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We need to have the same kind of strategies in place to combat illegal mining exploration in Virunga National Park and have the laws be respected like we did in Virunga, we need to have a support at national and international level.Hide Caption 11 of Rodrigue Katembo Photos : Protecting Africas oldest parkHe hopes to be able to develop ecological activities around the park's boundaries that will provide income for Virunga National Park local community. But due to lack of finance, there is only one truck to patrol over 4,000 square miles. Pictured, Rodrigue Katembo Katembo.Hide Caption 12 of 12 / * global CNN * /' use strict' ; jQuery( document). ready( function() { var galleryAdSlide = new CNN.AdSlide(' el __ gallery', false, CNN.contentModel.singletonFile) ; }) ; Rodrigue Katembo has loved wildlife since Rodrigue Katembo was young. But like many in the African nation, he has been touched by war. When he was 14 years old in 1989, Rodrigue Katembo was taken as a child soldier, during the Democratic Republic of Congo's long running armed conflict.He would remain a soldier for eight years in different rebel groups. After peace was briefly restored, he began work at Virunga, in 2003, protecting the land and healing the community.