How do some people face incredible tragedies and find within these experiences inspiration to improve the lives of others? Our guest today lost her grandfather, who was the assassinated Prime Minister of the Buganda Kingdom, and her father, who was disappeared by Idi Amin, and yet she went on to become a leading conservationist.

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Uganda's first full-time wildlife veterinarian and the Founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health. Interested in animals from a young age, she pursued her studies at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London before returning to Uganda. In the time since, she's worked tirelessly to preserve the animals of Uganda, being awarded the Whitley Gold Award, Sierra Club Earth Care Award, Edinburgh Medal, National Geographic Explorer, and most recently an appointment to become a United Nations Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation. She is author of Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet.

"When I arrived in the forest, I got sick, I couldn't visit the gorillas for a whole week, and I felt so upset. I was like, 'Oh no, I may never get to see them after wanting to study them for all these years.' But fortunately, I got better. I stopped coughing and sneezing, and then I finally had a chance to see them. And when I got to see them, and I saw how closely connected we are, I could see how it's so easy for us to make them sick. And I felt, why don't I become a full-time wildlife vet? Because up to that point, I thought I wanted to be a vet who also works with wildlife, making sure the gorillas are not getting diseases from tourists, and they're safe. And also bringing the other wildlife back, through translocations moving animals.

I did manage to write a letter to the executive director of the National Parks, and I said to him, 'This is what a vet does in wildlife conservation. You need to have a wildlife vet, and I want to be your first wildlife vet in Uganda.' And this was snail mail because there was no email at the time. And a few weeks later, I was pleasantly shocked to get a letter from him saying, 'Come back.' He said, 'Your job is waiting for you. We look forward to seeing you after you finish your studies!' I was like, wow, he's convinced by what I wrote. And in January, I started as Uganda's first wildlife vet, which is a very exciting first job."

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