DesertRose
Safari Chick & Supporting Sponsor
Below is a copy of a letter I sent out to our friends and donors last night, and since many of you are supporters of our efforts, I wanted to share it with you.
A Democracy in Turmoil: Time for People to Help People
Dear Friends,
Many of you have called or written about your concerns for Kenya—what is happening to this country we all hold dear? Are the news reports accurate? And, what does it mean for the communities and the conservation and research projects we are supporting?
Many of our Kenyan friends and colleagues have been keeping us up to date, through email and phone calls.
First, all of our partners, the people working on projects we support, are safe. None of the rioting and reprisals has reached these areas. People were prepared with extra food and supplies, and were able to lie low during the worst of the violence.
Second, like us, our friends are indeed in a state of shock over the magnitude of turmoil that did—and that it even could—happen. One wrote: “Do listen to international news if you have access but remember, it is much more widespread and complex than is being portrayed.”
But Kenyans are tough and resilient, and everyone we spoke with is anxious to get back to work and tackle the many opportunities and challenges of conservation in a changing region. There is much good to look forward to in 2008:
So the future of conservation in Kenya remains bright, even as the political situation darkens. While we cannot get into the complexities of the recent political history of Kenya, we can refer you to two excellent background articles recently run in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times (if the links do not work for you, please email me and I will send you PDFs of the stories). These two stories repeat what our friends in East Africa are saying: it's far more complex than the news media are portraying—it is not ethnic cleansing, and that we must continue to support this budding democratic state.
Finally, many of you have asked me, “What can we do to help?”
A special thanks to those of you who have already sent us generous checks. For the researchers and communities in Kenya, your support will mean that the world is still behind them. Let's show them that when governments fail them, people will stand behind them.
Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you,
Roseann Hanson
Executive Director
A Democracy in Turmoil: Time for People to Help People
Dear Friends,
Many of you have called or written about your concerns for Kenya—what is happening to this country we all hold dear? Are the news reports accurate? And, what does it mean for the communities and the conservation and research projects we are supporting?
Many of our Kenyan friends and colleagues have been keeping us up to date, through email and phone calls.
First, all of our partners, the people working on projects we support, are safe. None of the rioting and reprisals has reached these areas. People were prepared with extra food and supplies, and were able to lie low during the worst of the violence.
Second, like us, our friends are indeed in a state of shock over the magnitude of turmoil that did—and that it even could—happen. One wrote: “Do listen to international news if you have access but remember, it is much more widespread and complex than is being portrayed.”
But Kenyans are tough and resilient, and everyone we spoke with is anxious to get back to work and tackle the many opportunities and challenges of conservation in a changing region. There is much good to look forward to in 2008:
- New funding opportunities mean a strengthening of the Science Program at African Conservation Centre, including hiring several new and highly experienced program associates;
More support for the Borderlands Elephant study and conservation project has come through generous African Conservation Fund donors;
New general support through African Conservation Fund is also building at all-time highs;
Funding has come in for a budding program to analyze 30 years of data and embark on new investigations regarding climate change in East Africa; and
Increasing interest in the work of the South Rift Association of Land Owners and their commitment to a regional network of conservation plans and eco-tourism projects in the southern Rift Valley.
So the future of conservation in Kenya remains bright, even as the political situation darkens. While we cannot get into the complexities of the recent political history of Kenya, we can refer you to two excellent background articles recently run in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times (if the links do not work for you, please email me and I will send you PDFs of the stories). These two stories repeat what our friends in East Africa are saying: it's far more complex than the news media are portraying—it is not ethnic cleansing, and that we must continue to support this budding democratic state.
Finally, many of you have asked me, “What can we do to help?”
- One of the most-repeated pleas from Kenyans is, “Don't worry on our behalf but move any 'powers' you have to save democracy in Kenya.” While African Conservation Fund is specifically not a political organization, we do urge you to read the articles listed above and to consider writing a personal letter to your own senators and representatives, and to Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Committee on foreign Relations, which in July hosted a special session on “Democracy in East Africa: Moving Backwards or Forwards?”
Now more than ever the projects and communities in Kenya need your support—many new and exciting efforts are taking off—see the list above, which is only a small part—and we are not going to diminish in any way our fundraising and other efforts. International aid is going to come to a screeching halt as a way for North American and European governments to pressure change in Kenya . . . we need your financial support now more than ever.
A special thanks to those of you who have already sent us generous checks. For the researchers and communities in Kenya, your support will mean that the world is still behind them. Let's show them that when governments fail them, people will stand behind them.
Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you,
Roseann Hanson
Executive Director