering costs, but can cause great damage to the farmer’s watershed.  The forested areas are also critical to a population of about 300 wild chimpanzees who depend on these shrinking forest fragments – and whose survival is threatened.

These forests have strong conservation value, serving as ‘corridors’ between two protected areas – the Budongo and Bugoma Forest Reserves. In fact, this corridor area was identified as a “chimpanzee conservation unit” in the IUCN-commissioned Conservation Action Plan (CAP) for eastern chimpanzees. BCCP recognizes that engaging local land owners is essential to maintaining or even improving the privately-owned corridor forests and that educating the next generation of forest owners can be a viable, long-term solution.

Studies have shown links between the level of education attained and more positive attitudes toward conservation and wildlife. BCCP is also actively engaged in building alternative livelihood programs that benefit thousands of local people in this region and allow them to earn money in more sustainable ways that do not rely on cutting down forest.

For more information about BCCP, visit their website

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[1] Officially titled The Gertrude Marsi Scholarship, Honouring Young Women from Families Participating in the Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project Who Are Nearing or Attending Secondary School.