The Kasese Wildlife Conservation Awareness Organization

The Kasese Wildlife Conservation Awareness Organization operates out of Portland, Oregon, and is a non-profit making project established in 2002 to create Wildlife Conservation Awareness among school children and communities who live near Queen Elizabeth and Rwenzori National Parks in Western Uganda. Since its inception over 215 schools have been given wildlife presentations and materials that have helped in the conservation efforts of the valuable fauna and flora resources.

Wildlife education is relatively new in the Kasese District (western Uganda). It is only through the Kasese Wildlife Conservation Awareness Organization that painstaking efforts are being made to integrate wildlife issues into the school curriculum. The KWCAO strongly believes that the survival of the people and communities in western Uganda will continue to depend on the sound management of the environment and natural resources. Therefore, there is a vital need to expand public awareness of the wildlife issues for sustainable development for the future.

Ugandans and Americans have very different perspectives on wildlife. In Uganda, for many decades, wildlife has been considered to be pests, crop destroyers, food, sources of traditional remedies, sources of income through poaching and trade, etc. Only recently have efforts been made to stop poaching and increase the population of endangered species in the Kasese District and in all of Uganda.  In America, we see these beautiful creatures and wonder how could anyone kill them? Yet most Ugandan children and adults never have the opportunity to see wild animals and therefore the prevailing attitudes continue. There are other organizations working in the Kasese District to protect wildlife but KWCAO's efforts are focused on educating the children to enable them to learn the importance of wildlife conservation.