Education Program Update - Another week at Kanzi Academy!

We love hearing about what the Kanzi Academy is up to - courtesy of Head Teacher Sarah! Read about the latest from the Academy below:

Jambo! Again, another busy week has been had at the Kanzi Academy! This last week, the children have been planting in their shamba (farm). As part of science, they have been looking at what condition best suits germination... so they have had much fun indeed and taken great care of their plants, which have included maize, oranges, passion fruit, potatoes and much more! Luckily, we had more than 72 mm of rain last week, so everything was well watered!

The children have been practicing acrobatics in PE and loving it! They are very skilful and have been demonstrating excellent balancing and co-ordination. They went horse riding as well, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Classroom acrobatics! 

A few days back I flew to Nairobi to buy our reading scheme books; (Oxford Reading Tree). The children are incredibly excited and already becoming competent, independent readers and writers! To help remember which page the children are on in their book, we made book marks using a mosaic theme. The children found this concept fascinating, so I think we will be exploring this further.

Tatio, our Maasai elder who teachers Maasai Lore has been talking about nature and the environment with Class 2 as well as telling the children the names of the trees, along with their "medicinal" uses for lotions and "potions"! All the children have been completely absorbed in this. A couple of days back the children and I went on a walk; discussing the environment and noticing the changes around us since the rain. As we sat and talked, Stanley picked up some twigs, a seed pod, along with some dry grass and started to create "bush babies". Such creativity from natural things!

We have been talking about Diwali - the Hindu festival of light. So in art we have been colouring Rangoli patterns. Do not always confuse colouring with something boring! Colouring is almost like a meditation - it relaxes the mind. The conservations and questions that transpired as a result of all sitting around a table and working together was quite something!

Rangoli patterns coloured by two students! 

And whilst I mention meditation - we now have new yoga mats, thanks to Antonella, so we can now relax in comfort. In fact, last weeks' relaxation and meditation was so relaxing that two little souls fell asleep!

So to finish off - our favourite affirmation of the week was "I am unique and valuable".

More to follow next week. Karibu tena, Sarah

Conservation Program Update - New Lion Collars

Kuku Group Ranch, 1133 squared kilometres of communally owned Maasailand, is situated in the heart of the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, and acts as a critical wildlife corridor between Amboseli National Park, Tsavo National Park, and the Chyulu Hills National Park. It is crucial for maintaining healthy populations of wildlife and preserving ecological processes.

On Kuku Group Ranch, lion-livestock conflict is considered to be one of the most important threats to the lion population. The increase in human population density results in an increased frequency of contact between people, their cattle and lions. This causes intense lion-livestock conflict that consequently leads to the retaliatory killing of lions. 

The main objective of the MWCT Lion Project is to study the lion's social structure, its' home range and movements, habitat use and diet on the community land. Four new lions will be collared with GPS satellite collars and the diet will be determined using the GPS clusters method. The behaviour and movement of lions in respect to human settlements, water points and livestock will be investigated. More detailed information could help us find ways to more effectively mitigate the human - lion conflict and help us conserve this lion population in Maasailand. 

Lion conflict with people and their livestock has been a serious cause of lion population decline, especially in Maasailand, and therefore it is critical that local communities living with lions are incorporated into lion conservation measures. The Maasai communities who share their land with lions are critical stakeholders in ensuring their long term conservation and MWCT is working with the community to reduce the costs of living with wildlife, while demonstrating benefits derived from lions and other wildlife. This in turn can improve the lives of Maasai people and can be a key contributing factor to ensuring the long term survival of lions in Maasailand.

MWCT Simba Scouts with the four new lion collars!

MWCT has just recently obtained these four new lions collars. The collaring exercise has been planned for the end of November (weather permitting of course).

We would like to extend a word of thanks to the sponsors of these four new lion collars - Apple Inc. via Shari Overstreet (a CyK guest) whom agreed to have CyK conservation feeds and the matched dollars by Apple Inc. put towards the purchasing of these collars; as well as all guests of Campi ya Kanzi as their daily paid conservation fee significantly contributes to the successful outcome of this Lion Project.

Furthermore, through MWCT's crucial eco-tourism partner, Campi ya Kanzi, MWCT is able to utilize surcharges on visitors to CyK to fund Wildlife Pays, a program that compensates livestock herders for losses to wildlife predation. This occurs through a rigorous system of certification and monitoring of best practices. Maasai livestock owners are paid quarterly for value of losses in exchange for full protection of predators throughout the Group Ranch.

The Campi ya Kanzi conservation fee paid by guests significantly cover the annual compensation costs, establishing a sustainable model of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) around the protection of wildlife, and further emphasizing the importance of the relationship between Campi ya Kanzi and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. 

Education Program Update - Sharing Inspired Stories

Tiffany Franke visited Campi ya Kanzi and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust on behalf of the United Nations Development Program. During her visit here on Kuku Group Ranch, she was inspired greatly by the efforts of MWCT, its' programs, the staff, and the local Maasai community members.

Tiffany eloquently gives both praise and understanding to the works and efforts of the Trust and Campi ya Kanzi in her video and posts that she has published on her blog. During her stay with us, Tiffany was witness to all of the programs offered through MWCT, but states that she was most impressed and influenced by the actions of our Education Program - more specifically the Kanzi Academy.

Kanzi Academy students on a walk in the Chyulu's with Tiffany

The Kanzi Academy is a very important project that is contained within out MWCT Education Program. Kanzi Academy, a private boarding school run by the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, has chosen the most talented students from Kuku Group Ranch to attend. The Academy commits to exposing these students to educational opportunities that not entirely available to many other children living on the Group Ranch.

The Academy instills in its' students the importance that should be laid on the local culture and its valuable environment it is contained within. As is stated in Tiffany's video provided here, "the Kanzi Academy represents potential being recognized", and that "in order to have a successful community, you need to have good leaders rooted from good education" (quote by Antonella Bonomi).

Tiffany chose to share her story with us, and we are so happy that she did. 

Please follow the link below to hear Tiffany's story and her impressions of MWCT and Kanzi Academy during her time here in the Chyulu Hills:

Video: Accounts from Walking in the Chyulu Hills of Kenya

You can also find blog postings that Tiffany chose to share about the Kanzi Academy students; as well as her thoughts on the Team at MWCT and Campi ya Kanzi.

Health Program Update - Medical and Education Outreaches

We have some great updates to share with you from our Health Program for the month of October. Medical outreaches continue throughout this month to various villages throughout Kuku Group Ranch.

On October 14, a medical outreach took place in Kuku - 64 patients were seen at this very busy community outreach. A Community Health Worker delivered a talk to those in attendance on family planning. This talk resulted in five clients requesting for contraceptives.

Kuku community health workers dispensing medications

Mothers and babies waiting for immunizations

Also on October 15, Lairumbe presented a talk on female genital cutting to 50 MWCT Rangers. The presentation was well received, with many inquisitive questions and comments from the Rangers.

A busy immunization clinic in Kuku

In light of the recent increase in teenage pregnancies which is a direct result of girls dropping out of school, MWCT has initiated a weekly school education program in Iltilal, as well as a monthly education program in Langata. On October 17, MWCT Health staff visited Iltilal Primary School and spoke to 70 girls in Class 6 and 7 about setting life goals. The next day, staff travelled to Langata Primary School to speak to 150 girls in Class 5, 6, 7, and 8.

School girls at Langata Primary write down their life goals

Equator Initiative Case Study Published

In 2012, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust was awarded the United Nations Development Program Equator Prize.

The purpose of the UNDP Equator Initiative was to address a gap in knowledge mobilization of many untold stories. Many communities worldwide are contributing to innovation in sustainable developments for their populations and for the ecosystems sustaining them. There was an addressed lack of official publications that told the stories of these community initiatives, how they evolve, and what impacts they have made on the greater population and the wilderness and wildlife.

MWCT was marked as one of these "best-practices" for the purpose of community-based conservation and for providing sustainable livelihoods to local people.

Very recently, all of these prizewinners have had detailed "Best Practice Case Studies" written about them. These have been published on the Equator Initiative webpage, and we encourage you to take a look at the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust Case Study!

Just click the image below and it will take you to an online PDF of the case study.

This document provides very succinct and detailed descriptions of the Trust, focusing on our "local sustainable developments for people, nature, and communities".

You can also take a look at the provided link to the Equator Initiative Database - this database contains case studies from the 152 successful communities organizations that have been awarded the Equator Prize for the past 11 years worldwide.

Founder listed among Africa's 25 Top Conservationists

Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust founder, Luca Belpietro was selected among top conservationists in Africa to be features in the most recent issue of Departures Magazine! The article speaks to the Top 25 Conservationists that had been mentioned when interviewing travel agents, journalists, development workers, and environmentalists for the magazine - and more specifically for this current issue which is focused on Safaris and Africa.

Please find the article by clicking here

Success is being celebrated on all accounts for our founder, as he is next headed to Geneva, Switzerland to visit Le Rosey school. He will be giving a TEDx talk themed around "Great Expectations" to an audience of approximately 600 people.

We will keep our readers updated on the potential viewing of this TEDx talk online!

Education Program Update - Kanzi Academy Weekly

A great update from the "happenings" at Kanzi Academy last week. We love to share what is going on at the school, how the students are progressing, and demonstrate the uniqueness of the Academy. Enjoy!!

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What a wonderful first week we've all had at The Kanzi Academy (KA)! All of the children and staff team have settled in really well, which has meant the creative juices have already started to flow!

I like to adopt a kinesthetic learning approach at KA, as children of a young age do not need to sit at a desk for hours on end... they are children! So when learning about verbs, (and children are built for verbs!) we get up, go out and physically practice and demonstrate them; running, jumping, eating, laughing, clapping, climbing, etc. Also, if the children are struggling with a concept in maths, I will often have them stand up, walk around and think on the area that they are having difficulty with, while moving - it really helps. We also do this in relaxation too. When the children are having their relaxation session, I talk to them about "all the difficulties they might have met during the week melting away..."

Kanzi Academy Class 2 Classroom

This leads me on nicely to our affirmations. The children have been writing their own affirmations, as well as choosing different ones to go on our "affirmations door". Everyday the children engage in positive through and have a sense of "I can do". Being a NLP Practitioner, I am very aware of the power of positive thought and see its' benefits when working with young children who can easily become frustrated because they think they "don't know how to do...", which rapidly becomes an "I can't do...". This is an unacceptable hurdle which we can learn to jump over effortlessly.

Kanzi Academy affirmations door

We have welcomed Tatio this week, our Maasai Elder. He has come to talk to the children about Maasai lore, which they thoroughly enjoy. Culture and roots are every important. Whether yours or someone else's they are often interesting, intriguing, and educational. more than that perhaps, is the awareness of responsibility and sense of belonging they give us; a vital life-lesson. Tatio will be doing some exciting, practical things with the children, such as painting their faces red, dressing them in traditional clothes, and more more. Pictures to come!

Class 2 have begun talking about Martin Luther King Jr.; an important and historic African without a doubt. We have talking about his works:

"I can change the world with my own two hands.

Make a better place with my own two hands.

Make a kinder place with my own two hands."

The importance of hands!

This has prompted much discussion, as Class 2 are VERY inquisitive. It has also led nicely into our spiritual education and the importance of hands: giving, hugging, touch, helping/kindness, etc. We have come to the conclusion that hands are very important, both practically and symbolically!

It has also been a very physical week! The children had a wonderful time practicing their teamwork on Monday with Philip as they learnt about relay races. This was not only great physical exercise, but taught them about timing, anticipating someone else's moves, how they had to rely on each other and work together. Tuesday we began swimming, which was great fun. Some of the children have never been in a swimming pool before; so confidence building is what is is all about right now. However, some of the children are already able to use a float and get to one side of the pool to the other in their own style! Our horse riding on Wednesday had to be postponed as supplies were being delivered to the stables. This however didn't stop us having a nice walk to go and see the baby rabbits! Friday saw us finish with a little yoga and relaxation.

Student's in the school yard

Finally, the children have not just been creative with their minds... they have made "trees of life" for the wall, learnt about the Kenyan flag, made hand pictures to go with our works from Martin Luther Kind, and much more!

"Trees of Life"

The above photos are snapshots of our week. Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or ideas! They are always gratefully received.

Asante, Sarah.