Time

Speaker

Audio

00:04

President Uhuru Kenyatta

Good Afternoon fellow Kenyans. On the 27^th of March this year, we announced a nation-wide dawn to dusk curfew. And then again on the 5^th of April we augmented this by announcing the cessation of movement into and out of a number of counties.

00:30

President Uhuru Kenyatta

That due to evolving nature of the disease globally, international travel restrictions are hereby extended.

01:07

Arnold Ithili

My name is Arnold Ithili, uhm 35 years old, born and broad up in an area called Ndoldol. That is north of Nairobi. In a remote area, not really a big city but a small, small town but next to a big forest known as Mukagogo Forest.

01:27

Arnold Ithili

So I have been growing up seeing animals and birds. You know surrounded by a beautiful area but less congested. Not like the usual city what you can now see.

01:42

Arnold Ithili

So now at the age of around 14 years I was in standard 5. That was back in 1998. Then the Uaso Organization came and showed us some animal documentaries. And within the documentaries ahm we also saw the tourist vehicles, carrying tourists. And now I really admired what the safari guide was explaining about the animals, about the cheetahs especially when they are hunting. And I really, really had a passion to become a safari guide in the future.

02:19

Arnold Ithili

I did a research on what it takes to become a safari guide. So basically you had to pass good grades in High school then you go to College to learn about Tour Guiding and wildlife and that’s exactly what I did and I become a Safari Guide

02.41

Arnold Ithili

During the busy time especially during the migration or the high season am out of home for four months nonstop which means I am busy almost every day.

02.53

Arnold Ithili

Uhm Especially for me having specialised in photography safari uhm the Covid has come and shut everything down. Like everybody is home for now.

03.06

Arnold Ithili

Well the main problem with our communities especially Samburu or the Community general like Maasai and pastoralists who live around the national parks uhm majority of them depends with the tourism.

03:22

Arnold Ithili

I being one of them. We got our immediate jobs around the villages we live, like immediate Parks. Another thing when tourists come they a lot of them they like visiting the nearby villages just to have some cultural experience.

03:40

Arnold Ithili

Uhm see the lifestyle of the Maasai and Samburu and now that also is cut off.

03:50

Arnold Ithili

What I do like about Samburu and what makes Samburu one of the special especially in touring destination is the culture. The people of Samburu they are beautiful, friendly and also uh nature friendly for conservation.

04:10

Arnold Ithili

Its beautiful place to also watch elephants up-close. The elephants in Samburu are super friendly to watch them, to stay with them, watch their behaviour.

04:23

Arnold Ithili

Especially when they are swimming the Great Uaso Nyiro River.

04:47

Arnold Ithili

This is our first morning in Samburu. We are heading to Umoja Women Village in Samburu.

04:56

Arnold Ithili

So our aim today and program is to visit the village which was found in 1990 basically to rescue the women who have been forced to forced marriage and early circumcision.

05:08

Arnold Ithili

Uhm so we are distributing food stuff from donations because the women have been literally depending on Tourism.

05:17

Rebecca Lolosoli

My names are Rebecca Lolosoli

05:24

Rebecca Lolosoli

I am a matriarch of Umoja Uaso Women’s Village

05:26

Rebecca Lolosoli

I started Umoja we started Umoja in 1990. The women who have been kicked out of their homes and they were having a lot of problem because their, they didn’t have anything to depend on together with their children and the children have been dying because of the problem because of the diseases; Cholera, Marasmus, Malaria so a lot of problem and many women died because of the problem and that’s what made us to come and start Umoja.

06:22

Arnold Ithili

So Rebecca we want to talk to you about uhm what’s going on in the Village eh.

06:29

Rebecca Lolosoli

Now we have a very hard time

06:30

Arnold Ithili

Yes

06:31

Rebecca Lolosoli

In this Village

06:32

Arnold Ithili

mmh

06:33

Rebecca Lolosoli

Infact  everywhere

06:34

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

06:34

Rebecca Lolosoli

Especially those people who depend on Tourism

06:37

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

06:38

Rebecca Lolosoli

Because of this Corona Virus

06:39

Arnold Ithili

Yes

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    06:40

Rebecca Lolosoli

We have a lot of problems

06:41

Arnold Ithili

mmh

06:42

Rebecca Lolosoli

This Corona have brought a disaster here

06:44

Arnold Ithili

Yes

06:45

Rebecca Lolosoli

Uhm because there is no food and even you can’t go to the Center because also of the police arresting people

06:55

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

06:55

Rebecca Lolosoli

If you don’t have mask they you will be arrested

06:58

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

06:59

Rebecca Lolosoli

And even you don’t go to the market because you have nothing to go and buy food with

07:06

Rebecca Lolosoli

People are suffering

07:07

Arnold Ithili

Yes

07:08

Rebecca Lolosoli

Very much because of hunger

07:09

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

07:10

Rebecca Lolosoli

So we really appreciate for this food and eh we’ll share with our community because if now they see this food here everybody will come and ask for food because people are dying

07:23

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

07:23

Rebecca Lolosoli

Because of hunger

07:24

Arnold Ithili

Yes

07:24

Rebecca Lolosoli

Not even because of Corona, its because people have no food

07:27

Arnold Ithili

Yes

07:28

Rebecca Lolosoli

Look at all this children

07:30

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

07:30

Rebecca Lolosoli

They don’t have food

07:30

Arnold Ithili

Yes

07:31

Rebecca Lolosoli

Corona; which even we don’t know which kind of an animal is this one called Corona because we just heard Corona is umh disease which is killing and you cough, you sneeze and die

07:47

Arnold Ithili

So Rebecca considering your stay away from the City. How did you get this information about Corona?

07:54

Rebecca Lolosoli

Infact we didn’t have that awareness

07:56

Arnold Ithili

Yes

07:57

Rebecca Lolosoli

Of Corona Virus. It’s just something we heard it just people talking about Corona. You know so we are a bit scared of this disease which we don’t know.

08:08

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

08:09

Rebecca Lolosoli

So even your child when it coughs aaii! Where did you get that cough from?

08:14

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

08:14

Rebecca Lolosoli

Nowadays coughing is not normal

08:15

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

08:16

Rebecca Lolosoli

And it’s always normal

08:17

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

08:18

Rebecca Lolosoli

And we heard if somebody coughs that’s the way you get it

08:20

Arnold Ithili

Yeah

08:21

Rebecca Lolosoli

In Umoja, that’s the only mh thing always we depend on, it’s Tourism. We didn’t know something else

08:30

Rebecca Lolosoli

So this is now our jewellery

08:32

Arnold Ithili

Yes

08:33

Rebecca Lolosoli

This is what we depend on. This is our life

08:37

Rebecca Lolosoli

We make our jewellery and we sell to the tourists uhm to get food

08:42

Arnold Ithili

Yes.

08:43

Rebecca Lolosoli

So we have no tourists now coming so, we have nowhere to sell our jewellery

08:50

Arnold Ithili

Yes

08:50

Rebecca Lolosoli

And that’s why we have a lot of problem because of Corona Virus

08:52

Arnold Ithili

Yeah.

08:54

Rebecca Lolosoli

You know with Sambuur ah we really like eeh mmh livestock but as women you know we cannot go for pastures we cant take and also we used to have livestock before but they were raid so that one also made us a bit scared of having livestock as women.

09: 16

Rebecca Lolosoli

And you know our children are going to school, our boys are not people to go and raid or to revenge and we don’t even want that because also we are on the other side we are the women who are trying to keep peace and farming here is not doing well. This is not the place of farming or to grow anything. Nothing can grow here. We don’t know how to do it. We are not good on that. We are good on livestock. We are good on looking after livestock.

09:47

Rebecca Lolosoli

Because we grow up looking after livestock. But doing the farm, we can try but it is a very hard eh thing for us. That I-I- I don’t know what we can do with that one because it is something we don’t know how to do it.

10:07

Arnold Ithili

Speaking about alternative uhm source of livelihood apart from uhm tourism is kind of a challenge for them.  Because the few people I’ve met they got even no idea on what to do next. Absolutely no idea

10:42

Tom Lesarge

If it continues more than that you will see it will be worse.

10:48

Tom Lesarge

Because you know if it stays more than a year or something,

10:53

Tom Lesarge

people will finish their food reserves.

10:58

Tom Lesarge

It will be a problem because the wildlife will suffer.

11:02

Tom Lesarge

One cannot plead at that time.

11:07

Tom Lesarge

Now people are going to start fighting us

11:09

Tom Lesarge

because we can't allow people to eat the wildlife.

11:14

Tom Lesarge

And maybe if they have finished their food supply

11:18

Tom Lesarge

you see they will get into the Parks and Reserves.

11:23

Tom Lesarge

The poachers will be many

11:26

Tom Lesarge

The little money the people have saved,

11:30

Tom Lesarge

their savings will be finished soon.

11:33

Tom Lesarge

So now,

11:36

Tom Lesarge

it's only the government's responsibility to help

11:41

Tom Lesarge

the communities to get food.

11:43

Tom Lesarge

I just think that's what will help people.

11:51

Arnold Ithili

Now, the question is if you want to involve the Community uhm with wildlife. They, on myself my opinion is, are they benefitting from the wildlife? Because we have heard issues of lions attacking community uhm cows and goats, if they get compensated out of that then they will they will not see a need to kill the lion

12:16

Arnold Ithili

The revenue they collect they collect from tourists some of the money should be set aside to do community projects, dig boreholes for them provide water, clean water, build a school for them, you know, sponsor the children the brighter children even to higher education. So all the community will definitely support the wildlife.

12:39

Tom Lesarge

Tourism is extremely important.

12:43

Tom Lesarge

Very important

12:46

Tom Lesarge

The only thing we need to learn

12:50

Tom Lesarge

as a nation

12:52

Tom Lesarge

is our local tourism.

12:59

Tom Lesarge

Because if we focus on local tourism here,

13:04

Tom Lesarge

it will be even more important for us.

13:07

Tom Lesarge

So we will not be depending on international tourism.

13:13

Tom Lesarge

It will be local tourists from within

13:17

Tom Lesarge

and this will help us a lot

13:20

Tom Lesarge

if we appreciate local tourism.

13:25

Tom Lesarge

Although tourists from other countries are also very important.

13:31

Tom Lesarge

We should be encouraged to travel locally and promote local tourism.

13:39

Tom Lesarge

So I think it is very important to be tourists in our own country.

13:46

Rebecca Lolosoli

Wildlife is something really good and it is even good for the whole of uh Kenya. In our country this wildlife is bringing money in our country, its bringing a good economy in our country. So we have to conserve. We have to love wild animals the way we love our livestock.

14:10

Rebecca Lolosoli

So our children, we must educate them about wildlife. No killing of wildlife. No killing of birds. No killing of any wildlife because it makes this country also beautiful and bringing many people to come and see our beautiful wildlife

14:31

Arnold Ithili

So today program we are heading towards the village to pick some children take them for a game drive they are actually twenty (20) children in number so actually we have like five trips to do today and uhm we just learnt that to involve children in the conversation program is very important

14:52

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

You know one of the things that we are doing actually uhm as a Board is to try and eh get our kids to have an interest in their own country and in the in the in the main uhm in the dynamics that define who we are and our wildlife is one of the key areas

15:09

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

And you do that by one, giving them education like we said then giving them exposure. They need to know and eh they need to see. I mean eh from my Communication Studies you need more exposure for something to sink in your mind

15:25

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

Its eh, to appreciate it, start living it and for you to own the narrative you need to be exposed to it over and over again

15:31

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

One of the things that we must do therefore is to introduce this kind of education in our school system, where kids know not just the look of an elephant but the the importance of an elephant and how to relate with an elephant

15:47

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

Not just how that animal looks like and just knowing it and ending it there

15:50

Arnold Ithili

Uhm, a good example of mine, I, my parents have never upto now taken me to any place to see animals. I took it myself. And definitely I’ll i’ll take my children to go and see animals

16:09

Arnold Ithili

As long as I will be alive I’ll take my son to see a lion, to see a buffalo. When he grows up am sure he will do the same to his children

16:19

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

Our Kids are lost into fancy life that is being created through social media and they are forgetting what really matters. That life in its very true definition is rooted in that relationship between human and human and human and animals and the environment around them and I think if there is anything we can teach our children right now is not theoretical studies, it is practical on how to live with their environment

16:52

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

It’s how to live with their surroundings. It’s how to appreciate the beauty of nature and take care of that nature and the environment around them knowing that they have a legacy to leave for their children. I think this is one of the things if I was the Minister of Education I will be driving like tomorrow to say this needs to be in the curriculum. Our kids need to be taken to the national parks as part of education.

17:16

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

Why would people come from overseas to see animals in the national parks when those of us who live next to the park do not even show any interest in visiting those places

17:29

Arnold Ithili

Today we came to visit uhm the village and uhm to meet Rebecca and one of our purpose was to bring this uhm tablet and uhm when we were here we managed to take some clips of different kind of animals that are found in Samburu Game Reserve and we were able to translate some of those animals uhm characteristics and knowledge in different languages: Swahili and Maa Language

18:00

Nira Shah Knausenberger

I realized this project when uhm the safari guides would send me video clippings and they would describe uhm so they would give a piece of information about it so I thought how cool would that be if we translated this into Swahili and Maa Language and take this information and show it to the children residing besides the national reserves

18:26

Nira Shah Knausenberger

This is a pilot project and uhm we’ve only managed to give out one tablet so far and that is to the Umoja Women’s Village. This tablet we’ve made sure we’ve saved uhm a few video clippings for the wildlife and at the same time we’ve also incorporated Elearing as schools are not going to resume until next year

18:52

Nira Shah Knausenberger 

So I’m hoping that the children do study their normal syllabus at the same time I’m hoping with this short video clippings they do actually learn something about the wildlife and they have a better interest for this wildlife surrounding them

19:12

Arnold Ithili

Alright, we just got to Umoja Women Village uhm in our day’s program was to show them a cinema about the elephants in Samburu ecosystem

19:23

Arnold Ithili

So we are just off loading this generator because you know they don’t have power so we have to bring our own power. It’s quite heavy.

19:30

Sajid Darr

The idea of Jean’s bush cinema came about after Jean passed away. Jean was always, she was a person who liked to give back so after she passed on I always thought I would really like also to give back and to keep her energy in this universe in Kenya. And one day funnily enough I was just sitting in my office and I sort of scanned across I saw my collection. We’ve got a collection of 1,500 wildlife DVDs many of which were shot in Kenya.

20:15

Sajid Darr

And I thought, that’s it! I am sitting on a treasure here which I could share with the rest of Kenya and give back

20:27

Sajid Darr

So you know thinking further about that I figured it would be really good if kids especially kids from rural areas living around national parks and reserves and conservancies could see this movies which focus on their neighbouring wildlife which you know unfortunately they cannot afford to go in to the parks and therefore don’t get to see the animals they don’t get to learn about them and that carries on with the misconception and misleading idea which then turn to later on result in human wildlife conflict

21:10

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

You know the power of film as a tool for passing messages for uhm shaping ideology, character and telling stories ee.eh cannot be underestimated, because what you see leaves such lasting impression in your mind. The visuals speak louder and leave a lasting impression

21:36

Dr. Ezekiel Mutua

There are places that you long to visit uhm but you’ve never been there but you talk about these places as beautiful. Coz you saw them in a film

21:46

Sajid Darr

It’s extremely important that the kids who living next to national parks and, not just them I think Kenyans as a whole. It’s extremely important that they understand wildlife because this is Kenya’s natural heritage

22:03

Sajid Darr

So my hope is from an educational point of view that they will get to to learn about this animals through this documentaries and break those uhm ideas, false ideas that they have about animals being dangerous regardless. You Know.

22:22

Sajid Darr

Sadly enough as long as there is no money attached to to any commodity as humans we don’t see value in it

22:31

Arnold Ithili

Well, uhm I’m just fascinated with the amount of concentration given to this elephant film. They look super excited. They are also happy doing this and sharing with them this experience is so beautiful

22:45

Rebecca Lolosoli

In Umoja we wish just to educate our children giving them good education and giving them so that they can have better lives than us. So that’s what we want to see we have we have done in Umoja and that’s the legacy we want to leave for our children. Good education