Wildlife Warrior Program Term 3 updates

The relationship between wildlife, environment and the communities of East Africa is a fragile and complex story. Natural habitats are under constant threat from development, farmer’s crops and livestock destroyed by wildlife and as demand for space gets greater, these conflicts will increase.

At Land & Life we’re all driven to build a positive future. And that’s why our Wildlife Warrior Program is so important. You might remember us introducing you to the program last month, and Sharon, one of our successful Warriors who will make such a positive difference to the future of her community.

The excitement is building for the future warriors as they get closer to finding out who will be chosen to go forward, and over the last two weeks, there’s been a beehive of activity.

Exam time is in full swing. Working with school staff, students at Esiteti, Kachiuru, Engilae, Ura Gate and Ololomei Primary Schools have now sat their Wildlife Warrior Scholarship exam. It hasn’t been easy but then we need to make sure we only choose the most dedicated and passionate students to go forward.

Our Project Coordinator David Mbugua traveled to Tortilis, Kitich and Elsa’s to deliver the exams in the respective schools. At EPC the managers sent camp guides to administer the exam on our behalf. “It’s been hard work but also a lot of fun” said David. “It’s wonderful to see how much the students want to be part of the scheme and help build a fantastic future for where they live”.

And for us and the students, the hard work doesn’t stop there. The L&L team in Nairobi now has to mark and grade all 50 of the Wildlife Warrior exam papers as we await the end of year results for all those who took it. Of the 50 students only 10 – 2 from each school – will be lucky enough to be awarded the scholarship in January 2017.

But luckily for the Warriors, it’s not all hard work. To reward them for their dedication and energy, we organized for students from two of the schools to take part in game drives.

On Thursday and Friday last week, 30 Wildlife Warriors from Embiti Primary School near Sand River got to experience a game drive at the Maasai Mara National Reserve and 6 Wildlife Warriors from Esiteti Primary School took part in one at Amboseli National Park, followed by a visit to Tortilis camp for lunch.

The children loved the experience and many of them got to see up close for the first time the amazing animals they learn about in school.

We’ve got huge hopes for our future Wildlife Warriors and whoever goes through, we know they’ll share our passion and dedication for protecting wildlife and helping communities grow sustainably.

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Meet Eunice

Today we would like to share with you some heartwarming news.

31 year old Eunice Kapeen is a devoted mother of six and dedicated community health volunteer. Without the Aitong Medical Camp, Eunice wouldn’t have been able to get back to health and continue these vital roles.

For two months, Eunice was suffering from recurrent tonsillitis, causing her great pain and making it impossible for her to care for her family and community.

Without treatment, the bacteria that causes tonsillitis can spread through the body, affecting the kidneys, immune system and lead to further complex and dangerous complications.

Luckily, Eunice was able to get help at the Aitong Medical camp. “The doctor who treated me was very good and professional.” she says with a smile. “She explained to me clearly what I needed to do to prevent future infections and prescribed some medicine which I was given for free to be taken for five days.

“She asked me to go for review after a week but it was too costly for me to come back to the health facility. But I am very grateful because without their help I would not be well enough to take care of my family and community. I would like to commend the organisers for this free service to my community. ”

Eunice is part of the Olosogon community in Aitong. Like so many of her friends, family and neighbours trying to thrive in the area, Eunice faces health, social and economic challenges every day.

Her community are semi-nomadic farmers who rely on cattle to live, bringing the added challenge of wildlife attacks on their livestock .

Land and Life Foundation has worked with the Olosogon people to show the benefits of working with rather than against nature. They have become partners in our conservation work and as one small way of giving back, we hold these free medical camps annually. In the last 4 years, the camps have treated over 1,200 people, bringing life – and community-changing results.

Because of her successful treatment, Eunice has offered to go back to her community and try to encourage all those who need help to visit the medical camps. The demand today for medical attention, supplies and professionals is growing.

Please support our work and make sure we continue to help save and improve the lives of people like Eunice.

We are hiring

We are hiring

Land & Life Foundation is looking for a motivated, organised, self-driven individual to lead the team in Nairobi in  running projects, communications and finances, travel to project sites when necessary and present reports to Trustees and donors quarterly.

To find out more about this position, please click here to see the terms of reference.

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5th Aitong Medical Camp

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Right now, there are thousands of people in some of the remotest areas of Kenya who are in desperate need of medical care and attention that they simply cannot get access to.

From newborn babies and children to pregnant women and seniors, rural communities in the Maasai Mara are at real risk of sickness, disease and even death because of the lack of basic medicine.

But you can help. The Aitong Medical Camp, supported by the Land & Life Foundation, the Kicheche Community Trust and Safarilink Aviation provides essential medical supplies and highly trained medical personnel where they’re needed most. Without these free camps, sick, injured and vulnerable people couldn’t afford to  receive this level of professional care and access to medicine they so desperately need.

Over the last 5 years, the annual camps have helped over a thousand people, saving lives and providing healthier futures. But there’s so much more we need to do.

The camps can only run because of vital donations from people like you. Your donation will help pay for the medical supplies, camp licences and community mobilisation. Without your kind gift, we simply couldn’t run the camps and we urgently need to raise $3,000 by November to make sure this year’s camp will go ahead.

As little as:

  • $10 will buy two boxes of examination gloves
  • $30 will buy 100 vials of injections
  • $50 will buy one set of Obs/Gynae medical kit
  • $100 will cover the application fee for the medical camp licence
  • $150 will buy 100 bottles of cough medication
  • $200 will buy enough syringes and needles to be used during the Medical Camp and stock the Aitong Health Centre

Donate now and help make this year’s camp reach as many people as possible.