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KENYA
Climate Change and Education Program

Background

Kenya, the top travel destination in East Africa, sits squarely on the Equator and offers some of Africa’s best-known natural landmarks: snow-covered Mount Kenya, Lake Victoria and the Great Rift Valley. What Kenya is best known for, however, are the savanna grasslands of the Masai Mara National Reserve. It is here that visitors on safari drives can see Africa’s “Big Five” - lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros – as well as other wonders of the animal kingdom. One of the best times to visit the Masai Mara National Reserve is July and August, when millions of wildebeest are making their annual migration to the north in search of fertile grazing lands.

Kenya is a country of extraordinary cultural diversity. Kenya’s 70 tribal groups have a long and rich history of migration and dispersal in the region, but fall into two basic language groups, the Bantu and the Nilotic-speaking peoples. Today English and Swahili are Kenya’s official languages.

Kenya’s climate is varies by region. It is hot and humid along the coast, temperate inland, and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country. Traditionally the rainy season takes place between March and May, followed by moderate rains in October and November. However changing weather patterns associated with climate change are dramatically altering the landscape of our Masai host community, Shompole Ranch.

About our Host Community: Oloika Trading Centre in the Shompole Ranch

Students in World Leadership School’s Kenya Climate Change and Education program will have the chance to live and work with Masai families in Shompole Ranch, a large tribal territory of about 155,000 acres in southern Kenya. Our host families are located in and around the Oloika Trading Centre, a small village that includes a school, health clinic and guest house for visitors. Our base will be a tented campsite on the outskirts of Oloika. From here we will make 2-day visits to our host families who live within walking distance, usually 1 – 2 hours, of Oloika.

Shompole Ranch lies on the floor of the Great Rift Valley along the Kenya-Tanzania Border. It encompasses a stunning landscape of vast grasslands, volcanic mountains, salt pans, soda lakes, acacia woodlands, and lush wetlands. Shompole Ranch is an important migratory corridor and dispersal range for wildlife, including African Elephants. Its biodiversity is enhanced by its location, sandwiched between the Masai Mara National Reserve and Amboseli National Park. Nearby Lake Natron is home to more than 2 million Lesser Flamingoes, or roughly 25% of the world population.


	Global Issue: Climate Change and Sub-Standard Education For centuries, the Masai have lived close to the earth and the rhythms of nature. Their “pastoraIist” lifestyle has revolved around the care of the cattle. However, the once-abundant savannahs required to support large herds are no longer a given. Changes in rainfall patterns and extended droughts, both associated with climate change, have gradually reduced or destroyed Masai grasslands in Kenya. The shortage of grass has caused overgrazing and soil depletion, and in turn, has pushed the Masai into poverty. Many Shompole herdsmen have had no choice but to leave their wives and children behind and drive their cattle toward greener, Masai-controlled grasslands in Tanzania. The Masai’s nomadic lifestyle does not lend itself to traditional schooling. However the leaders of Shompole Ranch recognize the necessity of formal education in adapting to, and hopefully surviving, a changing climate. School children often live with extended family members, or in the girls’ dormitory, in order to attend school in Oloika. But as resources necessary to support their cattle dwindle, pressure on the people of Shompole only increases. Solution: Experience Impact of Climate Change and Improve Quality of Education Students will experience the effects of climate change first-hand in Shompole. They will work alongside Shompole community members in their quest to survive the challenges of a changing climate and the shifting landscape of the modern world. Shompole leaders have identified both short- and long-term strategies to help their people adapt to the changing conditions that are a direct threat to the survival of their lifestyle and culture. We will support the community’s desire to improve the quality of education for Maasai children – especially girls, who have not traditionally attended school. Along with the recognition that educating girls is the most cost-effective means of reducing poverty and improving public health, Shompole leader and World Leadership School country coordinator Shani Ole Petenya Yusuf, remarks: “When people are educated, they can compete in the labor market. How can people deal with climate change without education? They don’t even know what climate change is.” The Shompole Ranch’s main school is located at the edge of the Oloika Trading Center and serves approximately 400 students aged 7 to 15. Recently the Danish government contributed funds to construct a dormitory to house 80 girls, who live too far away from the school to attend on a regular basis. Proposed projects, which will be funded by our donations, include: • Completing the construction of a dining-room, multi-purpose space designed to accommodate the entire school community. This project was initiated during the summer of 2009. • Installing solar panels throughout the school so students may study at night. • Setting up a computer center, with Internet access, at the school. • Restoring and painting aging classrooms. • Building a new classroom block from the ground up. When not working on these projects, students will have an opportunity to volunteer inside the school, teach English and participate in sports, such as volleyball and soccer, with local kids.

Requirements We require students to participate in pre-trip orientation sessions, complete assigned readings and commit to fundraising goals established at their school prior to departure. Students need to be physically fit in order to participate in manual labor and other physical activities of the program, such as hiking and swimming. We ask that students complete a detailed application expressing their reasons for wanting to go on the trip prior to being accepted on the program. Students and parents are required to complete all required World Leadership School forms, including the Application and Terms & Conditions, the Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risks & Release and Indemnity Agreement, and the Medical Form. Participants have found that becoming familiar with some basic Swahili words and phrases enhances their experience in Kenya. Flexibility is essential. Students and their families need to understand the changing circumstances, delays and other hurdles that are common in Kenya. The specifics of volunteer work will be decided according to the needs of the community or organization shortly before the group’s in-country arrival.

Sample Itinerary Day 1 • Depart the U.S. and travel to Nairobi, Kenya Day 2 • Evening arrival in Nairobi • 45-minute transfer to Masai Lodge on outskirts of Nairobi National Park • Overnight at Masai Lodge Day 3 • Reflection: Intro to WLS and Global Issues • Morning hike to Katenga glass factory • Reflection: Goals and Fears • Introduction to Masai culture, Climate Change and Kenyan educational system • Reflection: Homestay Orientation and Cross-Cultural Training Day 4 • Transfer to Shompole Ranch, stay in tented campsite • Lunch at the Oloika Trading Centre guest house • Tour and introduction to school and service project • Free time for sports and meeting community members • Reflection: Leadership Styles and Temperaments Day 5 • Service work, Day I • Introduction to Secondary Activities: animal tracking and identification, spear throwing, Masai music, dancing and beadwork • Reflection: Local Leaders and Leadership Styles I Day 6 • Service work, Day II • Secondary Activities • Reflection: Global Issues, cont’d Day 7 • Service work, Day III • Secondary Activities Day 8 • Service Work, Day IV • Secondary Activities Day 9 • Service Work, Day V • Secondary Activities Day 10 • Service work, Day VI • Early afternoon departure for Losijo Lodge • Games and free time • Night game drive Day 11 • Early morning game drive • Rest and relaxation • Reflection: Local Leaders and Leadership Styles II • Mid-course evaluations • Return to Shompole tented campsite Day 12 • Service work, Day VII • Secondary Activities • Reflection: Marketplace of Ideas I Day 13 • Service work, Day VIII • Secondary Activities Day 14 • Service Work, Day IX • Secondary Activities Day 15 • Service Work, Day X • Secondary Activities Day 16 • Service Work, Day XI • Project dedication and community celebration with dancing and drumming Day 17 • Morning farewell to Shompole community • Return to Masai Lodge to spend the night (3.5 hours) • Reflection: Marketplace of Ideas II Day 18 • Early morning departure for Masai Mara (4-5 hours) • Game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Day I • Safari camp, evening campfire Day 19 • Game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Day II • One-on-one evaluations with students • Reflection: Leadership Goals and Closing Circle • Safari camp, evening campfire with Masai singing and dancing Day 20 • Morning bird watching and wildlife observation • Return to Nairobi from Masai Mara National Reserve • Afternoon rest at Masai Lodge • Evening departure from Nairobi Day 21 • Afternoon or evening arrival in the U.S. Comments “My trip to Kenya last summer was among the satisfying things I have done with a group of students during my 25 years at Groton. I am fully anticipating that this summer’s experience in Shompole Ranch will be even better!” - Fred Beams, Dean of Students, Groton School “The experience in Kenya really helped me begin to grasp Ensworth’s vision for its students: to be leaders first and foremost in SERVICE to others. I learned so much about what it looks like to take care of each other. That lesson will not only stay with me personally, but will also transform our school community if more people can get this kind of opportunity.” - Rebeckah Capps, Director of Admissions, Ensworth School “This trip opened [my sons’] eyes to the happiness and struggles the Kenyan people have in their own lives. I believe both of my sons are better people because of the experiences afforded to them because of these trips.” - Dwayne Baharozian, MD, Groton School parent, Kenya/Peru 2009 “This trip changed my attitude on the world more than I ever could imagined. No movie, no book, no personal account could have made me so conscious of the reality of climate change.” – Groton student, Kenya 2009 “I realized the effects of climate change, barely noticeable in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, are quite profound in other places, causing cultural change and problems.” – Groton student, Kenya 2009 Read some recent trip blogs here...

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