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The study abroad program I participated in while in Kenya dealt with
community wildlife ecology (there are now two programs at the camp, the
other working in healthcare). The animals of Africa are what draw
tourists and fundraising support, and honestly that is all I cared about
when I applied for the program. But, once we got there, the neglect
felt by the people of Kenya was blatantly and painfully obvious. People
in the United States have problems dealing with deer; try living around
an elephant! The government protected wildlife causes so much
destruction of peoples’ homes and livelihoods and with very little
support for these losses it has, understandably, left most people
struggling and bitter. Among other problems, the switch from
pastoralism, the main way of living for the Maasai people throughout
history, to agriculture is causing a strain on the land. Global warming
causing the snowcaps on Mt Kilimanjaro to melt at alarming speeds as
well as the fight between people and animals over the extremely small
amount of water is leading to a failing ecosystem.
There are several people working towards a solution. The staff
at our camp, who were simply amazing, have developed projects and
proposals to, very soon, start workshops with the people in the
community to teach them about sustainable agriculture, the need for
biodiversity in an area, and how to better manage the wildlife.
After learning about government policies, climate, hydrology,
land use and extensive practice in animal identification and behavior
studies, we broke into three research groups led by our professors. One
project was about the ever growing problem of poaching, the other about
the effects of animals on the peoples’ lives. My project was about land
use in the Kimana swamp, a very small body of water, and one of the only
permanent sources of water in Kenya. This swamp is shared by the
animals of the Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary and the people trying to make a
living off the land. We interviewed people living in the swamp about
their land use and problems with animals. We also interviewed sanctuary
guards and government officials. Finally, we did GPS mapping of the
swamp to determine how much was being used by agriculture.
There was plenty of time for fun. On days off we could go into
the Kimana market, we played sports with our staff and planted trees
with the children of the secondary school. We visited an orphanage and
donated about 3 weeks worth of food. We camped in Tsavo National Park,
home of the man-eating lions, and made day trips to Amboseli National
Park. I saw so many animals up close, elephants and lions, and even
animals I had never heard of before. We felt the ground vibrate under
our feet during a stampede. We listened to traditional songs around a
campfire. We learned Swahili and bartered with the mammas. We learned
how to play Kenyan Uno, which involves much more strategy than
traditional Uno. We hiked into Tanzania. We shared stories with the
people we met and learned so much about the Kenyan way of life. We slept
in mosquito nets. We could see Mt. Kilimanjaro from the shower stalls.
My trip to Kenya, undoubtedly, changed my life. I now have 33
new friends in the United States, as well as Holland, Venezuela,
Germany, and of course Kenya. I have a greater appreciation for the
people working to change lives because, for a month, I was one of those
people. Our work will be incorporated into our professor’s work towards
making a better Kenya, and that is an amazing feeling.
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