With construction works on the Musanze-based Ellen DeGeneres campus back to pre-pandemic levels, it is expected that the facility could be ready for operations by November this year. The construction work is being funded by American television personality Ellen DeGeneres and her long term partner Portia de Rossi, and once complete, it will host the headquarters of Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund which has been operating in the country for the past 50 years. This is according to Felix Ndagijimana, the Director of Rwanda programmes at Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Karisoke Research Centre. Ndagijimana told The New Times that while the official launch is expected in February, next year, construction works are now at 85 percent. “By November, we expect to have completed the construction, and the remaining work will be to equip the facility before it can be inaugurated,” he said. The $10-million campus, incepted two years ago, is expected to boost mountain gorilla conservation efforts and promote Rwanda’s tourism. According to Ndagijimana, once established, the campus will also help move closer to the park and the communities served, while enhancing the quality of science, education and community initiatives. “The rate of completion is relatively the same on all the facilities except the conservation gallery which will slightly more time than the other facilities,” he added. The gallery, which will be alongside the research and education center, is designed in a way to be an interactive public exhibit used to educate tourists and local communities about gorillas and their habitat, the importance of conservation, and the work of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ndagijimana explained. Conservation of gorillas in Rwanda was pioneered by Dian Fossey, an American primatologist and conservationist from 1966 until she was murdered in 1985. Her journey to help and save mountain gorillas in the wild has recently gained a boost, with the recent one coming from the Ellen Fund. Its construction is being conducted by MASS Build Ltd, a team of over 140 architects representing 20 countries. According to Rwanda Development Board, the Campus will embody the Fossey Fund’s mission to conserve and limit its impact on the environment, through rainwater harvesting and green roofs. “The works were delayed for various reasons, but our partners are organizing a grand opening in the first quarter of next year, should things continue to normalize,” said Ariella Kageruka, Ag. Chief Tourism Officer at RDB.
