Just over two weeks ago, Lynton and I began a new role here at Mwamba. Henry and Belinda, resident managers of the guest house, began their well-earned, month-long break, and we took over as interim managers. For those who don’t know, the centre here is both a base for the A Rocha staff involved in community conservation projects, and a guesthouse for local and foreign researchers, volunteers and tourists. We have 20 beds, plus a large flat roof and some space for tenting. The location of the centre is ideal – it’s close to numerous tourist attractions (mostly of the wildlife variety), right on the beach (a stunning beach at that), and a short-ish drive from Mida Creek and Arabuko Sokoke Forest, the two sites we focus on for conservation work.
Belinda and Henry Kigen, Centre Managers (plus Ivy, minus Amy)
The income generated from the guest house makes a significant contribution to the financing of A Rocha’s other projects. It also provides an environment where people can come and experience A Rocha firsthand, as well as creating a space for people to dialogue, amongst other things, about faith and creation care. Over the last four months, it’s been great to see guests find themselves made very welcome here; sharing meals with everyone, and often given the opportunity to join in any bird ringing trips as well as the weekly times of singing, sharing and praying.
One of the lovely rooms available
So we now find ourselves immersed in this new role; taking bookings, welcoming guests, answering their many questions, ensuring the cooking and housekeeping all goes to plan, grocery shopping, budgeting, reconciling accounts etc. It’s a unique opportunity for us to see an A Rocha centre from yet another angle, and it will keep us nice and busy over Christmas, minimizing risk of homesickness. For the first two weeks, all the A Rocha staff have still been at work each day, and available to assist us. As of this week, most of the staff have gone on leave, save a few who will take charge of the cooking and housekeeping.
So far the most nerve-wracking time was when the water pump broke with the place full of guests. The men managed to get it working again, and we’re praying it will last through the rest of our time. Managing staff reminds us of all the cultural and language differences we have, and makes me wish my Swahili studies were coming along a lot quicker.
The lovely Jean and Ernest
It's been great to have a lively English couple, Jean and Ernest, holidaying here for the entire time of our managing. They are fun and helpful and like plenty of banter, and though half the time I can’t understand what they’re saying, they help us not to take things too seriously.
We’ll be most grateful for any prayers you wish to send up on our behalf; for energy, hospitality, safety and wisdom to deal with all that comes our way.
Asante sana!
Some of our more troublesome guests. Recently found stealing jar of sugar, tub of margarine, fresh fruit...
A few weekends ago, Anna and I escaped our busy lives at Mwamba for the peace and quiet of Lamu, an ancient Swahili town on an island just offshore from the mainland. Every volunteer and guest that visited Lamu came back raving about it, so we decided to check it out.
Our bus departed from Malindi, where we stocked up with samosas (17c each) from five eager purveyors of these deep fried delicacies before boarding the big orange bus. We just managed to secure a couple of the last seats and thus ended up right in the back corner of the bus. The warnings about the bumpy road were not exaggerated! Anna and I both got serious air as we sped through the ‘unavoidable’ potholes – great for the X-games but not for a 4-hour bus ride. We arrived all shook up to the point that my brain rebelled with a headache.
It was a relief to finally make it to the jetty and board the “ferry.” It was really just a 2 x 12 meter motor boat capable of carrying about 60 passengers, a few tonnes of cargo and about 20 chickens. Thankfully, the shore of Lamu Island was very swimmable in the worst case scenario.
The lethargic walking stick waving dance. Without a guitar case handy, tips are carefully slotted under the groover's hat.
We have an uncanny knack for unintentionally arranging trips that coincide with festivals or the Olympics. This weekend happened to be the Lamu Cultural Festival. People from all around the region come to celebrate their Swahili heritage through music, dance, boat and donkey races. As we arrived, the streets were packed as the crowds waited for the first boat race to begin.
The docile donkeys
Dhows waiting for race time.
Our first mission ashore was to find Ali, the captain of the Peace Villa dhow (an Arab-styled sailing boat). He had been recommended by Shelley, a whirlwinding volunteer at Mwamba. Once the time and terms of our dhow trip had been arranged I too was at peace. We wandered the streets, getting lost in the narrow alleys that they call “streets.” Lamu was built long before the invention of the motorized vehicle. In fact only three cars can be found on the island – a donkey ambulance, a person ambulance and a fire-fighting vehicle. The main mode of transport apart from foot and boat is the humble donkey. There are thousands of donkeys on the island – many just freely roaming around the streets. They are ridden for transport, used to carry cargo and occasionally raced.
They call this a 'street'.
After finishing a tasty mango, banana and passion juice on our first afternoon, we were approached by Salem. He was a Yemenese local offering a home-cooked meal and live Swahili music to give us a real Swahili experience. In fact he promised a free tour of Lamu, free henna tattooing for Anna and even a free ride on one of his many donkeys. Although, our con-radar was engaged and flashing we knew that Ted and Mary partook of a similar experience when they were in Lamu. The sticking point was his insistence on a deposit. Starting at 600 Ksh ($10 NZ) we talked him down to 200 Ksh. We were still fairly skeptical of his offer but thought it was worth the gamble especially since Lamu is a small place and we were bound to bump into him if he took the money and ran…
First of the day.
I think I've got her hooked now.
In the meantime we embarked on our dhow trip. We were joined by Captain Ali, his quiet crewmate and son Mohammed. We spent a few hours slowly meandering around the small islands heading towards the open ocean. This trip was very reminiscent of the sailing we did with Anna’s Dad just before leaving NZ. Though the wind was meager, it was nice to be out on the seas again – peacefully drifting past all the foreign owned mansions. Once we finally reached our destination we cast anchor and quickly readied our hand lines. Prawns were irresistible to the fishes below. It took a few casts for us to get a feel for it. Most of the fish were small and could steal our bait without consequence. But soon enough a bigger fish would have a go and be caught. I was the first to catch, pulling in a monstrous Yellow Snapper – at least 12 cm in length. Then experience took over, as the crew pulled in half a dozen more in, including a decently sized fish (~30 cm). Anna showed her skills pulling in two of her own Yellow Snappers. Once we had enough fish we anchored on Manda Island and Ali prepared us lunch. Anna and I took to the water and explored the patch of coral conveniently located by the boat. Although the water was murky, you could still see lots of beautiful fish when close to the rock. Anna even spotted a lobster that was holed up on the coral.
From the sea to the fire
A right feast!
Lunch was served under a banda, a welcome break from the sun. A real feast was had: BBQed fish, coconut rice, veges in coconut sauce, salad and fruit (the secret to Swahili cooking is to use coconut in everything). Once lunch had settled we pack the dhow and set sail for home. As we came up to Lamu, we had to carefully maneuver through the dhows lined up for the final dhow race of the festival. What a splendid trip.
Readying to set sail
In full control
As the evening approached, we waited for Salem at the designated spot for 20 minutes, but he was a no show. We moved on, wandering the streets and enjoying the sidewalk dancing. A few hours later we spotted and approached him. He complained that the place was to crowded to find us (two white sheep amongst a sea of black!!)….and um..he looked for us twice…um… In the end he admitted that he didn’t turn up. We demanded our money back but he said he had none on him having just bought the medicine in his hand. He still spoke of guests he had waiting for him at his house and that we could still join them for dinner. But we had had enough of this hoax.
We couldn’t do much more than wait for his promised return half an hour later. We might not get the money back but at least we would have an amusing cat and mouse game. Strangely he did return, unsurprisingly late and with yet more excuses for being without our money. Apparently his guests only had 100 Euros which they needed to change before he could pay us – Yeah Right! This time he gave us his hat and kikoi (think lavalava/kilt) as a pledge to be exchanged for our money the next morning.
Old town views from Lamu Fort
But turn up he did not. We trusting souls waited even 30 minutes, just wanting closure. After learning some more about Swahili culture in the Lamu Museum and scoping the sights of the old town from the ramparts of Lamu Fort, we headed for our last juice. Whilst sitting at Hapa Hapa, we spotted our man again – on the prowl for some new tourists. He came in and asked if we had his belongings and promised to return after he had gone to the bank with his ‘guests.’ We gave him 20 minutes to return. Whilst we finished our juice, someone came up and asked if we had been conned by the old man. Apparently he has been doing this racket for awhile. Embarrassed, we showed him the spoils we were holding ransom. He wished us best of luck in getting our money back.
The clock struck 11:40 AM and it was time to board the ferry back. Consoled that he was a con – we board the ferry with two souvenirs his green hat and well-used kikoi. Not bad for 200 Ksh.
To follow up our post on ASSETS, I thought should post a couple testimonies from students who have graduated secondary school with the help of ASSETS.
Oscar Mwaro
Born 1984
From Mijomboni
Graduated from Lenana School in 2005.
Currently in University
“…..I dropped out of school in 2002 owing to a lack of funds to pay for my school fees. I was very disappointed because I thought I was not going to be able to continue with my secondary school education. I felt my dreams were slipping away. Then along came ASSETS... Thanks to the project, I was able to finish my secondary school education last year with grade B aggregate. In January 2007, I hope to go to university to study health sciences.
I’m proud to be an ASSETS beneficiary and enjoy all the activities that we can be involved with….”
Oscar attended one of the best secondary schools in Kenya. After school he taught French in a number of private schools before Joining the University of Nairobi. Oscar is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and Geography. For his higher education, Oscar is being supported by Gift International.
Leah Mwamure
Born 1985
From Bogamachuko
Graduated from Vitengeni Baptist High School in 2005.
Graduated from Teacher Training College
“You have made me warm and God bless you all” (Leah’s comments when she was visited by ASSETS committee members on her graduation day.)
Leah is among our very first lot of students that we supported. While she was a student she was supplied with some tree seedlings to plant in her farm. Upon graduation from High School, Leah sold some of the trees and raised enough money to support her younger brother who was joining secondary school. Leah has so far qualified as a primary teacher and teaches in a private school in Malindi.
The Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-Tourism Scheme (ASSETS)
Through reading our blog you might have heard mention of a project called ASSETS. We thought it was about time we shared about this amazing project run by A Rocha Kenya.
ASSETS is a holistic community conservation project that addresses threats to the important coastal forest and estuary habitats in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek regions. ASSETS achieves this through providing scholarships to help send impoverished children to secondary school.
Primary school children during an environmental education visit.
Before this project began, a survey in 2000 revealed that only 8% of the children eligible to go to secondary school (i.e. passed their year 8 exams) did!! The most common reason for kids dropping out after primary school was the high cost of tuition. Despite the primary school being free, secondary school is a significant expense (c. 24,000 Ksh [$415 NZ] per year when average household income was just over 33,400 KsH [$560 NZ] per year in 2004*). Many families cannot afford this when they are already struggling for food, clothing and shelter. Through this survey it was also discovered that one of the most common ways parents raised money for school fees was through cutting down trees in the forest to sell as timber for building materials and more recently charcoal.
Trees cleared in slash-and-burn farming. The wood was likely destined to be converted into charcoal.
Since 2002, ASSETS has provided over 375 children with an opportunity to receive a secondary school education that they would have otherwise missed out on. ASSETS doesn’t provide one-off scholarships but commits to supporting the student and family for the full four years of their secondary schooling. Over 140 of the students have now graduated with greater opportunities for higher education or employment. About 10 graduates have moved onto University while many more are in mid-level colleges.
A committee, including several village elders, determines who are awarded the scholarships based on criteria that include the level of need, grades and proximity to the threatened habitats. The scholarships do not cover the full fee but comprise either 70%, 60%, 40% or 30% of the total fees, depending on the needs of student. This allows parents to provide a meaningful contribution to their child’s education.
As the ASSETS name suggests, the scheme is tied to eco-tourism. Through grants and fundraising A Rocha Kenya has built three eco-tourism attractions. One is a tree-platform that rests 10 metres up a Baobab tree at the Gede Ruins and another is a 260-metre hanging boardwalk winding its way through the mangroves to the bird-hide at Mida Creek. Visitors to these attractions support ASSETS through the entrance fees they pay. The fees are a significant source of funding for the scholarships. Whilst these attractions hold the potential for a self-sustaining scholarship scheme, ASSETS currently still relies on donations to fund scholarships. In fact, some donors are even sponsoring individual students through the scheme.
Hanging out on the hanging boardwalk that leads to....
the Mida Creek bird hide - great viewing for coastal birds
The tree-platform at Gede Ruins.
But how does ASSETS protect and enhance the local habitats?
ASSETS firstly conserves the habitats by tackling the economic pressure of schooling, reducing the need of parents to cut the forest for timber and charcoal. In fact one of the conditions of receiving the scholarship is that parents will not hunt animals or chop down trees in the forest.
ASSETS also provides environmental education to the beneficiaries through school visits and practical conservation events. Not only are the students educated about the amazing habitats and creatures they live with, parents are also taught how to respect the forest through sustainable use of its resources.
Parents have been trained in alternative income generating methods and techniques including bee-keeping and conservation agriculture. Clusters of parents have joined together to create tree nurseries that are supported through ASSETS. They grow both non-invasive exotic trees for use in construction and as firewood, and indigenous trees to restore and enhance the biodiversity in their farms and the nearby forest. Over 160,000 seedlings have been raised over the past 8 years.
The whole family benefits through ASSETS
The A Rocha Kenya team wants to grow ASSETS to support even more students, from more schools (only working with 8 schools from the 40+ schools around) and ultimately change the hearts and lives of people that rely on these beautiful habitats for food, shelter and revenue.
If you wish to support the work of ASSETS, you can make a donation through clicking here: DONATE. If you wish to sponsor a child through secondary school for $38.50 NZ a month please email the ASSETS co-ordinator Stanley Baya at kenya@arocha.org.
