Creating a healthy human community in relationship to the ecosystem requires education to combat child mortality. The parks where gorillas are protected are surrounded by communities whose poverty and poor health create threats to the overall ecosystem shared by people and gorillas. The DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND’s Ecosystem Health and Community Development Program seeks to create a healthier ecosystem by working with local communities to develop new sources of income, healthcare, clean water, and 
prevent disease.

In 2009, over 1,800 students benefited from the construction of nine new classrooms at the Bisate School. With enrollment increasing, there are many urgent needs to be addressed to help foster a better learning environment. Additionally, an improvement of the Bisate Clinic’s infrastructure directly increases the amount of people receiving medical aid, especially for new and expecting mothers. In recent years, this program has reached more than 400,000 people in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.