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Ms. Wonson Goes to Kenya!

Thoughts on and photos from one teacher's adventures with Earthwatch.

October 26, 2006

Thank you, Scituate Rotary Club!

Yesterday, I spent a very pleasant evening at the Scituate Country Club discussing my Earthwatch Expedition, water issues in the Samburu District, and the challenges of development with members of the Scituate Rotary Club. This was the third time that I had been invited to join the Rotarians for Kenya-related events, but it was the first time that I took center stage. The Rotary Club is involved in several projects in Kenya, I believe; they are working with an orphanage there, and they have an interest in assisting with water projects as well. In May, they were visited by 3 members of the Lutheran Church of Kenya, who talked about the water crisis resulting from the on-going drought and the challenges of constructing boreholes, especially in the arid northern regions like Samburu. Last month, a couple who work in Kenya as missionaries helping street children return to their families and get an education visited a meeting to talk about their work there. Last night, it was my turn.

I spoke during dinner and dessert about Earthwatch, my experiences in Kenya, and what I had learned about the challenges that come with development and conservation projects. For example, I told the story of coming across a very nicely made and kindly donated borehole sitting next to a lovely pond; at the time, Sam had pointed out to us that it was a useless place for a borehole because it would merely drain the lake, all because someone thought that the water would be better if it were filtered through the surrounding sand and soil. Why is this a problem? It isn't just people that need to use the available water; wildlife need access to water as well, and they can't use a borehole. Boreholes are needed in areas where there isn't readily available surface water. Sustainable development projects need to be done with an toward maintaining a balance between people and nature, between tradition and modern-day knowledge, between a people's way of life and what someone else thinks would be "better" for them. During our expedition, my fellow volunteers and I were constantly coming up with ideas that we thought were brilliant solutions to the problems we saw each day, and our Kenyan friends gently pointed out the holes in each and every one. Sure, a bigger, sturdier, more permanent fence would certainly keep a lion or hyena out of a manyatta at night, but who wants to put the time, energy, and money into building one when your family could move on to a new location at any time?

After dinner, I spent some time sharing my pictures and souvenirs with anyone who was interested. I finally put together my photo album from the trip, so it was fun to show that off! I passed out slips of paper with my blog site, my email, and Earthwatch's website on them so that people could learn more. I also collected names and addresses from people interested in getting an Earthwatch catalog. I hope that some of them will be interested in participating in an Earthwatch expedition of their own. It is such an amazing way to learn about the world and the environment, and some firsthand research experience on the water project in Samburu could really tie in to the club's interests. It was just so great to be able to share my experiences with people who were so interested to learn more about a country that I came to love so much in such a short time, especially knowing that they are already helping there. I really enjoyed myself, and was very glad to be able to meet so many nice people as a result of my Kenya expedition.

October 23, 2006

Marc Ravalomanana's take on preserving the environment

Really, this is related to my Earthwatch expedition, even if it is more about Madagascar than Kenya! :)

In the most recent issue of the National Peace Corps Association's WorldView Magazine, there is an article by Marc Ravalomanana, the current president of Madagascar. The article is called "Madagascar Naturellement," which means "Madagascar Naturally." In it, he talks about the importance of combating poor health and poverty as part of saving the environment. "For its size, Madagascar contributes more to earth's biodiversity than any other place," writes Ravalomanana. However, the amazing natural wonders of the world's 4th largest island are constantly threatened by the practice known in Madagascar as tavy--slash and burn farming. This is a driving force in Madagascar's economy, as rural farmers convert rain forest into rice fields in order to survive, feed their families, and bring in a little money. Because Madagascar is among the world's poorest country (13 million of its 17 million people live on less than $1 a day), it is hard to convince farmers to leave available land as rain forest. The loss of the rain forest, however, further destroys the environment, contributing to erosion and the loss of habitat for plants and animals.

Ravalomanana sees health and family planning as important parts of conservation efforts in Madagascar. In rural Madagascar, poor families tend to be large. As family size increases, children will not be able to get enough food and they will be weaker, more susceptible to disease. Mothers will be at greater risk from too-frequent pregnancies. In order to feed these large families, farmers will have to further destroy their land in order to attempt to feed their families.

In Madagascar, large families have traditionally been considered a blessing. In fact, I was taught that the traditional blessing offered to a new couple at their wedding translates as, "May you have seven sons and seven daughters." The government must therefore fight tradition as well as poverty and a lack of information. However, through education and more healthcare options, "In only a few years, the average number of children per family has decreased from 6.0 to 5.2 children per woman, one of the lowest rates among surveyed countries in Africa."

There are certainly many who would argue against the family-planning based approach that Ravalomanana has taken. However, he writes eloquently about how much it hurts him to see the children of his country struggling from malnourishment and diseases that could be prevented with clean water and general knowledge about staying healthy: "I see families struggling to feed nine to 10 children. I see their children, my country's future, weak from malnutrition and disease. I see farmers destroying their land in their effort to provide for their children. These sights hurt my heart. " In his opinion, bringing down the birthrate and improving overall health will help diminish poverty in Madagascar; alleviating poverty will save the environment because farmers will not need to practice tavy. "Having children is a good thing," writes Ravalomanana, "but having information on when to have them is even better."

I'll leave it to you to read the article and decide for yourselves whether Ravalomanana's ideas have merit. I will say that in Samburu, an increasing population has led to larger herds, which then leads to overgrazing of the land. Overgrazing eliminates the grasses and other plants that help the soil in place when it does rain, therefore contributing to erosion. On thinking about it, however, in Samburu many solutions to poverty would mean abandoning the Samburu way of life. While on the surface that might seem good for everyone, I get a little sad thinking of one of the few traditional cultures left fading away, so it's a tough call. It is certainly true, however, that a lack of education and information contribute to poor health, too many pregnancies, and families that may not be able to feed all their children. Overall, it's important to keep in mind that conservation and development are full of tricky issues and must be handled with an eye toward the balance between what is "right" and what can be done given the way people really live.

October 19, 2006

More Conservation Worries for Kenya

While doing a search for news from Kenya, I just came across a report about the snows and ice of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya (Africa's two tallest mountains) disappearing. According to an environmental group called the Kenyan Green Belt Movement, these 2 mountains could lose their ice coer entirely over the next 25-50 years due to deforestation (loss of trees) and industrial pollution. The snow and ice on these mountains are important sources of water because many rivers start in the mountains. Those rivers then provide major sources of water and can also be used to generate power using dams. The Green Belt Movement is hoping that a tree planting project will help eliminate dangerous carbon dioxide that affects the environment.

The full story can be read online at CNN.com.

October 17, 2006

Another way to help...

My former students will (hopefully!) remember our discussions last year about how difficult it is for people in many parts of the world to get water. Every day, women and children all over the world walk many miles in search of water; often that water, is not really all that safe for human use. This was one of the problems that the Communities, Water, and Wildlife project was studying in Samburu.

Today, I came across an interesting way to help raise awareness of water issues around the world. A group in London is working on a project called Knit a River. This is a campaign to help an international non-governmental organization (NGO) called WaterAid raise awareness of the need for safe water and better sanitation in some of the worlds poorest countries. According to the project website, "More than 1 billion people do not have access to safe water, more han 2 billion people do not have access to sanitation. The resulting ill health is often a death sentence, in fact a child dies every 15 seconds due to water related diseases." They are asking people to knit 15cm x 15cm blue squares (any color, any type of yarn) to be sent to them in London. The squares will all be attached to create a river of yarn that can be used at WaterAid events to help demonstrate their message about the importance of water and toilets for all.

While WaterAid does not work directly in Kenya, they do work in Madagascar and other African countries (such as Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania). They partner with other NGOs to bring wells, better sanitation, and health education to some of the world's poorest people. In areas where they work, health improves and people have more time for economic activities.

So, for any of you knitters out there, I hope you'll join me in knitting a square or 2. Even if it doesn't help the Samburu directly, I think it's a worthy cause that could have a trickle down effect for all countries with similar water problems. For more information, visit I Knit or WaterAid. I'm happy to coordinate sending squares to I Knit; just drop me a line and I'll make a plan. Squares are due in London by March 2007, so let's get knitting!

October 04, 2006

Feathered headbands


murran w birds 1030
Originally uploaded by crikenyasamburu.
I think I wrote about this in an earlier blog, but I didn't have a picture to share with you all. One of the teachers on a recent Earthwatch expedition to Samburu took this picture, so I'm borrowing it off of her flickr site. When a Samburu boy is circumsized, he has to go through a period of a month or two before he actually becomes a murran (warrior). During that time, he kills birds, stuffs them with grasses, and attaches them to a band that he wears around his head. The young men each try to kill as many birds as they can using a bow and blunt-tipped arrows. (My team saw some of the boys hunting one day, but none of them wore any birds yet.) Philip, our guide to all things Samburu, told us that the young men wear the birds to scare away girls (they can't have any girlfriends during this period of time), but they also try to kill a lot of birds in order to impress the girls for later. They keep adding birds until the headband is filled, and then they may give some of them away. The Samburu, however, do not typically kill birds and they never eat them, according to what we were told.

October 02, 2006

Another example of why conservation efforts can be difficult...

I just came across a CNN.com article from last week about marauding elephants in Kenya. The article talked about how humans and wildlife are coming into closer contact as human populations grow and spread, and how the villagers in one region near Mount Kenya are constantly in conflict with elephants. The elephants destroy crops that are the only source of income for these villagers, and the villagers cannot fight back against the elephant because of laws against killing wildlife. This is so similar to some of the problems I saw or heard about in Samburu with carnivores. When people's livelihoods are threatened by wildlife, it is much harder for them to see any benefit in conservation. This is why programs like Earthwatch's Conservation Research Initiatives, which involve the local communities, are so important in the effort to help our environment.

Check out the elephant article at
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/09/25/elephant.attacks.reut/index.html.