Edition 35: Summer 2006
Rose Jere has plenty to smile about.
Breaking both gender and cultural barriers, she’s recently become fully
qualified as a safari guide ‐ the first Zambian woman to do so.
After nearly five years of study, dedication and commitment,
35-year-old Rose is now escorting guests at Kapani Lodge in Zambia’s
South Luangwa National Park, sharing her great enthusiasm for the
Zambian bush.
From a rural background, Rose has always been an exceptional
individual, qualified mechanic at the age of 25. Her long-time ambition
was to be a guide, so she took a housekeeping job at Kapani Lodge,
former home of the late Norman Carr, Zambia’s founding father of
conservation. In her spare time she worked at perfecting her English,
studying birds and animals and practising her driving and ‘spotting’
skills, helped enormously by the Kapani guides. With their support, her
knowledge and confidence grew and she was offered a position at Nsolo
Camp as a driver, spotter and guides’ assistant.
Rose
sat her guiding exams in May. She passed the written theory paper with
flying colours, beating most of the other candidates and scoring 100%
in mechanics. In the daunting practical, examinees are tested by three
Grade One safari guides on their knowledge of bird calls, vegetation,
tracking, driving and interpretation of animal behaviour. To everyone’s
delight, not least her own, Rose passed.
Norman Carr, who
believed passionately in education, equality of opportunity and in
making sure that the tourist industry benefited local people, would
surely be immensely proud of her achievement. Rose’s own reaction was
typically modest. “I am only just starting to learn,” she said, “and I
will never stop studying and improving.”
Rose will be guiding
safaris based at Kapani Lodge and its surrounding satellite bush camps
for Wildlife Worldwide. For details, contact Wildlife Worldwide on 0845
130 6982 or visit www.wildlifeworldwide.com.
|
