A big hearty HELLO!

A few weeks back, I wrote to you all about the African Wildlife Foundation’s (AWF) Charlotte Fellows Program, which is a fellowship offered specifically to African nationals seeking their full or partial Ph.D. or Master’s degrees in conservation, biological sciences (see my original post here). As you no doubt will recall, I promised that as soon as I had word I would let you all know about the newest crop of students who will make up the Charlotte Fellows class of 2009-2010. Well, guess what? The word is in!

As AWF recently expanded our work into western Africa (you’ll be hearing more on that very soon!), we specifically restricted the application process to students from West Africa. These future leaders of African wildlife conservation are as varied as any class we’ve ever seen – and just as brilliant.

The roan antelope is one of the many fabulous antelope species found in West Africa. © Shana Laursen

I present to you now the AWF Charlotte Fellows class of 2009-2010:

Etotepe A. Sogbohossou is  a lion lover from Benin who is working towards a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands.

Issa Nassourou is from Niger and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Geography at the Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey, Niger.

Boubacar Boureima is also from Niger and like Issa, is currently working towards his Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management, also, at the Abdou Moumouni University in Niger. He is studying the manatees of the Niger River (Betcha didn’t even know Africa had manatees, did ya’?).

Mohamadou Habibou Gabou is from the nation of Niger (wow- Niger has really represented for this class!) and is working to earn a Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management at, you guessed it, Abdou Moumouni University in Niger.

Isidore Ogoudje Amahowe is from Benin and is  pursuing his Master’s degree in Analysis of Wildlife Populations at the Rural Development Institute, Bobo-Dioulasso University Polytechnic.

Amelie Traore Hien is from Burkina Faso and is conducting research on ecosystem degradation in the Kou sub-basin in her homeland while studying for a Master’s degree in Protected Area Management at the International Institute of Water Engineering and Environment in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso.

Congratulations to our newest class of fellows! For more information on our new fellows, please visit us on our website here.

Wait! Before You Go…
As most of you know by now, here at AWF, we believe in empowering people as much as we believe in conserving and protecting wildlife. Our Charlotte Fellows program is living proof of this belief. However, just because the application process is closed for our 2009-2010 fellows class doesn’t mean you can’t still lend a helping hand to future African conservationists. Please visit us here to lend support to our Charlotte Conservation Fellowship Program and here to buy school supplies for our youngest future conservationists: the primary students at AWF’s Manyara Ranch School in our Maasai Steppe Heartland.

Author: Erin

Heading up AWF’s membership desk for the past eight years, Erin Keyes has amassed quite a bit of knowledge about Africa’s wildlife and unique wild lands. She’s also an expert on AWF’s membership benefits and programs. She started this blog to share what’s she’s learned and to give AWF supporters another forum for asking questions