Post/photo – Janado Nazare Cher
My name is Paulo Chuva Nhanguo, I’m 57 years old, I work for Gorongosa National Park as a locksmith, I live in the community of Vinho, and I belong to the Regulado Nhanguo family.
My father was a régulo and with his death I became his heir and successor. My family lived for many years in this area (Regulado Nhanguo) and what is now part of a great history of wildlife restoration, was my home and that of my grandparents as well.
As a child I used to visit my grandparents and take the opportunity to see and meet many animals that existed at that time. But unfortunately because of the war, we had to leave the area until the end of the conflict. And when we returned to see what was left, there was just absolute silence. What seemed to be Garden of Eden had become a place without peace and without hope for future generations.
At that time many animals had been killed and to see what was left we had to travel many miles and sometimes we couldn’t find even one animal.
“I remember one trip I took with my brother, after we had traveled miles on the road, we saw only one elephant, it was very far away, we stayed about 20 minutes remembering the past. It was a mixture of feelings, I was happy to have seen it and sad because I lived in times that we didn’t have difficulties to see animals.”
Days went by and with the introduction of the Gorongosa Restoration Project, I see the return of wildlife and I feel honored to be part of that history and especially to be part of the Gorongosa restoration team.
Now with 15 years of experience, Nhanguo tells us that he first worked as a casual cleaner, cleaning the roads that connect the different points within the Park, he helped transport water for animals that lived in the sanctuary during the reintroduction process, and then he moved to the area of metalwork where he participated in the construction of much of the infrastructure that is currently being put to the test by the cyclones.
Nhanguo wishes to see the development of the Park and the people living around it and hopes that his generation can see and live as in the past time.