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Claudia A. McMurray, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, the Environment and Science, prepares to hand over a certificate of appreciation to a retired Congolese forest ranger. Also present is Embassy Kinshasa's Deputy Chief of Mission Samuel Brock.
Visit to Goma of Assistant Secretary of State Claudia McMurray
Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, the Environment and Science (OES), Claudia A. McMurray, traveled to Goma in the Province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 15, 2008 to personally recognize some 30 Congolese park rangers for their efforts to protect the critically endangered wildlife of the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage site that is famous as the home of most of the world's last remaining mountail gorillas. In recent years many park rangers have been attacked, and some have been killed, as a result of the Congo wars and agression by poachers.
The moving ceremony included speeches by Assistant Secretary McMurray, Kinshasa DCM Samuel Brock, and Congolese conservation authorities. A summary of the courageous actions of each of the honored park rangers was read. Widows and children of rangers who died in the line of duty attended the event and were recognized for the heroism of their family members. the Governor of North Kivu Province presided the ceremony, which was also attended by the Secretary General of the Congolese Ministry of Environment, and the Executive Director of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).
After the ceremony, the rangers and their families were hosted by the OES Bureau and Embassy Kinshasa at a reception at the Ihusi Hotel in Goma. Assistant Secretary McMurray spoke with the press after the event, praising the remarkable dedication of Virunga’s rangers who, despite the many dangers they face, continue to defend the park’s resources and wildlife, thus earning respect and admiration for their work and sacrifices. The ceremony and reception were sponsored by USAID's Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), based in Kinshasa, and directed by John Flynn.