Donatien Mengonga, Bayaka indigenous tracker, has a dream: to become a research assistant at the Mondika site in the northern Republic of Congo. WCS’s scientific skills development programme has enabled him to resume his studies.

Donatien is Bayaka, a semi-nomadic people who live in the north of the Republic of the Congo, the south of the Central African Republic and eastern Cameroon. As forest people, Bayaka have an ancestral knowledge of fauna and flora. Donatien started working at Mondika more than 18 years ago as a tracker after leaving Congolese public school. Most Bayaka do not attend formal state school and few of them can read and write. But Donatien quickly distinguished himself from his classmates with his sharp mind and his desire to learn. Inspired by the career path of his colleague Gaston Abea, another Bayaka who became a research assistant, Donatien had only one goal in mind: to go back to school.

After school, professional training

It is thanks to the generosity of a private donor, then the Goualogo Triangle Apes Project (GTAP), that Donatien was able to return to school for two years and finish his primary formal education before returning to Mondika. Since then, Dona has been training to become a research assistant. His training includes not only data collection but also photo-trapping techniques, biological sampling and botany.

Working with Donatien meant that the WCS team at Mondika noticed his exceptional skills in studying gorilla behaviour and his unique knowledge of plants. Qualities that may lead him to reach his dream.

Strengthening scientific skills, a priority for WCS Congo

Gaston and Donatien serve as examples for other Bayaka. Capacity building is a priority for the WCS programme in the Republic of the Congo, who are working towards training qualified local researchers and wildlife management personnel. The courses are intended for research assistants, trainees or students and offer them practical experience in all aspects of scientific research and natural resource monitoring, while allowing them to improve their English.