Hello everyone! We've been having a great time here at Mwamba with the group of 18 ASSETS beneficiaries who are camping here. Yesterday was a full day, including snorkelling, some speakers, and a visit to Bio-Ken Snake farm! Today, the group is visiting Gede Ruins and Mida Creek (where two of the ASSETS revenue-generating projects are located), and since the camera with most of yesterday's pictures on it went with them, we'll just share about the snake farm.
(The best way to travel on a hot day!)
For a bit of background, most Kenyans are deathly afraid of snakes. There are a lot of myths that all snakes are poisonous, and will kill you almost instantly with just one bite. This is not actually true... as the folks at Bio-Ken try to teach, only 34 of the 127 species of snakes found in Kenya are venomous, and many venomous snakes do not deliver venom with every bite. They try to spread awareness and offer a free snake removal service to try to encourage locals not to kill snakes on sight, as they are valuable contributors to their ecosystems. This is not information that ASSETS beneficiaries would usually receive, so the A Rocha staff thought a visit to the snake farm would be a great opportunity. Students were given the opportunity to handle non-venomous snakes, and get a chance to appreciate how beautiful some of the species are... especially when they are behind a glass wall!
At least one person in the group, Naomi (the current A Rocha Environmental Education Intern) was brave enough to hold one of the snakes!
In addition to all of the fun activities, there are many speaker sessions built into the ASSETS camp program. The students receive teaching on the importance of education, responsibility towards community, creation care, healthy lifestyle choices, and a Bible study as a part of their ASSETS Camp experience. They have a chance to discuss these topics openly with the speakers, in a way that they don't really get a chance to during their formal schooling.
We are looking forward to telling you more about the rest of this camp!