ASSETS: Helping children, helping nature

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.



*http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/Kenya+2786.twl