Strategic coordinator at Dahari, Misbahou talks about his stay in England. He benefited from a Darwin scholarship and underwent six months of training to strengthen his capacities in biodiversity conservation. 

As I mentioned in my blog from December last year on this prestigious fellowship, this is a Darwin Fellowship awarded to local staff of Darwin Initiative projects carried out in countries rich in biodiversity. This was the case for me as part of the Community Engagement for Sustainable Development in the Comoros (ECDD) project, a project financed by the Darwin Initiative and the French development agency between January 2010 and December 2013. The aim of this scholarship is to strengthen the capacities of local staff in biodiversity conservation.
After passing by two months in Madagascar between September and October 2013 with organizations experienced in the field of biodiversity conservation, namely Blue Ventures and Durrell Madagascar, the next stage of this training was to take place in England with partner organizations of the NGO Dahari, namely Bristol Zoological Society and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. The objective was above all to participate in a 12-week training on the conservation of endangered species (Durrell Endangered Species MANagement, DESMAN) at Durrell Conservation Academy in Jersey.

A month before leaving for England, I took some tests on my English level and the results were not as satisfactory as I thought. Following this test, I was admitted to International House of Bristol, a school of English language training for foreign students wishing to pursue studies in English universities.

On November 26, 2013, I left the Comoros for Nairobi, that's where I had to get the visa for England. Without much difficulty, I was able to obtain my visa and on November 30, 2013 I arrived in London. I didn't have any problems at Heathrow Airport. I was able to manage to find my way. To be honest, I imitated what others were doing. When I left the airport I immediately recognized the person who had come to pick me up because she had written my name on a piece of paper. I was taken to my host family. Going to live with a host family was not very easy for me to imagine; on the other hand it was an opportunity to express myself daily in English.

The day after my arrival, I immediately started my English training at IH Bristol which lasted ten weeks. This learning was a key step for the future. Indeed, I had to go to Jersey for 12 weeks of training intended for professionals working in the field of conservation. The goal is to strengthen my abilities on project management for the conservation of endangered species.
This training takes place every year and I am the only Comorian who had the chance to participate. All the modules taught were very useful. We received theoretical and practical courses in several themes through which some fit well with the areas of intervention of the NGO Dahari. We also had periods of relaxation participating in iconic Jersey events such as Commonwealth Day.

Throughout this training, I acquired new knowledge in several areas such as conservation project management in general, facilitation techniques, management and leadership, development of conservation action plans. biodiversity, project development and financing file. I also benefited from learning practical aspects like data collection and field sampling techniques. I also learned a lot about the importance of the Zoo and its role in the conservation of endangered species through captive breeding, the usefulness of genetics and the importance of the geographic information system for the conservation of biodiversity.

It was also an opportunity to share enriching practical experiences with members of Durrell's staff at the Zoo on their in-depth experiences in conservation.

Apart from the training, I learned a lot on a personal level. Living daily with people from different cultures allowed me to open my mind and learn a lot about the different approaches used in other countries for biodiversity conservation since the 12 participants in this training came from 11 different countries.

However, the first weeks in England were difficult for me, finding myself in a foreign country with a culture totally different from mine and especially with new eating habits. In addition, I had to adapt to a climate diametrically opposed to mine. which was not easy during the first months. Fortunately, the mutual support that everyone had for each other throughout the training meant that outside of class, we lived like a family. The cultural and linguistic diversity has solidified the team spirit and in my opinion it is this diversity which constitutes the richness of this DESMAN training.
My training in England was the most important experience I have ever had. It allowed me to create links with my fellow participants through which we can share experiences in the context of biodiversity conservation. Now it's time to put all the knowledge into practice acquired throughout this training in order to contribute to the development of the NGO Dahari in its momentum on the conservation of biodiversity.

Thank you to the Darwin Initiative for funding and to Bristol Zoological Society and Durell Wildlife Conservation Trust for your support.