AMBOSELI LIVESTOCK FARMERS ASSOCIATION BACKGROUND Since time in history, learning has been a problem in Amboseli Maasailand for the major economic activity is large scale keeping of cattle and socially practiced cultural practices like circumcisions and they mind about holding a lot of cows than taking their children to school. The cattle they depended upon all were swept by the 2009 hunger drought and famine, this returned back a lot of families to poverty and a lot of school dropouts since the whole community emigrated in search of pasture and water for their livestock and living. I would like to propose you assist us in priorities basing your support in these main areas;
1. Educational awareness and campaigns 2. Drilling boreholes to enable us practice crop farming.
1. EDUCATIONAL AWARENESS AND CAMPAIGNS We took our case study as Amboseli School AMBOSELI SCHOOL HISTORY
The Amboseli School started with students sitting and study under a tree for lack of classrooms and sitting desks. The total number of students was as low as 13 pupils whose parents decided to bring them to school for learning and playing. We faced a lot of challenges for this because: It is an open place so dust could affect the children and the teachers seriously, whenever it rained, it was the end of learning for that day and children who reside from far could even drown into the nearby valleys for lack of classes to get protected. Learning was also very poor where the overall performance of the school was extremely down
This hardship and suffering went on until well wishers and donors who visited the school felt pity on the marginalized community and out of sheer generosity they assisted to shift us from learning under a tree to a more comfortable building of two rooms. As you see, in the right photo, the children are so much squeezed and due to the decentralization of education offices and ministries we have been isolated in our country and so the whole burden of school fees charges, buying of uniform and water bills is relying on parents. The number of children is also increasing in alarming rate, since the community now understands the concept of education and its benefits to the realization of their visions and better future for their children. We therefore hope to get donations and support to assist pluck us out of this cocoon of no enough space for learning and lack of comfortable studies. .
DRILLING BOREHOLES TO ENABLE US PRACTICE CROP FARMING
Another major problem within our community is the scarcity of water that is lack of safe water for drinking and enough water for domestic use. As you can see above, it is the sole responsibility of mothers and daughters to fetch water but without the assistance of domestic animals like donkeys this has never been possible. The area experiences very low rainfall one month of October once in a year making living and surviving too difficult affecting the school in hindering learning causing unfavorable climate leading to illness. Sometimes in dry seasons, these school children drink water from the animals’ troughs. This automatically brings diseases leading to death.
As you see above, we as the community of Amboseli came together, share our ideas and decided to forward our petition to well wishers so that we get support to solve all these obstacles towards the future of our children and better learning. We then request that we construct 2 more classrooms to withstand the abnormal growth of the children number in one classroom, and access water from a near source to eliminate long distance walk of 17 kilometers to get water. They have been attacked by wild animals since they walk along the park to get to the source.
It is also the responsibility of the parents to fetch water necessary for school usage and their children consumption. They use the beast of burden (Donkeys) to fetch water to school for cooking and other related school uses.
The school compound and its environment is naked. Wild animals normally enter the school area while the children are on the playground. To make the matter worse, children even sneak from school to their homes pre-time and this contributes to poor performance and loose of learning interest. We therefore in urgent need of a school fence establishment to abundantly protect the school, children and its surrounding.
Finally, the community held a general prayer before they propose any support, they think is necessary and relevant to hand over to God their cry. They use the school dually as the church and learning place too. To mention but a few, they are devoted Christians who attend to church every Sunday to pray, praise and worship being led by their spiritual pastor.
OBJECTIVES 1. To encourage increase in education interest 2. To improve learning and convenient teaching 3. To settle human-wildlife conflicts in our land 4. To get enough water for domestic use and farming.