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2001 Project News |
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In May & June, we went with the team to a local primary school near the Mara, Emurototo School. We watched and participated in talks given to the students by the team members. It was wonderful to see how well the team members handled these talks, and how eagerly the students participated in discussions about the importance of their wildlife and environment and ways that they can make a difference now.
 Working on the nursery school |
One of the serious issues in East Africa is water,
and deforestation is a major contributor to this problem. Collins (from
Youth For Conservation) asked each of the oldest group of students to
plant a tree and be responsible for caring for it (covering it with thorn
brush to protect the sapling) and when the team returns, the kids can
show off the fruits of their work!
After the talks we took as many kids as possible on a field trip into the Maasai Mara Reserve. This was a sight to see, indeed. We had two big old safari transports, one donated by Kichwa Tembo Camp, and another rented for the snare sweep, as well as Anne's Land Rover. We managed to pack about one hundred kids into these three vehicles.
 Some of the kids on the field trip. |
The kids were thrilled, and our timing was quite lucky. In a matter of just a few hours, we saw lions, elephants, giraffe, hippos, Thompson's Gazelles, Topi, Eland, and a number of birds.
We were a little surprised to find that most of the children and the one teacher that went with us had never seen a lion, and had never been so close to any of the other animals, as they were always on foot, and it's too dangerous to get close to the big animals unless one is in a vehicle. Each of the vehicles on our excursion had at least one team member in it that was able to talk to the kids about the animals. We were in Anne's Rover with Kayhan, and the youngest kids and their excitement and eagerness to learn was profoundly evident.
 Heidi & Lori with the kids and the new water tank |
Some of the kids were a bit scared when we were near elephants,
as they aren't aware that the elephants in the Mara are fairly unconcerned
when approached by a vehicle (although approaching one on foot could easily
have a fatal outcome). In spite of this, the children didn't want the
drive to end!
While at Emurototo, we got to see the water tank that Amara Conservation
had paid for. There was a formal ceremony in which the elders thanked
us for the tank and for what we will be doing to assist them in the future.
 The first day at the new school. |
Then we went up to Ol Malo, the home of our friends Rocky and Colin Francombe, their daughter Julia, and son Andrew. The nursery school that we have become involved with is on the edge of their ranch, and it was through the Francombe family that we originally became acquainted with the Samburu people who live there. The Francombes were born in Kenya and have lived with the Samburu for many years. Julia Francombe has gotten very involved in supporting the local community, and it was with her, and the support of her parents that we were able to do the work on Lonyore Nursery School in the Kirimun District in Northern Kenya.. As the photos show, the walls were poles filled between with some old dried mud, which had mostly disintegrated, and the floors were of dirt.
 Mixing the mud, water and cement for the walls of the school. |
Before the work commenced, we had a formal meeting with
the elders of the community explaining what we wanted to do.
The Francombes provided some of their staff, as well as the vehicles for
transporting the materials to do the work. The local community provided
six men per day to work with us, and all of the women came and helped
each day. The men broke down the internal wall, while the rest of us removed
the old mud. Replacing it entailed trailering water from the nearest borehole,
bringing cement, and digging dirt with pick-axes to mix with the water
and concrete. Then the mixture was immediately applied to the poles, which
had branches stuffed in between them. (This was accomplished by literally
slinging the mud at the wall, and then smoothing it down.) The walls needed
2 to 3 layers of this for stability. As we quickly found out, the women
are by far the best at this task, as they build their own houses. The
final coat had some red paint mixed in, which makes the school look more
finished, and yet blends in with the surroundings - the ground up there
on the plateau is red.
 Quite a different setting after… |
It took about two weeks to break down and rebuild the school building, repair the toilet, and put up a windbreak. It was hot and dusty work, but joyful, and fun. While the school began to take shape, we got to know many of the people, especially the women, who are remarkably hard workers. Many of them laugh easily and we shared a lot of fun moments with them - they were also quite willing to try to teach us to dance when we had breaks, which they all found quite hilarious.
Three blockboards were put into the school, one of them painted with blackboard paint, and Colin's carpenter worked overtime every night to build octagonal tables and small stools for the kids, so they can sit and work in small groups. They are painted in bright primary colours, so it's all quite cheerful. On the day of the official opening, we took out some of the materials we had brought from London and Nairobi. We took paper, pencils, paint, books and maps and posters for the walls. There are more materials up there which will be introduced gradually, and we will take more when we go back. The women helped plant aloes along the sides of the school, which were protected with thorn brush until they take root - this looks nice and will deter the children from leaning on the walls in order to help preserve them. We will be talking to you in the future about further aid for this wonderful school.
 A close up of the hard-to-digest corn. |
One of our considerations is the nutrition of the
children. At present, they are receiving some food aid; but we're sad
to report that some of what they are getting is bags of feed corn from
the USA. This was an incredibly disheartening discovery. At the end of
the school day, the kids line up obediently with their little plastic
pots to get their meal. Previously we had seen them get uji, or maize
meal, which is a staple in Kenya and relatively nutritious. This day they
were lined up to receive this feed corn, which had cooked for 5 hours
- on a fire with all of the water that the children had brought from the
river - and it was hard as a rock.We picked out pieces of corn and the
centers were white and hard, and upon asking we found that the children
who ate this had bad tummies all night, and the corn comes out undigested.
 The kids patiently waiting in line for the nearly inedible feed-grade corn. |
We've personally gotten to know some of these kids, and sitting there under a hot tree, knowing they had waited all day for this meal, and that what they would get would only make them feel ill and give them little if any nutritional value, was just a bit much to bear - there simply aren't words for it. For less than $3,000 a year, we could provide these 100 children a nutritious meal each day.
 Finished School, side view… |
The School in Kirimun
We are also looking into the needs at the nearest
primary school in Kirimun. We met with the school chairman, and will revisit
this school in the autumn.
The Emuroto School
The primary school in the Mara, Emuroto School, has asked us to review
their requests for more supplies as well as assistance in providing more
teacher housing (currently eight teachers live in what was intended to
house four, along with their families), a boarding facility, as many of
the children walk so far to get to and from school that they are exhausted
and get home after dark so are unable to do homework - these children
inevitably fall behind and get discouraged, often quitting school altogether.
This would be a major project and we are assessing its viability.