Candidates in Conservation

Our visit to Chipande primary school, one of the 8 ASSETS benefiting primary school with Jonathan was uniquely marked. Our main cause of our visit was to meet the potential ASSETS beneficiaries, who are currently the class 8 students. It is was long time since both of us visited this school. We were excited to be back. The school’s face has changed, with a new and very beautiful building being built facing the entrance of the school. Looking around are lovely trees planted during the rainy season. The WCK patron Mr. Mputhia was happy to receive us. He was also excited to have us around. He took us around and showed us the wonderful work the candidates are doing. In the last rainy season, this year around May, my colleague Jonathan gave more than 100 seedlings to each class in the school. “It is wonderful job”, Jonathan commented on seeing the well maintained Casuarina woodlot by the candidates. I was very impressed by their efforts and the interest in conservation at this age. It gave me hope for our environment and how useful is youthful age and its involvement is vital. After the walk to the talk. I could not believe but the truth is that we took more time than we had thought. The talk with the candidates was excellent and very timely. Keeping in my mind that they had only 14 days to go before they sit for their national exams. They needed a booster and ASSETS was right there to encourage them to work extra hard in order to be able to enjoy the ASSETS eco-bursary fund come next year. 

As we concluded, the head teacher encouraged them to put up the hardworking spirit and vowed nobody will be left behind.   

Tree Nursery Seedlings

  Hopeful Candidates

 

Meeting Potential ASSETS Beneficiaries

On the truck, off we zoomed. On a hot bright afternoon we head off to the western side of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest. Make a wild guess; to which school this time? Yes! Your right. It is Malanga primary school, one of the ASSETS benefiting primary schools. After a long drive on the dusty road here we are finding parking for our truck. The class 8 candidates had already been informed of our going by their teachers. So they were expectant students eager to hear from us. We have brought you good news; we started our talk after the introduction. Their eyes and ears went wide open. My colleague Tsofa did general introduction of A Rocha Kenya which brought forth the ASSETS programme. As Tsofa was winding up, hands were raised to ask questions. The first question was what do I need to benefit in the ASSETS scheme? It’s a question all wanted to ask. Hold your horses, Tsofa replied as I took them through the details of the recruitment criteria. Which is as follows:- All the candidates from the eight ASSETS benefiting primary schools have equal potential to benefit, students must have been in these schools for 3 years or more, they should attain 320marks or more in the national exam out of the 500 marks, they should have good track record of discipline, they should have interest in conservation, be a radius of 3km from the edge of the forest to their respective homes and lastly they should have won admission in any public secondary school in the country.  The candidates who were 37 in total got a sigh of relief after this talk. Ours was to motivate them as they approach their national exams in 46 days time. Their Deputy Head Teacher Mr. Thuva encouraged them too, saying ‘despite your poor backgrounds work extra hard you never know’. He continued, ‘you all stand to benefit’. He also cited examples of former students of this school who are currently beneficiaries of the ASSETS scheme despite their poor backgrounds. As we were winding up, we wished them every success in their coming exams.  Tony Kanundu (Bats) – ASSETS Community Conservation Officer

Esther tells her story

   It was nice to have Esther visit our offices in Mwamba today. As a graduate in the ASSETS bursary scheme, Esther Kache Karisa graduated from Bogamachuko primary school and headed to Ribe girls for her high school. She graduated from Ribe girls in the year 2007 and attained a mean grade of B-. During her time in high school she was really hardworking and dedicated to her education. Because of  her poor background Esther did not believe she was going through her secondary education. ‘It’s the ASSETS support that has seen me through my high school education’, Esther said. ‘Lots of appreciation to the ASSETS scheme’, Esther continued.  Esther is now 20 years old.

 Esther visit was also to inquire if there was extended support to university. It was very sad when she learnt that in the month of July I went to her home looking for her. It was sadder when the parents said they did not know the whereabouts of this girl. Esther was really bitter of this lost chance.  Below she explains her sad story.

‘I left home 3 years ago when I was in form two. Enough had been enough. I remember very well, I went to school and over the holiday I would work as a house maid to get some money for my pocket because the ASSETS scheme was paying for my school fees. It was not easy. After my final exam in November 2007, I went to my sister in Malindi town. Since then I have worked as a kiosk attendant in Kilifi and Mombasa and now am quitting job to help my sister who had an operation recently.’

It was like squeezing water out of a stone when Esther was telling me her story. She broke down in the midst of the story and was unable to finish. Too sad for Esther, it dawned on me that she was greatly mistreated by both parents.

The worst part is that she was 1 of 10 students to be interviewed in July 2008 for the chance to be the winner of one bursary from GIFT International which would pay fees for a university course.  Because of her parents mistreatment she was not at home when I went looking for her and so missed out on the chance to even try for the place.

It’s so sad when we hear these stories, mistreated by parents who are unable to see how well she has done in school. Esther even worked during the holidays to get money to top up the school fees.  But at least through the work of Assets Esther has been able to complete her high school certificate and therefore her chances of employment are far greater than they would otherwise have been.  Please pray for her as she looks to the future.

Tony Kasungu, ASSETS staff member.

The Hon. Noah Wekesa visits Mida Creek and the Hanging Walkway!

Last saturday Dr Noah Wekesa, Minister for Forestry and Wildlife and MP for Kwanza visited the Mida creek and the hanging walkway. Tony Kasungu and Tsofa Mweni arrived bright and early at 8am to greet the MP but due to commitments he did not arrive until after 12pm! However, afer his arrival they galantly explained about the work of the Assets programme and how it benefits Mida Creek, the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and the surrounding communities.

The Hon. Noah Wekesa was guided around the Mangrove forest by Arafa, one of our guides at Mida Creek  He then walked on part of the hanging walkway before he had to move on due to other commitments. He was very impressed with the Assets programme and the eco-tourism site at Mida creek!

What are your “Indicators” of impact?

This is a question everyone who applies for funding from any donor has to answer. Well, 100% of the answers given are hypothetical or only apparent and therefore a big test for the project designer who tries to prove them true and valid. For conservation projects, it is even further complicated by the slow realization of results and the costs attached to proper evaluation processes. Nevertheless conservation work can be unbelievably rewarding as one sees the signs of impact being made. For ASSETS, this is one of the many happy moments! Saturday the 9^th of August was a memorable day for ASSETS. This time not on my iron horse so don't ask how many times I fell off. Together with 3 members of the ASSETS committee we headed for Shanzu Teachers Training College. Guess for what? It was a graduation ceremony for one of the very first ASSETS beneficiaries. Leah Mwamure was recruited to the ASSETS project in 2002. She went to Bogamachuko primary school, proceeded to Vitengeni Baptist for her high school education. She graduated from high school in the 2005 and joined Shanzu Teachers Training College in 2006 for Primary Teacher 1 Training.

Leah is such a clever girl! Read this; during her time in the ASSETS project she was given 50 casuarina seedlings to plant and care for at her home. Her hard work saw over 90% of her seedlings surviving to maturity. After 4 years of rearing the trees, Leah sold some of them to raise part of her brother's secondary school fees as well as her 1st year college fees. Now, for years, we have dwelt on the objective "to alleviate the pressure on the community to exploit the forest'' this has at last come true.What an encouragement! not only to her parents but also to the ASSETS project.

We are so proud of her thus we could not afford to miss her big day. With the ASSETS committee, her mum, her elder sister and a young brother not mentioning friends and other close relatives, Leah felt part of a big community. Leah was very happy to see us. "You have made me warm and God bless you all", were Leah's comments as we closed the gates behind us.

Courtesy call

Today I had a great meeting with the new District Forest Officer (DFO), Malindi District. I have severally tried to meet with him to pick on his advise regarding community participation in conservation as regards the new forest act. At last I have managed to do so today! As he courteously ushered me into his office I was greeted by the very familier set up I have known for over 3 years with only one change, the officer on the chair.

After a lengthy explanation of how ASSETS has progressed over the last 6 years, it was evident that the DFO had had very little information about the programme. Armed with past reports, newletters, minutes of previous meetings and letters of authorisation from the Director of Kenya Forest Service, I had the pleasure of bringing him to par with the opearations. It however turned out that according to the new forest act, several adjustments might need to be made. This will only take place after proper policies are constituted by the Kenya Forest Service.

This meeting will be followed up with another visit by the comittee of ASSETS beneficiaries to chat a way forward for revenue collection from the Arabuko Tree Platform. We hope and pray that the relevant policies will be put in place sooner!

GIFT for the ASSETS graduates!

After many year of head scratching trying to avoid the question "what next after the student's graduate from secondary school", at last there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. ASSETS is now linked to a UK charity, Gift International which seeks to finance post secondary education.

Grassroots Initiative Funding and Training (GIFT International) is run by very experienced environmental education teachers attached to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the UK. This charity seeks to facilitate education and training of communities for the purpose of environmental conservation.

Thus it has been another day on the motor bike though this time not paying bursaries. I have been busy searching for the ASSETS graduates who qualify to join University and potential beneficiaries to this new initiative. From our initial assesement, we have identified 10 graduates who qualify for this assistance. Interviews are scheduled for the next week to pick on the best four. Out of these, two are girls, and the most encouraging thing is, they are looking forward to a good future. One of the graduates I met had this to say. 'Through the great assistance offered to me by the ASSETS project, I was able to complete my high school and sincerely speaking ASSETS project has been the backbone of my success'.

Bats

Volunteering; a lifestyle that blew my mind!

My name is Carol Muthoni and I work for A Rocha Kenya as an administrator. Around two and a half years ago, being a "city gal" brought up and living in Nairobi, I had never taken time to think much about the environment. I would go to parks with friends on picnics and also visit Nairobi Nature trail where they have caged some wild animals and walk around, see them and it was cool and that was it. It was nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city! But how on earth did they manage to keep the place so amazingly beautiful with variety of trees, flowers, birds, butterflies, animals, fresh air and all?

In December 2005, a friend of mine requested me to accompany his nieces on a trip to a small touristy village - Watamu at the coast. I was between jobs then and so I thought it was a good idea, so I jumped to the opportunity. I had never been to the Coast Province before. In Watamu, we had been booked to stay at Mwamba field study centre for one night. I met this guy who introduced himself as Stanley, and he showed us around and into our rooms. Later after my first swim in the sea, I had a chat with him and he told me all about A Rocha and ASSETS. It is after talking to him and seeing their efforts and commitment to care for the environment that I realized what a beautiful place the world would be if all utilized our resources responsibly. I realized that as an organization, A Rocha was putting a lot of efforts in keeping the world a beautiful place to live in, both for humans and other creation. I was so impressed and wanted to help. I straight away decided to help with administration of the ASSETS Programme without realizing I wasn't going to work or live in Nairobi any more after all. After volunteering for nearly 7 months, I was offered employment as A Rocha Kenya administrator.

I have come to love life outside the city so much though there are times I miss the city life, but not enough to wish to go back. A Rocha opened my eyes and I was able to see that there was something I could do in a small way that could save the world. Now! The guy I first talked to in my first trip ever to the Kenyan coast, the first of that tribe (Giriama) I ever spoke to in my life, the one who introduced me to the wild, my boss and my best friend apparently became the love of my life! We are getting married this year in October and that means I belong to the Kenyan Coast and to the wild now and forever! His name is Stanley Baya, the ASSETS Coordinator.

A very big “Asante SANA”!

We would really like to thank very much indeed the Giraffe Centre in Lang'ata, Nairobi, for the very generous donation of Ksh 100,000 (c.$1,600) which has come at a particularly timely point. Ksh 60,000 of the donation will go direct to pay bursaries for children in Secondary school since this year our income from the eco-tourism facilities has been pretty poor given the troubles we had earlier in the year in Kenya which has chased off a lot of tourists.

The balance will go towards costs of a holiday "eco-camp" for 30 of the beneficiaries in August where they come and stay at the A Rocha Kenya field study centre in Watamu for 3 days, located right on the beach. Over the three days they are given a lot of input of exciting and stimulating environmental education particularly about Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek, with games, videos, talks, excursions (e.g. snorkelling in the Marine Park and to the Mida board walk) and for the two years we've done it so far they've really enjoyed it and learnt a lot. Many of the kids, even though they live only 15-20kms from the sea, have never actually seen it, so for them to have the chance to even go snorkelling blows them away!! So it's really good to be able to do this for them and this donation will really help make it a great experience - thank you, the Giraffe Centre!

Maximizing on Low Tourist Season!

Everything is blamed on the post election violence! For employees in the hotel industry, it is a very popular reason why they cannot repay their debts while their managers have found it easy to lay off half their staff to save on wages overhead in the name of redundancy. Head teachers in private schools have fallen victims of the same whilst children have accumulated enormous fees balances; reason, post election violence has ruined tourism in Kenya. Whilst all this is perfectly true and well worthy knowing, we should also note that it is June, the poorest Month in tourism. At the Mida bird hide, this is usually the time when we can receive one visitor in a whole week. At the Gede ruins, they hardly get tourists anyway and to them this is perfectly normal for the Month of June.

Renovation of the Mida Bird hide

While this is happening, we have since mid-May closed the Mida bird hide for some major renovations. A team of five has been working tirelessly on the facility and is now almost done. The fundi, Kadenge, "the bomb" promises it will be fully functional in two weeks.