American RnB and pop singer, Camila Cabello, has described her experience tracking gorillas in Rwanda as feeling like the luckiest person in the world.
The singer has been in Rwanda where she among other things visited the Genocide Museum in the capital Kigali.
“I never imagined in my wildest dreams I could one day hike in the rainforest and be able to… look in the eyes of a Silverback gorilla and literally bow in his presence,” the former of the girl group Fifth Harmony wrote after her excursion in Volcanoes National Park, north of Rwanda.
Rwanda is home to about 600 mountain gorillas all found in Volcanoes national park which borders Virunga national park (DRC) and Mgahinga national park (Uganda).
Gorillas are Rwanda’s most prized tourist attraction and the country has gone to great lengths to conserve the endangered species. Each year, Rwanda holds a gorilla naming ceremony dubbed Kwita Izina and invites different celebrities and public figures from across the globe to name the baby gorillas.
Proceeds from such activities go towards conservation efforts including supporting communities that lie on the edge of the national park so as to prevent poaching.
Camila who recently collaborated with Nigeria’s Oxlade on the Ku lo sa remix paid tribute to the people who make the experience of being able “to share space with these noble giants” possible.
The singer tweeted that it was crucial for her to learn that the conservation and protection of gorillas are good for both wildlife and the local communities.
“I fell in love with this place and the people we met along the way..(shout out to my friend Francois Bigirimana!!!)”.
She described Rwandans as compassionate, resilient, and strong people.
Camila who has won two Latin Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, and one Billboard Music Award is known for hit songs like Havana, Senorita, Bam Bam and Never Be the Same.
Havana topped charts in several countries, including the US and UK, and became the best-selling digital single of 2018.
Celebrities that have visited Rwanda include Morgan Freeman, Idris Elba, Ellen DeGeneres, Maria Sharapova, David Luiz, Ne-yo, Didier Drogba, Naomi Campbell, Ben Affleck and Meghan Markle.
For majority of these stars, the purpose has been tracking mountain gorillas whose population world over remains between Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.
