Kenya and the Drought

[Scott Brady]

I received this from Roseann Hanson, if any of you would like to help.


The worst drought in living memory is gripping Kenya's savannas and devastating lives on a scale not seen in more than half a century.

World news is finally focusing on the human and wildlife tragedy - images of dead and dying cattle and wildlife, and people struggling with feeding themselves and their families through this terrible drought.

There is yet another victim of the drought that is lesser known: Education.

While pastoralist Maasai families are struggling to survive, their wealth slashed, many of the hardest hit are not able to pay for fees that cover teacher allowances and food (school is not free in Kenya). Scores of schools across the South Rift are closing.

The elders of the South Rift Association, a Maasai conservation trust, have approached us for help. Many of them remember the horrible droughts of the 1960s, when they had to drop out of school due to the movement of their families away from the areas were the schools were located and for their own survival. Few of them ever returned to school.

The elders asked us to focus on the pre-schools in the area, as these young children are the most vulnerable in times of drought and the schools are all parent-funded. Some 60 pre-schools and 3,040 children are affected in the South Rift alone.

It is a critical time for the Maasai - the elders know that school is the most important tool for the future of their lives as pastoralists, to help inform management of their land, resources, and opportunities such as science and tourism. Without education, the future is lost.


HELP US SUPPORT EDUCATION & THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION IN THE SOUTH RIFT - JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN

WHAT WE NEED:

Three months of food and teacher salaries to see them through the worst of the drought.

- Teacher salaries, Magadi region (20 teachers for 3 months): $4,000 USD / 300,000Ksh.

- Food*, for 40 of the most affected schools: $23,000 USD / 1,725,000Ksh

*it takes ksh 3,600 Ksh / $48 to feed 50 children (the average size of a school) for one week.


WHAT YOU CAN DO:

We have a matching grant confirmed from the Cincinnati Zoo of $10,000 to meet these needs. For every dollar you donate, they will match one for one!

We are encouraging each of you to contribute $10 or more, AND ask 10 friends for $10 - you collect that money, and send to us. Ten of you doing this means $1000 x 2 (the match grant) = $2000!

In this way we can aggregate funds quickly, get our matching funds, and get some help to this devasted area.

Here are some ideas:

- Hold a fundraiser with your schools or businesses - Car washes, bake sales, contests, etc. We'll send images and messages of your efforts to the schools in Magadi on your behalf.

- Solicit donations from businesses - $50, $100, $500 or more

- Send this email to more people.

We can't accept food or goods donations from overseas - due to import duties and problems - cash is best.

All international funds can be sent through African Conservation Centre's international representative, African Conservation Fund, and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and we guarantee the aid will be delivered as promised, through the South Rift Association of Land Owners.

In the US:
ONLINE: click the DONATE NOW button on the upper right main page of the website http://www.africanconservationfund.org

or checks can be mailed to African Conservation Fund, 3400 E Speedway, Suite 118-146, Tucson AZ USA 85716
In the US Roseann Hanson after October 1 at <image001.gif><image002.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image002.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif><image003.gif>520-591-1410<image001.gif>

In Kenya:
Contact John Kamanga, South Rift Association of Land Owners ( 722 709514, Soralo@acc.or.ke) Or Samantha Russell (722 583734, samantha.russell@acc.or.ke), South Rift Resource Centre


The Embirika Nursery School, in Olkiramatian Group Ranch, is one example of a pre-school which is unable to open due to the current drought. The school teacher is Mary, Albert Kuseyo’s wife. Albert runs the South Rift Resource Centre. The pictures show the school in October 2008, and now standing empty in September this year.

 

[Martyn]

Adventure Trailers will donate $100.00

Why is this important when we are suffering in a down turned economy and things are tough at home?

Education in third world countries is the key to maintaining social fabric. If this is lost or eroded the whole country is thrown off kilter resulting in social unrest.

Although Kenya has the outward impression of a well anchored democracy, it's quite fragile, as recent unrest has shown.

Kenya is located in a volatile region bordering Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. All of these countries are experiencing or have recently experienced conflict that at a minimum needs to be contained.

In addition to the Geopolitical reasons, the request from the tribal leaders is for the children of the country, it is their investment in the future.

I'd urge all of our members to take the time to weight this decision up carefully. Can you afford $10.00?, can you forgo a couple of Starbucks coffees? Can you make a small investment in the future of a country, an investment for peace and stability.

For Portal sponsors, in these tough times can you dig deep and make a contribution.

For our dreams. I know we dream about going on an African Safari more than we actually go. Kenya is the ultimate dream, you need to keep your dreams alive. Make a small donation.

 

[taco2go]

Thanks Martyn, and scott for sharing this. Contribution made.

 

[mrchips]

Donation sent.

 

[Martyn]

Got a note from Roseann today sharing where our donated money is being spent:

The funds have been used in part to:

&#8226; Pay 12 teachers in the division for 3 months @ $50 per teacher per month.

&#8226; Buy 80 bags of maize and 16 bags of beans this will be distributed to 16 schools in the 4 group ranches.The food should serve the 16 schools for 1 month.

It's really gratifying to know that teachers are being paid, and children are learning and being fed. Our donations are being well spent.

 

[preacherman]

I spent a few weeks in Kenya this summer leading a group of 36 people across the western provinces and I can say that while the drought was really bad everywhere it was worse in the eastern half of the country. The mountain regions were holding out ok but Nairobi and the eastern half where down right scary. If it continues we WILL see civil disruption break out. Thanks for posting.

 

[DesertRose]

Adventure Trailers will donate $100.00

Why is this important when we are suffering in a down turned economy and things are tough at home?

Education in third world countries is the key to maintaining social fabric. If this is lost or eroded the whole country is thrown off kilter resulting in social unrest.

Although Kenya has the outward impression of a well anchored democracy, it's quite fragile, as recent unrest has shown.

Kenya is located in a volatile region bordering Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. All of these countries are experiencing or have recently experienced conflict that at a minimum needs to be contained.

In addition to the Geopolitical reasons, the request from the tribal leaders is for the children of the country, it is their investment in the future.

I'd urge all of our members to take the time to weight this decision up carefully. Can you afford $10.00?, can you forgo a couple of Starbucks coffees? Can you make a small investment in the future of a country, an investment for peace and stability.

For Portal sponsors, in these tough times can you dig deep and make a contribution.

For our dreams. I know we dream about going on an African Safari more than we actually go. Kenya is the ultimate dream, you need to keep your dreams alive. Make a small donation.

I wanted to thank Adventure Trailers for this - Martyn, you said it so well, thank you!

We're inching our way toward $20,000, and it's already making a huge difference. Expedition Portal folks came through in a great way, thank you again.

 

[DesertRose]

I spent a few weeks in Kenya this summer leading a group of 36 people across the western provinces and I can say that while the drought was really bad everywhere it was worse in the eastern half of the country. The mountain regions were holding out ok but Nairobi and the eastern half where down right scary. If it continues we WILL see civil disruption break out. Thanks for posting.

I just got back a few weeks ago, and while things are extremely dire for those in the South Rift Valley and in the west/north, I would not go as far as to say there will be civil disruption for sure.

The folks in the south are very hard off - and there are sad reports of suicides as people have lost everything that is their worldly measure - but most are resigned to getting through it however they can, not to causing any civil unrest.

In the north and west, things are quite different with the violence, and this is mostly related to the raiding by bandits / shifta from Somalia and southern Ethiopia which are both 'no man's lands' for criminals. Certainly the Kenyan government can give more aid to the Samburu and others up north and to the west, but please let's not say there will be civil unrest again. Kenya is still hurting in many ways from all the bad exposure from 2008's political problems.

It's still a fantastic country of people who believe in their fledgling democracy and most are hopeful they can pull through - without violence.

 

[Martyn]

I think of this as preventative maintenance. We make small donations to feed and educate the children now. We avoid costly intervention at a later date.

Plus of course it's the right thing to do.

 

[Christian P.]

In the northern part of Kenya, close to the border of Ethiopia, they have not received one drop of rain in over 2 years.
The dust was the worst I have ever experienced. It was extremely fine and volatile - even worst than the Playa at BM...

From what we gathered when speaking with the locals, they have lost a huge number of animals in the reserves.

 

[preacherman]

I just got back a few weeks ago, and while things are extremely dire for those in the South Rift Valley and in the west/north, I would not go as far as to say there will be civil disruption for sure.

The folks in the south are very hard off - and there are sad reports of suicides as people have lost everything that is their worldly measure - but most are resigned to getting through it however they can, not to causing any civil unrest.

In the north and west, things are quite different with the violence, and this is mostly related to the raiding by bandits / shifta from Somalia and southern Ethiopia which are both 'no man's lands' for criminals. Certainly the Kenyan government can give more aid to the Samburu and others up north and to the west, but please let's not say there will be civil unrest again. Kenya is still hurting in many ways from all the bad exposure from 2008's political problems.

It's still a fantastic country of people who believe in their fledgling democracy and most are hopeful they can pull through - without violence.

Perhaps my wording was too strong and my intent clouded by my choice of words. What I mean by "civil disruption" is not the type seen in post election violence (which I got to witness while it was still very hot but that's a story for a different day) but "disruption on a civil level". I did not mean riots in the streets or bands of machete wielding gangs by any means. On my last trip to Kenya I met with a MP's and the water shortage was on his mind in a big way just like our members of congress know the economy is on ours. In Nairobi its all people talk about, everyone is worried about water and what the rainy season will be like. If the drought goes on for long this worry will translate in non violent civil action i.e. a political problem for those in charge. That is the the type of civil disruption I meant to point to.

Forgive me if my short post seemed alarmist, it was not my intent. Believe me as one of the co-leaders of an organization that employs over 60 Kenyan people and houses and feeds an additional 1,400 each day, the last thing I would like is for Kenya to get bad press. This year alone I spent over 1 month in Kenya and have taken over 40 people on life changing trips thought the country. Over the last few years I have grown to love it deeply and spend much of my time everyday trying to help it's people through food programs, rural health care and church planting.

I can see a love for Kenya is something we both share. Perhaps one day we will bump into each other at city market or at the Java house. If so, I'm buying!:sombrero:

 

[DesertRose]

No worries - I just always get an earful from Kenyan colleagues who are tired of being assumed-violence-is-the-only-solution people.

See you at Java House or Dorman's then!