Friends of Africa Magazine - Special Preview Issue

Inside: • Learning for Peace, C.U.R.E for Health

The Pokot School & Medical Projects

• Travel with a Cause

Peter Greenberg on Voluntourism

• Reforestation of Mfangano A Capstone of Hope

• Life in Turkana Water Wells & Power

Plus: • Meet our Affiliates

•Nairobi 9/11 •Tribute to the Lost Boys of Sudan

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Special Preview Edition l Friends of Africa Magazine

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Project C.U.R.E. is the world’s largest medical supply recovery organization, touching the lives of patients, families and children in more than 130 countries.

John L. at Sister Freda’s hospital in Kitale, Kenya where Project C.U.R.E. is serving October 2013.

projectcure.org

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Special Preview Edition

m a g a z i n e

inside this issue Features 08

Learning for Peace

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C.U.R.E. for Life

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Life in Turkana:

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Capstone of Hope:

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Meet our Affiliates! Maasai Orphans, Save the Elephants, Mount Kenya Trust & African Conservation Foundation

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Travel with a Cause

The Pokot School Project

by Snowden Bishop

The Pokot Medical Project

by Snowden Bishop Water, Wells and Wishes

by Snowden Bishop Saving Sacred Forests of Mfangano

by Emily Lowery

Ecotourism to Voluntourism

by Peter Greenberg

Departments 06 29 34 37 38 40 44 48

Message from the Editor A Tribute to the Lost Boys Experience Africa Letters from Africa: Zambia Update: Pokot School Events: Benefits & Gatherings Global Village Currents: 9/11 Nairobi

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publishing Bishop Edwards Arts & Media ©2013, BEAM, llc

nyone who travels to Africa returns “once bitten,” and forever changed. There is something about the African earth that has a tendency to extract roots from the feet that meander across her fertile soil. Perhaps it is the ancestral memory that makes Africa, the “Cradle of Mankind,” feel like home. Perhaps her water contains a potion that leaves her drinkers thirsty for more. For most, the spirit of Africa awakens the senses, consumes the soul, and beckons their return, over and over again.

Friends of Africa Magazine endeavors to bring the magnificent continent of Africa to those who love her. Conceived to support Friends of Africa International and its affiliates, Friends of Africa Magazine also endeavors to provide exposure for other groundbreaking projects, publicize important causes and raise awareness about the critical issues facing the continent. But more importantly, we aim to inspire conservation and preservation, inform readers about how they can make a positive difference and, visually, contextually and viscerally, satiate the most voracious appetite for all things Africa.

Friends of Africa Magazine is operated on a nonprofit basis by a host of volunteers, Board members, editorial contributors and creative professionals who selflessly donate their time. We rely on the generosity of subscribers, contributors and sponsoring advertisers for support, which enables us to provide much needed funding for our amazing projects, causes and affiliates, while at the same time, bringing the mystifying beauty of Africa to a global audience.

We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. To subscribe to Friends of Africa Magazine, request a media kit or learn more about our organization, please visit our website at www.

FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org On behalf of all of us at Friends of Africa Magazine, Karibu and Asante Sana -- welcome, and thank you for your support!

Snowden Bishop, Editor-in-Chief

editorial Editor-In-Chief: Snowden Bishop Contributors: Bonnie Bishop | Kire Godal | Peter Greenberg | Emily Lowery | Dave Wagner Photographers: Snowden Bishop | Carol Beckwith | Angela Fisher | Kire Godal Paul Michael | John Moller | Nigel Pavitt Cover Photo by Eric Lafforgue Editorial Interns: Rosalie Capri / Lisa Racz design & production Creative Director: Rebecca Edwards Layout & Design: Rebecca Edwards & Snowden Bishop Printer: Courier Graphics Webmaster: David Hannes public relations & marketing BEAM, llc, Cloud Nine Marketing Threads of Connection Nikki O’Shea, Gordon C. James PR Sherri Butler advertising contacts Kenya Ad Rep: Terri Jacob Terri.Jacob@FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org Safaricom Mobile: +254 (0)742.550562 U.S. Ad Rep: Stephanie Petro SPetro@FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org US Tel: + 1.310.405.4113 art department design@BEAM-Media.com editorial editor@FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org subscriptions Subscribe@FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org Friends of Africa Magazine is the flagship publication of Friends of Africa International (FOAI) published quarterly by BEAM, llc on a pro bono basis. After publishing costs, all subscription and advertising revenues go directly toward Friends of Africa International projects and affiliates. “Friends of Africa” is a registered trademark of FOAI and BEAM, llc. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of BEAM. Publisher shall not be held liable for performance of goods and services offered by advertisers, and assumes no iability for the opinions expressed within the publication by sources, contributors or advertisers. FOAI is a 501[c]3 nonprofit with international NGO status in Kenya. To learn more about FOAI, and for information about subscriptions, contributor submissions, sponsorships and advertising opportunities, please visit us online. www.FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Rd., #352 Scottsdale, AZ 85255 info@FriendsofAfricaAZ.org

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Authentically African art, artifacts and souvenirs to take your safari home. We ship to the U.S.A.

Bogani East Road, Langata, Nairobi, Kenya | Tel: +254.20.890464 | www.Utamaduni.com

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by Snowden Bishop photographs by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher

magine living in an area so remote that schools simply don’t exist.

Imagine that by the age of nine, your child is brandishing a gun instead of reading a book. It seems unfathomable, but this is the reality of children living a remote tribal war zone in northwestern Kenya.

The region is Africa’s most remote frontier, a lawless land saturated with weapons, where tribesmen make their own rules, cattle are the ultimate currency, and rustling is a way of life. There are no roads, no medical facility, and no school.

The nearest city is a two-day drive, and the nearest medical clinic is a two-day journey, mostly on foot.

In the middle of the region is an area known as Ng’aina, which is primarily occupied by the Pokot tribe, a traditionally honorable people who, for generations, have been forced to literally fight for survival. Their livelihood depends upon the wholeness of their cattle herds. The largest threat to the Pokot people comes from the neighboring Turkana tribe, another nomadic cattle rustling group intent on stealing livestock from the Pokot herds.

Each year, hundreds of Pokot tribe members die defending livestock from cattle raids initiated by rival tribes.

Over the last half century, the warfare has gradually become modernized with weapons introduced by bandits from neighboring Uganda and Somalia. Today, the weapons range from ordinary shotguns to automatic rifles. By the age of nine, Pokot boys are sent to the “Cow Place,” a

veritable boot camp where they are trained by elders to rustle cattle and handle a variety of weapons. Their training takes approximately one year to complete, after which the boys are sent out with their

fathers and brothers to defend the livestock – and defend their own lives.

The battle-weary Pokot people have become entrenched in a cycle of violence that has plagued their culture for generations.

Pokot elders know that securing a brighter future for their children will require learning about a better way of life. Selfmade efforts to introduce education have been futile thus far. The task of finding a teacher or other logistical support for building a school presents a daunting task,

according to Pokot Chief Yatta. Rarely visited by outsiders, the Pokot region is so savage even the Kenya army stays away.

A number of incidents involving army personnel being killed or threatened upon entering the region have dissuaded further intrusion. Rumor has it that a number of Army officers have entered the territory for general inquiry and never returned.

Admittedly stuck, the Pokot elders realize that replacing guns with books will require cultural change, which likely will not occur without assistance from the modern world - assistance they had prayed for, but had never been offered.

Chief Yatta was indeed surprised when a National Geographic filmmaker, Kire Godal, asked permission to film the secretive tribe. It was an act of bravery for Godal to inquire; no one had ever been granted permission to film sacred Pokot rituals, and it had been decades since anyone dared to ask.

Conferring with tribal elders, Chief Yatta offered Godal unprecedented access to the tribe, and in exchange for the access, Godal would build the Pokot region’s firstever school once she had completed filming.

“I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I made the promise. I could not pass up such an amazing opportunity to record the ancient customs of the Pokot people before they become too modernized,” said Godal, whose cache of films record the culture and rituals of tribes not yet affected by western influence, Christian missionaries or modern development. She considers such films urgent, and explained, “The face of

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Africa is changing so quickly. Many of the tribal cultures are vanishing each year due to outside intervention.”

During the following year, Godal directed a series of three films on the Pokot tribe, each capturing the tribe’s ancient rituals and mysterious culture, and documents the powerful mysticism of some of the most secret ancient ceremonies still in existence today, and the daring and dangerous lives of the notorious cattle rustlers.

The last of the series to be completed, “Pokot: a Path to Manhood,” explores some of the most sacred ceremonies including circumcisions and “graduation” ceremonies that shepherd young generations into adulthood.

Now that the majority of filming has ended, Godal has called upon close friends and family to help her keep her promise to raise the funds needed to build the Pokot Region’s first school. Inspired by the call to action, Bonnie Bishop, founder of Friends of Africa International, a non-profit 501[c] (3) organization, is now leading the charge.

A collaborative effort is now underway to raise the funds necessary to build the Pokot preschool and lay the foundation

for a stepped up approach that, over the next 10 years, will culminate with a school system to accommodate all ages including adults, a desperately needed medical clinic, accommodations and security for teachers and other supporting infrastructure.

The commitment hastened the launch of a Scottsdale, Arizona chapter of Friends of Africa, which originated in Aspen, Colorado. The parent organization was founded in 1985 after Bishop was recruited to participate in a project of the United Nations Environmental Programme headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya by its ambassador, Dr. Noel Brown. She was subsequently asked to assist fundraising efforts for Kenya’s Department of Wildlife under the direction of Dr. Richard Leaky, and established Friends of Africa as a funding conduit for a host of projects.

Friends of Africa has since supported a number of humanitarian, wildlife preservation and environmental conservation projects throughout Africa including Ian Douglas-Hamilton’s Save the Elephants campaign, Mpho Tutu’s efforts to aid women in South Africa, Daphne Sheldrick’s animal orphanage, and the famed Rhino

Arc, to name a few. Some esteemed leaders of organizations that have received assistance from Friends of Africa now comprise the foundation’s International Advisory Board.

To initiate the Pokot School Project, her first objective was to get the Aspen Board of Directors to agree about forming a chapter of Friends of Africa in Scottsdale, where Bishop has resided since 2001. Opening the Scottsdale office was a formality, necessary for conducting fundraising activities there.

Support for the new chapter came without a hitch. By then, Bishop had already recruited a group of friends and family in Scottsdale, who eagerly began to rally with her for the school project under the auspices of her foundation, and her team became the newly formed Scottsdale Board of Directors.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of support I have received from the Scottsdale Board,” said Bishop, whose next objective was to formulate a plan for the development of the first phase of the project: a preschool and medical clinic.

No stranger to philanthropy, Bishop and her team decided they would host a star-

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studded gala benefit to raise the initial funds needed for the design and building.

With gala planning underway, Bishop’s next task was to involve her Kenya contingency and conduct a site assessment in Ng’aina. Her tour began in Nairobi, where with Godal and a Nairobi team, she began the business of registering the NGO, arranging for work permits, coordinating involvement of District Education Officers, commissioners and the U.S. Embassy.

Shortly after, Bishop and Godal were joined by a contingency of 7 others including Godal’s film crew and National Geographic photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith, who are internationally known for their books on African culture. In a caravan of vehicles they embarked upon the two-day journey over bumpy, dusty roads.

Their first destination was the town of Kollowa, a tiny village where they met with the District Education Officer and Blue Loribo, their Pokot language interpreter and guide. They were treated to a typical African meal of posho (cornmeal), goat stew, sukuma wiki (a variety of kale) and Kenya brewed Tusker beer.

The following morning, they drove about four hours to an abandoned Red Cross compound, where they set up a camp that would serve as their base for the week.

Godal and Bishop departed the group and continued onto Ng’aina, where they were greeted by Pokot chiefs Yatta and Ben, along with their families, all of whom had long anticipated the visit.

“I was overwhelmed by the reception we received,” said Bishop, who recalled the singing and dancing and cheering that greeted them upon arrival. “They chanted as we arrived, ‘Welcome Bonnie and Kire who bring us school and medicine!’ I could see tears on some of their faces.”

Having filmed three documentaries on the Pokot rituals, Godal was well known by nearly everyone in the Pokot community – and well respected. Upon her last visit to Ng’aina several months before, she had advised them that next time she returned

she would bring Bonnie Bishop to discuss logistics for the school.

The excitement ran deep – Godal’s return marked confirmation that her promise would be kept, and seeing that she had brought Bishop with her instilled hope that it was only a matter of logistics before the pathway toward peace in their culture would be forged.

Without hesitation, Bishop and Godal were ushered toward a waiting group of Pokot elders, who were holding court under a giant fig tree near the river.

Chief Ben spoke in broken English and translated stories told by the elders about the challenges faced by their tribe. Godal and Bishop listened to their concerns and then outlined their immediate and long range plans starting with the preschool and medical clinic’s groundbreaking in the coming summer months.

The first phase of the project will include a modest preschool building with an adjacent teachers’ apartment. Given the abundance of termites in the region, the buildings would not be constructed using wood. Instead, each will be built using local materials such as river rock from the nearby river on a steel frame, and would be fully sustainable without requiring outside electricity or generators. A combination of solar and wind sourced power would be sufficient to run computers, fans, lights and refrigeration. A rain catchment system and water well would provide enough water for the plumbing and drinking. Natural sanitation methods would be employed to avoid contamination of the water supply or nearby river. Books and other supplies will be sourced by donations made to Friends of Africa, and eventually, the school will also be provided with a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Prior to the end of the meeting, the elders offered gifts of gratitude. Godal was presented with a poignant gift, an “Atelo” or leather apron, which traditionally is presented to a young man who had recently graduated into the adult age set prior to his first journey as a warrior.

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“When an Atelo leather piece is given, it signifies that the wearer is challenged to go out into the wilderness and kill a buffalo or lion, and bring back the skin to prove their worthiness. It’s usually gifted from a woman to a man,” Godal explained.

“By giving me the Atelo piece, they have challenged me to go out into the world and bring them back their school.”

The elders then presented Bishop with an ostrich feather crown, which is considered to be the highest honor bestowed upon Pokot women. They ceremoniously offered her the moniker, “Mama Pokot” – certainly the first time such a noble title has ever been given to an outsider. Before they left that evening, Bishop wept as Chief Yatta announced to his village that she and Godal were the answer to their prayers.

“It was a boiling hot day brimming with emotion,” said Godal. By the time it was over, the temperature had peaked at 118°F, they had run out of drinking water, and the daylight necessary to navigate the rough, roadless terrain back to their base camp was waning. “It was dusk before we returned to camp. By then, we were seeing spots.”

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The following morning, the entire group gathered provisions and film equipment and departed around 4:00 am to the village of N’getenogh, where Godal and her team had arranged to document an initiation ceremony celebrating the return of nearly 200 recently circumcised “graduates” entering manhood. Each year, during the short rains, Pokot families hold sacred initiation ceremonies called Sapana, the traditional right of passage for young men to join the ranks of their elders and become warriors.

“The ceremony was long, and resembled something out of Star Wars,” said Godal.

Young men’s faces were concealed behind long string masks that would swing as they moved their heads from side to side.

The ceremony ended when the mothers removed their son’s masks, replacing them with their own beaded jewelry and anointing their sons with blessed oil. “The purpose of the ritual is to teach the young men about humility.”

During the filming, Fisher and Beckwith shot still photographs of the ceremony and young initiates for their forthcoming book on rites of passage across the African continent. At the end of the day, the elders

asked Godal to speak to the crowd. She recalled, “I thanked them for letting us film, and told them that the images and films would be a permanent record for their great grandchildren, that we came not only to take images, but to give back.“ She also announced their plans to build the school, and said that she hoped that now there would be more books and fewer guns. “I explained that even though the modern world may become part of their world through education, that their cultural heritage and traditions must be honored – that the two can grow alongside each other.”

“It was very inspiring,” said Beckwith about Godal’s words, which had been met with roaring cheers from the crowd and tears shed by mothers. “Her speach sounded like it could have come from President Obama!”

The following day, the group went to film a group of initiates recovering in a “Healing Hut” in another location. According to the elders, it was the very first time that any woman, including Pokot, has ever seen the interior of a Healing Hut. “We were allowed in not just because we paid or because of our promise to build the

school, but because – as the Chief explained – we are ‘not really women,’ since we are white and wear pants,” laughed Godal.

Their remaining days were filled with site mapping and visiting with the “mamas” of the tribe. It became clear just how profound the impact of education would be on the culture. The mamas feel helpless to do anything but watch as their young sons are thrust into harms way.

The rustling customs are all they had ever known, and breaking the cycle of violence needs to begin with children too young to know differently. They fear it is too late to expect those children already involved in the rustling to ever change their course in life. But to begin a process of change with the youngest generation may be key to changing their future.

The women also talked about the hardships they endure because of the remoteness of the area and lack of any medical services.

“I was astonished to learn that a mother would have to carry an ill child for 45 miles in the scorching heat to reach a bus stop, where they would hope to catch a bus for a two-hour drive to reach the nearest medical facility,” said Bishop. Unfortunately, most

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sick children don’t survive the arduous journey. “It is humbling to realize just how fortunate we are to have any access to schools or proper medical facilities at all.”

Despite the violence that occurs to protect their livelihood, the Pokot people are steeped in tradition that is deeply rooted in their spiritual beliefs. They take their rituals and the passage of each phase of life very seriously. They are also very devoted to their closely-knit families, and harbor reverence and respect for their elders. Their culture is one of the few that has remained untouched by western influences and modern civilization. So far, they haven’t become jaded by tourism, converted by missionaries or affected by commercial enterprise, like so many of the vanishing tribes in Africa have been.

“Kire and I share a common vision for the school. We are eager to help them preserve their own traditions, spiritual beliefs and

customs,” said Bishop. The Pokot elders expressed their gratitude for that as well.

“I believe they appreciate that we want to help and have no intention to impose our values upon them. That is gratifying.”

Godal and Bishop are keeping their promise to raise the funds needed to build the Pokot Region’s first school. In April, 2011, Bishop’s foundation, Friends of Africa International, hosted star-studded gala benefit in Scottsdale that marked the start of fulfilling their commitment. The benefit featured an award ceremony to honor LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King, NFL champions Mike Davis and Larry Fitzgerald, celebrity judge Lynn Toler, and other notables who have dedicated themselves to supporting children and education throughout the world.

“We are delighted to report that the benefit successfully raised enough money to build the school,” said Bishop, who

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returned to the Pokot region in June to break ground on the preschool in June 2011.

Since then, Bishop has made two trips to oversee the construction on the school. On March 23, 2012 Bishop was joined by a contingent of supporters to dedicate the finished school building and turn it over to Kenya’s Minister of Education.

“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve received so far, but the journey has just begun, and we’ll need more help.” Now that the school is occupied by more than 100 students, Friends of Africa is now tasked with keeping them healthy and safe.

The organization is now raising funds to build the area’s only medical clinic.

Article courtesy of AZGreen Magazine.

Some contributions by Kire Godal, Photos

by Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher.

Thirty years ago American-born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher met in Kenya and began a relationship with the African continent that would profoundly alter and shape their lives. Their journeys would take them over 270,000 miles, through remote corners of 40 countries, and to more than 150 African cultures. During this time the two photographers would produce 14 universally acclaimed books, including Maasai (1980), Nomads of the Niger (1983), Africa Adorned (1984), African Ark (1990), African Ceremonies (1999), Passages (2000), Faces of Africa (2004), Lamu: Kenya’s Enchanted Island (2009), and Dinka: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan (2010). Their defining body of work, the double volume African Ceremonies (1999), a pan-African study of rituals and rites of passage from birth to death covering ninetythree ceremonies from twenty six countries, won the United Nations Award for Excellence for its “vision and understanding of the role of cultural traditions in the pursuit of world peace.”

You can find out more at www.africanceremonies.com

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Unless you’ve been there, it’s impossible to fathom the extent to which the region surrounding Ng’aina, Kenya is untouched by modern civilization. People there have been marginalized, forgotten in the sense that there is scarcely any infrastructure whatsoever to serve them.

Not found on any official map of Kenya, Ng’aina still has no roads, no buildings, and no medical facilities for nearly 100 miles in any direction. Until recently, it had no schools. The pre-school built by Friends of Africa International in 2011 is now occupied by roughly 150 Pokot children of varying ages. Now the organization has set to the task of keeping them, and everyone else in Ng’aina healthy. To that end, they have teamed up with U.S.-based Project C.U.R.E. and African Medical Research Foundation, also known as AMREF, to build, provision and staff the region’s only medical facility, train medical clinicians and midwives, and provide community education about higiene and sanitation.

They need your support. To learn how you can help, please visit FriendsofAfricaAZ.org.

Photos and article by Snowden Bishop

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• • • • • • The Pokot Medical Project • • • • • • t was a brutally hot day, with temperatures well up into the 100’s.

Friends of Africa’s founder and chairman, Bonnie Bishop, was in Ng’aina, Kenya with a group of chiefs, elders and the chief pilot from AMREF discussing plans for the air strip and medical clinic they are building there. A young Pokot woman in writhing pain approached them.

She had just given birth and was bleeding profusely from her wounds. It was clear she was in dire need of emergency medical assistance. However, they feared that she’d likely not survive a six hour journey to the nearest clinic in Koloa. And, there would be no guarantee the doctor was in.

Severe complications in childbirth is listed among the top ten leading causes of death in the northern Pokot region. While female genital mutilation (FGM) has been deemed illegal in Kenya, the age-old tradition is still widely practiced in cultures that have no influence from the modernized world.

The District Health Officer for Barringo County, which has jurisdiction over the Ng’aina region, explained that without access to proper maternity care, many of these women simply die.

Other ailments such as snake bites, gunshot wounds, charcoal burns, malaria, respiratory infections and intestinal diseases are also among the top ten common causes of death in the area.

Ironically, some of the most deadly ailments are both preventable and curable, but not without adequate care.

Prevention is a matter of proper vaccines, clean water sources and education about hygiene, sanitation, FGM and malaria.

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Cure is a matter of reasonable access to doctors and medicine.

The Regional Assessment

Over the last several decades, a number of NGOs have erected medical clinics in remote areas of northern Kenya. But without consistent follow-through, these have had little impact, and far too many have long since been abandoned. Lack of funding, distant proximity to developed areas and cultural insecurity have dissueded properly trained medical personnel from remaining in the area.

Ten years ago, the Kenya government funded construction a (relatively) large hospital complete with a fully-plumbed surgical theater and visiting doctors’ quarters in the town of Chomoningot, located about 150 miles south of Ng’aina.

When the funding dried up, they were never fully provisioned with supplies, equipment or staff. Sadly, the surgical suite has never once been used and today is filled with debris and spider webbs from years of idle emptiness. There is only one doctor and a handful of clinic personnel caring for hundreds of patients. The adjacent visiting doctors’ quarters are now occupied by squatters and their families. There is just one maternity room with one incubator -the only incubator serving a region occupied by nearly 1,000,000 people.

Another recently-built facility replaced an the abandoned Red Cross clinic in Koloa.

From outward appearances, it presents as a modern facility. But it is completely devoid of any diagnostic equipment or emergency supplies, and has one nurse practitioner that sees between 400 and 1000 people a

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week. While Koloa joined the electric grid several years ago, the transmission lines stopped roughly 100 yards away from the clinic.

“No one has ever expressed interest in helping us improve our hospital,” said Francis, the nurse practitioner. He explained that there are nearly a million people that simply go without medical care, and if they are bitten by a snake or get an infection, they simply die. “We are so grateful you are here.”

Enacting a Plan

Learning about the issues suffered by these existing facilities has been instructive and has guided another aspect to the Pokot Medical Project. While building a clinic in Ng’aina remains a top priority, we recognize the potential to drastically increase our impact if we expand the scope of the project to include provisioning and staffing the pre-existing facilities in Koloa and Chomolingot as well and provision them according to factors such as availability of electricity.

Project C.U.R.E., which provides donated medical equipment to clinics and hospitals in developing nations, has committed to providing more than $1,000,000 in supplies and equipment.

Much of the equipment that is most needed in the area requires electricity, so the plan is to deliver those pieces of equipment to Chomolingot, along with basic surgical supplies for the existing surgical suite. Other emergency supplies and basic equipment will go to the Koloa clinic, and to Ng’aina, when that facility is built. Additionally,

FOAI will be building another clinic near Lokichar and work with Project C.U.R.E. to provision other remote clinics in the Turkana district.

AMREF has been consulting on the air strip, education and vocational training.

We will be working with them to train local midwives and clinicians and workshops called PHASE, or Personal Hygiene and Sanitation Education.

FOAI is also currently soliciting donations and making arrangements to complete this project by mid 2014. In august we received Community Development Funds enabling us to commence construction of the clinic in Ng’aina, and will be requesting additional funds that are made available through the Governors of each county.

For more information about the Pokot Medical Project, visit Friends of Africa at www.FriendsofAfricaAZ.org and Project C.U.R.E. at www.ProjectCURE.org.

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The year is 2013, but if not for the sturdy Land Cruiser, state-ofthe-art photo equipment and modern cellular phones holstered as a would-be security devices, we could have been in a time warp. It seems as though life in Turkana hasn’t changed for a thousand years. We drove for hours at a stretch through unpaved wilderness without seeing a single vehicle or any signs of modern existence whatsoever. Unlike other parts of Kenya teeming with wildlife, there was a conspicuous absence of big game. Instead we saw thousands of goats, a dense population of cattle and a number of abandoned donkeys and camels.

The traditional villages occupied by multitudes of children dotted the landscape as if they grew from the earth. Suddenly weren’t sure what to expect. We set out on the three-week excursion with flexible agendas and open minds. My travel companion, Kire Godal, a fellow Friends of Africa International Board member and filmmaker best known for her documentaries on primitive culture and conservation, had planned a factfinding mission for a new documentary on Turkana culture. Since both of us planned to visit neighboring Pokot territory where we are building a medical clinic, we decided to make the trip through Turkana together. Aside from the adventure, my agenda was to explore potential projects aligned with the NGO’s purpose. We had been told about the “Power Rush” that has taken Turkana by storm with

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out of nowhere, like a mirage, a cloud of dust kicked up by what appeared to be vehicles loomed ominously in the distance.

Within moments, a caravan of odd-looking busses passed, one after another at astonishing speed. We could barely make out silhouettes of neatly-uniformed passengers hidden behind the sealed tinted windows. Before long a spire towering in the distance revealed the caravan’s point of departure. As we grew closer, the anomaly snapped us out of the warp into the harsh reality of today. The rumors were true -- the oil rush is on. I couldn’t help but wonder what future awaits traditional nomadic people who, inevitably, will be forced to alter their way of life in order to survive the blatant encroachment.

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Conservationist and activist, Ikal Angelei is the founder of Friends of Lake Turkana, a registered charitable organization located in Lodwar, Kenya. For more information about her efforts, please visit www.FriendsofLakeTurkana.org

Exploring cultural riches.

potential to forever alter its landscape, so we were eager to witness traditional culture and unencumbered landscape before it vanishes altogether.

“They found oil here,” said Ben, a young Turkana man we hired to translate for us.

“This will make Turkana wealthy,” For a moment, I thought he was being facetious.

After all, there are only a handful of entities that will get rich off of the black gold, and Turkana people aren’t likely to benefit nearly as much. After a few minutes of discussion, I realized he truly believed it. That would explain why people seem nonplussed by the seeming intrusion.

Ben is part of a generation straddling traditional and modern life. At the age of 10, most members of his family were wiped out in a battle with Pokot cattle rustlers, a story all too familiar to Pokot families that met the same demise at the hands of Turkana intruders. Left to fend for himself, he learned to be somewhat aggressive.

It appeared as though his ambition had clouded his perceptions, evidenced by his preconceived notion that the impending oil boom will benefit him directly or somehow make him more important.

Perhaps we have become jaded, having witnessed the environmental destruction in the Western Hemisphere at the exorbitant gain of the fossil fuel industry – encouraged by a government that has repeatedly looked the other way, often at the dismay of its own constituents.

It occurred to me that, as the inevitable exploitation of Turkana’s natural resources and concurrent development certain to occur as a result, Kenya has an opportunity to change the trajectory from one of destruction to one of preservation -- both environmental and cultural.

From the outside looking in, Turkana is thought to be no-man’s land. Its proximity to unstable northern borders has left it vulnerable to both refugees and the influx of extremists with weapons.

That, coupled with lack of water, food insecurity and tribal warfare, has fueled the perception that it is a dangerous region to be avoided at all costs. Largely ignored by tourists and government alike, Turkana has been left to its own devices, and its traditional way of life has had very little influence from the outside world.

Westerners often mistake the absence of modern infrastructure and accouterment of the material world for poverty. On the contrary, nomadic life is very rich, built upon centuries-old culture with reverence for tradition, their pastoral land and livestock they depend upon for survival.

Wealth is measured by the ability to sustain a family, a village and a way of life. Livestock is protected and traded like currency. Immeasurable value is placed on rites of passage, which are identified by bodily adornments and embellishments.

In several southern areas, missions such as World Vision and the Catholic Church have made a noticeable impact on culture by introducing churches, schools, occasional medical clinics and relatively sophisticated agricultural irrigation schemes using Kerio River water. Other than introduction of Christianity, the culture has not yet been influenced by foreigners.

Development occurring now is likely to impose foreign cultural influence. Unlike missionaries, the industrial immigrants are there for, well, industry, and will thrust their social norms upon Turkana, irrespective of its indigenous people.

The new prospectors bring with them demand for material comforts, electricity, vehicles, buildings, food, infrastructure and employees. They also introduce new environmental contaminants, diseases, fences that block nomadic migration, and a new set of values that are likely

to dominate tribal values. Land, which has belonged to no one and yet entitled to anyone, will no longer be accessible to everyone. Money will likely replace cows and goats for trading.

The oil rush in the central Turakana district is not the only modernization threatening Turkana culture. For centuries, northern Turkana pastoralists have relied upon the abundant food sourced from Lake Turkana. Several years ago, Kenya government negotiated a deal to purchase electric power from a network of dams in Ethiopia on the Omo River, which feeds Lake Turkana. The project has raised the ire of conservationists and preservationists because the dams are estimated to reduce water flow to the lake by more than 60% and will destroy delicate ecosystems of the Omo River Delta, which is home to hundreds of thousands of pastoralists that will be displaced. The depletion of water flow will be devastating to Africa’s largest salt lake, already at record low levels due to five years of unprecedented drought.

The irony about purchasing electricity from the dam is that there is absolutely no existing infrastructure by which to transmit electrical power to the one market that really needs it, Nairobi, hundreds of miles away. It is evident that the actual cost of purchasing and transmitting the electricity will be matched or exceeded by the environmental, humanitarian and cultural costs, would be difficult if not impossible to measure in terms of currency.

“Within a couple of years, the lake will become two lakes that don’t connect,” said Ikal Angelei, founder of Friends of Lake Turkana. Considered to be the Wangari Maathai of her generation, Ikal is the most influential conservationist currently advocating for the protection of Lake Turkana. “It will take more than 15 years to replenish the water lost.”

Depletion of water is only the tip of the iceberg. The Ethiopian government has granted nearly 4,000,000 acres of land for agriculture, specifically BT

cotton and sugar beets, and will be diverting remaining water flow through a massive webb of irrigation channels.

This presents another environmental conundrum that will have even more devastating impact: toxic pollution. To grow, BT cotton and sugar beets require vast quantities of water. They are also genetically modified to require and withstand chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Already compromised by severe reduction in riparian flow, the lake’s indigenous wildlife, and fishermen depending upon them for survival, face devastation due to toxic runoff.

According to Ikal and others we spoke with, the situation is dire. It seems the more we learned, the more questions we had. We wondered what we could do.

celebration recently. Billions of gallons of water in massive aquifers underground were discovered in central Turkana. It is our hope that this water wealth will directly benefit the Turkana people and not be diverted for unsustainable use.

Regarding the water diversion from the lake, we don’t have answers. However, the excursion inspired a commitment to do everything we can to assist the grassroots efforts of conservation groups such as Friends of Lake Turkana. Via the Friends of Africa International Trust in Kenya, we will begin setting aside funds to support them. It is our hope that the Kenya government follows suit.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

On our way back to Nairobi, we stopped to visit a friend, Ed Ghaui, manager of a new CSR consultancy coordinating community efforts with developers and petroleum companies, such as Tullow Oil. We were very pleased to learn that they are making containment and proper disposal of toxic waste a priority, and will work toward increasing security in the area. Equally important, they are making efforts to support the local communities with development that will actually improve life for Turkana people. The first on their agenda is to build medical clinics and put money into sustainable agriculture and education. We, Friends of Africa International, will be consulting with Ed Ghaui on these projects.

On the heels of the extended drought, other good news created a wave of

Article and photographs by Snowden Bishop

20 l Friends of Africa Magazine

Capstone of Hope: Reforestation of Mfangano

There is a cultural tranquility that conjures a sense that time stands still on Mfangano Island, Kenya, located on the east side of Lake Victoria. Despite outward appearances, the island is rapidly changing with a

H

ealth, once promised when the international fishing industries came to Lake Victoria, never actually reached Mfangano or the other fishing villages around the lake. As the communities rely on the lake to feed their families, the fish that once plentifully nourished them are becoming more and more rare. The ecological degradation of Lake Victoria has created an ecosystem that is no longer regenerative. Consequently, those living around the lake have been forced to find other ways to feed and support themselves, and thus, they have turned to farming to provide the food and income, which they need to survive.

by Emily Lowery

growing population, greater access to information and increasing economic insecurity. Although the island is part of Kenya, it is left off many of the country’s maps, as if it didn’t exist at all.

The survival responses that have resulted in current agricultural practices are beginning to exhaust the limited food and fuel resources available to the island, causing deforestation, poor crop yield and, thus, poor nutrition, which further threatens the livelihoods and health of a people already impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With nearly forty percent of the island’s population infected with the virus, the community has one of the highest infection percentages in the world.

Despite these tremendous obstacles, there are people within the community who see the opportunity to overcome these challenges and give their story a new

trajectory by working together, with other locals and foreigners to improve and restore the health of the island. As cities and populations continue to grow, humans will continue to encroach upon the ecosystems around them and strain the natural resources provided by those ecosystems.

We have the ability to manifest innovations of restoration and regeneration.

We are capable of slowing the pace of degradation while meeting human needs and bringing into focus the existence of communities, cultures and ecosystems outside our purview.

When the chance to work in partnership with Organic Health Response (OHR) on

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“This Capstone is a drop of water in the monumental ocean of global challenges, but it is an opportunity to learn more about what I love, in a place that amazes me and with a people who inspire me.”

Mfangano Island presented itself, it was a clear fit. I accepted the position with OHR in hopes that I might offer potentials for reforestation that would provide a more beneficial integration of human support and ecological regeneration. I couldn’t predict the long-range outcome, but my intention was to propose a variety of ways in which plant growth, vegetative function, human value and human consumption can synchronize in a way that can be sustained – allowing for the restoration of some of the natural systems of the island, while meeting and nourishing the need for economic security, human health and cultural well-being.

As a graduate student earning a Masters Degree in landscape architecture, I was required to select a “capstone project” that would ultimately serve as a thesis for my degree. Serving the OHR project became the basis for my capstone: to design a framework for the reforestation of Mfangano Island in a way that protects the environment by leveraging and strengthening the power of the community’s cultural history and identity, and demonstrating the economic benefit of reforestation for Mfangano residents.

Advocacy work is certainly a very difficult way to earn a living, but working with OHR provided an opportunity to increase my plant knowledge bank, learn more about the ecological web, study human ecology and, at the same time, effect positive change that could benefit a microcosm of ecological systems, cultural influences and economic necessities that have been largely overlooked by the outside world.

A quote by John Michuki, Kenyan Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources, summarizes much of what my capstone is about: “Kenyan’s livelihoods are closely linked to their access to natural resources. As our population increases and environmental quality continues to decline, there is an increased risk of social and economic destabilization, which will have significant impacts on overall national

security. Rural people are among the most vulnerable and insecure in terms of poverty, health, food security, economic losses, and conflicts resulting from competitive access to natural resources, among other factors.”

While this is happening all over the world, Mfangano is a microcosm of what is happening on a global scale. In this respect, Mfangano Island is a continent and Lake Victoria is the ocean. With limited and degraded natural resources and a deluge of social and economic challenges, how does a culture overcome these hurdles and thrive in spite of them?

This capstone is a drop of water in the monumental ocean of global challenges, but I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about what I love, in a place that amazes me and with a people who inspire me.

Simply put, this project would bring greater value to a profession worth practicing and a life worth living. Commitment made.

The Capstone Begins After arriving in Nairobi International at two in the morning, I waited in the airport cafe until daylight to walk across the street to the domestic airport to catch a flight to Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, where I was met by Jenna Hines, my partner in this project.

There is a visible and audible aliveness to the city of Nairobi. By contrast, on Mfangano Island, the movement of life is calm, but with always a sense of the unexpected. During the day, there’s a steady stream of cows and goats puttering along the island’s only dirt road. Under the heat of the piercing equatorial sun, men and women slowly make their way across large rocks and pebbles scattered over organically shaped roads. Large wooden boats hover

around the perimeter of the island while behemoth birds soar overhead. The evenings are quiet, but cloaked with the sound of crickets, only broken by explosive piki drivers that stumble along at robust

speed. Throughout the night, the surface of the lake vibrates with the twinkling of lit fishing boats occupied by fishermen trying to catch “the big ones.”

Setting a Pace

Immediately after arriving we began setting up meetings to speak with individuals and organizations in the area. We arranged to meet with Charles, a former assistant chief of the island, in order to gain a better understanding of the Council of Elders’ perspective on deforestation because, in order to get any regulation passed, we would need to introduce our project to the Council of Elders, the Minister of Forestry and others who could help guide our agenda.

It wasn’t the pace we had anticipated, but the pace allowed us to build a relationship that became integral to our process.

As we made our way back to the village, Jenna remarked on what became an empirical truth, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned here, it’s that you can only schedule one meeting each day.”

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Finding Common Ground

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has been designing and building award winning, environmentally progressive custom homes for those who choose to live in harmony with the planet.

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Edwards Design Group is a proud supporter of FOAI and its sustainability development in Africa

During our time with Charles, I certainly did not understand every word, but what was communicated was a shared appreciation and belief in the importance in the investment in forests in order to nurture economic and food security. We realized that finding common ground would become one of the most important aspects of this project moving forward.

Cultural barriers have certainly played a large role in this process; the two most significant being gender and language. The primary tribes on Mfangano are the Suba and the Luo, each with its own language, which made general communication a challenge when trying to understand anything. Fortunately, Kiswahili and English are quite common on Mfangano, and translators were available to us.

During our first meeting with clan elders, we were asked to introduce the reforestation program as they had more on their agenda for that day. We later hooked up with Jack Obonyo from the Abasuba Peace Museum, who is incredibly knowledgeable on the cultural symbolism and stories behind the forests. We visited the keeper of the Witewe Sacred Forest, who taught us about the many significant meanings of the forest.

It was important to get distinctive stories about each forest in order to educate people on their cultural history as the reforestation program is about ecological and social education within the context of Abasuba culture.

The Cultural Disconnect

For most cultures, there are demographic circumstances, as well as spiritual and philosophical underpinnings that separate them from nature. As a remote island, Mfangano is inherently more vulnerable to these changes. A large population size, limited natural resources and health, food and economic insecurity are some of the major circumstances impacting the well-being and livelihood of the people of Mfangano.

Wangari Maathai, founder of The Greenbelt Movement, spoke about that separation as a consequence of the transition between her traditional Kikuyu spiritual practices and the introduction of Christian practices. In an interview on the American Public Media program, On Being in reference to the deforestation of sacred trees in her community, Maathai

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A Cross Section

Our assessment of the island’s ecosystems began with a boat tour around the island to map out land use patterns, noting areas of cultivation, forests and residential zones.

What could have taken two hours took eight hours instead…We were thorough.

The island’s cross-section appears to be flat on the edges closest to the lake, with steep elevations rising toward the middle, separated by plateaus followed by steep undulating hills in the center of the island.

Despite the fact that the steep inclines make building very difficult, even those forested areas are noticeably encroached upon. Our stay here coincided with cultivation time; we could see fires ignited daily along the hillsides as people burned slashed areas to make way for the upcoming growing season.

says “The missionaries were eager to get rid of these sacred trees because they were related to another god, and theirs was worshiped in a house called church. The god they (the community) were relating to, prior to that, was a god they worshiped under these (sacred) trees.”

It is ironic that the preservation of the natural forests is inextricably linked to the absence of cultural preservation.

Mfangano’s rich cultural history is tied to the existence of its Sacred Forests. Once the missionaries came and took god out of the forest then placing him/her in the church, the forests no longer held their spiritual value. Consequently, people began encroaching on them. The island’s forests are quickly being exhausted as many turn to land cultivation as a survival response to the lack of economic opportunity. Losing the forests, in essence, means losing cultural heritage.

Considering this region had become devoutly Christian, the value of faith in communicating with residents could not to be ignored. Rather than relying on handouts from NGOs to teach residents about farming, reforestation and environmental stewardship, Rural East African Project (REAP), a faith-based organization, relies on teachings from the Bible, a book nearly every resident in this region has at home, to teach selfreliance and environmental responsibility from a secular perspective the Mfangano residents could understand.

Trees are sparse in these residential areas. Most of them have been slashed and burned to make way for cultivation.

Fifteen to twenty years ago, it was difficult to see between the houses and compounds because the vegetation was so dense. As native people say, you did not know whether you were approaching a house until you heard the cock call. Deforestation began to really take off around the exact time of the height of the Nile perch boom and when HIV/AIDS epidemic began. Today, except for those places where people have been allowing trees to grow on their compound, most houses are visible.

Deforestation on this island is vivid as one can easily see once large, special fig trees being cut down for charcoal.

Cultivated areas not currently occupied by crops have become saturated by lantana, a shrub that grows quickly and provides a favorite diet for goats. The

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shrub areas are hot and dry; whereas, by stark comparison, the areas where forests still remain are cool with a bit of moisture. From the top looking down, a direct connection between the thin line the natural environment and the people are living on became more evident.

Seeing Forest Through Trees

The Sacred Forests, or what’s left of them, are dispersed around the island.

Homesteads of the first settlers to Mfangano, Sacred Forests are sites of important moments in Suba history and places of unique spiritual influences. Once dominating the high points of the island, these forests were considered spiritual places where tribal rituals took place.

Actually some of the few places on the island with mosquitoes, these forests are like cobwebs of vegetation: a thick under and over-story, probably with a dense ground layer. I couldn’t actually get into these areas without a machete. Plus, it was black mamba hatching time, so I avoided these heavily vegetated areas altogether.

Deforestation of these Sacred Forests has resulted in erosion, landslides and the disappearance of streams in the area.

These natural disasters were not just a consequence of a shift in spiritual practices, there were other important contributing factors such as population growth and survival responses to diminishing resources and food insecurity.

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Formulating a Plan

Our reforestation program is comprised of three elements: regulation, education and outreach. The educational component is critical, as it will include illustrated Suba stories of the forest. Although there has been some written Suba history, the cultural history of the Abasuba has been orally passed down only through storytelling. I loaned my voice-recorder to Charles, so that he could record stories of the Abasuba in Suba language.

Although some have documented these stories in writing, this may be one of the first times the history of the Abasuba will be recorded in Suba. Since the forests are important to Suba culture, the recordings will reinforce our efforts to support reforestation through ecological and cultural education in a way that is inherent to the culture and understandable to the people. It is my hope that these recordings serve to preserve Suba history for future generations and revitalize the appreciation for the natural forests.

The greatest constant of this project was its ability to break my expectations easily and often. Since the first deforestation meeting with the Council of Elders, the Council has formed a Reforestation Committee. They are successfully gazetting five main areas of Mfangano, Sacred Forests, water sources erosion-prone areas, designated areas of cultural significance, and lake frontage based on importance to the community.

The Reforestation Committee has also

met with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land, which is also now marking boundaries and issue land deeds where they don’t currently exist.OHR conducted an Earth Day event with the Forestry Department, which donated 1500 seedlings. Progress made

Read the full article in the digital issue at www.FriendsofAfricaMagazine.org

Emily Lowery is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Landscape Architecture Masters Degree program.

She is a traveler, designer, graphic artist and nature enthusiast. Much of her work examines the interplay between ecology and culture through an artistic lens. Her design focuses on ecology, equity and engagement. Read more at www.missemilylowery.com.

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Meet Our Affiliates Since 1988, Friends of Africa International (FOAI) has supported and assisted both established and fledgling charitable organizations, research centers, and community-based initiatives aligned with our objectives in wildlife conservation, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, cultural preservation and education throughout Africa. Nonprofits, NGOs and grass-roots initiatives seeking additional funding or in need of a 501(c)3 to facilitate their efforts have turned to FOAI for support. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, FOAI has made significant contributions to our affiliates and otherworthy efforts such as the Rhino Arc, KWS, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Amboseli, Jane Goodall Foundation, AFEW and many more in the last 25 years.

Maasai Orphan Education Fund When California resident Debra Avery visited the Maasai Mara, she met Paul Kitesho, who was trying to secure resources to educate a number of children orphaned when their parents died of HIV/ AIDS. Since then, she has dedicated her life to finding sponsors to support them. To date, she has raised nearly $100,000 toward their education via the Maasai Orphan Education Fund, which she started in 2010 under the auspices of the Friends of Africa International Trust.

The primary focus of the Maasai Orphan Education Fund is to provide means by which orphans and children from extremely needy families can access education and basic life necessities to help them to realize their full potential.

“With an education, these disadvantaged children gain potential to realize their life dreams and grow up to be responsible, educated adults who can contribute to the wellbeing of our community,” said Kitesho, the project’s local director in Maasailand.

Maasai Orphan Education Fund is also a primary supporter of orphaned children from the Mbirikani Group Ranch located in Maasailand in southern Kenya. Founded in 2009, Mbirikani Group Ranch was developed as an active response to the rising number of HIV infected children born in Africa every day. Mbirikani Group Ranch is Kenya’s first and largest facility for HIV+ orphans where abandoned children receive the best medical, nutritional, academic and holistic care possible until they become self-reliant. It is presently home to approximately 12 children ranging in age from new-born to twenty-three years old.

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Did you know?

Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton has used GPS tracking for conservation since the 1970s. He became a member of Friends of Africa International Advisory Board in the early 1990s.

Save The Elephants Save the Elephants has been an affiliate of Friends of Africa since 1998. A registered NGO based in Nairobi, Kenya, STE aims to secure a future for elephants and sustain the beauty and ecological integrity of their habitat, promote man’s delight in their intelligence and the diversity of their world, and to develop a tolerant co-existence between the two species. STE supports vital research on elephant behaviour and ecology, and assists official wildlife departments in their fight against ivory traders and poachers.

Its founder, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the African elephant. After receiving his Ph.D. in zoology from Oxford University at age 23, he pioneered the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behaviour in Tanzania. In the 1970s, he was the first to alert the world to the ivory poaching holocaust. He later became the first in Africa to utilize GPS tracking to track elephants and provide fresh insight into elephants’ ways of life.

Douglas-Hamilton has chronicled how Africa’s elephant population was halved between 1979 and 1989 and helped bring about the world ivory trade ban. Despite worldwide efforts to ban ivory trade, poaching for ivory remains the greatest potential threat to elephants. He believes the future of the elephant is best supported by four pillars of

endeavour: Research & Conservation; Protection; Grassroots Education; and Global Communication.

Recognizing that the best potential ambassadors for elephants are people with whom they share their habitats, Save the Elephants involves local people in research and education to develop a conservation ethic based on local knowledge and elephant needs.

Elephants are intelligent creatures with complex levels of consciousness and Save the Elephants intends to bring this to the world’s attention. They disseminate this message both locally and internationally through films, publications, a news service and books co-authored with his wife, Olga.

On October 1, 2013, the Clinton Global Initiative announced that, in concert with Save the Elephants and other conservation organizations, it will commit $80,000,000 over six years to conservation efforts to prevent further decimation of elephant populations. The announcement acknowledges the current crisis: An Elephant is killed by poachers at the alarming rate of one every 15 minutes.

Friends of Africa International has reinvigorated its commitment to support Save the Elephants and other organizations dedicated to protecting elephants.

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African Conservation Foundation African Conservation Foundation is working toward the protection and conservation of Africa’s endangered wildlife and their habitats. Founded in 1999, ACF fills a unique niche by creating an Africa-wide network for information exchange and capacity building of conservation efforts in the region.

ACF partners with a large number of different organizations, companies, researchers and local communities to conduct field projects and provide technical and fundraising support.

ACF has placed focus on great apes, including the Nigeria and Cameroon chimpanzee and the Cross River Gorilla, one of the world’s 25 most endangered primate species. Emphasis is placed on protecting their tropical forest conservation as well as tree planting and reforestation programmes. ACF’s mission is to change the approach of the management and utilization of natural resources to one in which the needs of human development in the region are reconciled with biodiversity. By supporting and linking African conservation initiatives, groups and NGOs, ACF strengthens their capacity, builds partnerships and promotes effective communication and coordination of conservation efforts. ACF is a registered NGO in Tanzania, Kenya and Cameroon. ACF is also a UK Registered Charity (No. 1120705). They do not maintain offices outside of Africa.

Instead, they focus on results on the ground and 100% of donations received go to conservation, community development and education projects.

ACF’s ArtSavingWildlife program aims to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of Africa’s most endangered species. Friends of Africa International has supported ACF projects since 1998.

Did you know?

Art Saving Wildlife is a joined project of Canadian artist Daniel Taylor and the African Conservation Foundation. “The Goal is to raise awareness and funds for innovative projects that link community development needs with conservation and education in Africa.”

Mount Kenya Trust Mount Kenya is an internationally significant protected area inscribed in 1997 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The World Heritage Commission recognised Mount Kenya as “one of the most impressive landscapes of Eastern Africa, with its rugged glacier-clad summits, Afro-alpine moorlands and diverse forests, which illustrate outstanding ecological processes”.

Mount Kenya is also a gazetted National Park and National Reserve and the protected area is some 2,100 square kilometers.

To the people of Kenya it holds immense cultural value and is a vital and irreplaceable lifeline.

The forest zone is the largest remaining in Kenya and its ecosystem as a whole plays a critical role in water catchment for two main rivers in the country, the Tana and Ewaso Ngiro.

Millions of Kenyan’s depend directly on these rivers for their livelihoods. The Tana also supplies over 55% of Kenya’s power to the national grid. Varying geographical conditions on Mount Kenya contribute to a diverse range of flora including the Afro-alpine moorlands, giant heath, extensive stands of East African bamboo and major forest types including mixed closed canopy forest. Mount Kenya also hosts several wildlife species dwelling mainly within the natural forest including mammals of international conservation interest such as bongo, elephant, black rhino, giant forest hog and leopard.

A group of concerned Kenyans established the Mount Kenya Trust following a detailed 1999 report that shocked the nation by concluding that “Mount Kenya’s forests are under extreme threat from human induced illegal activities such as extensive poaching of wildlife, devastating logging of indigenous tree species, charcoal production, over-grazing, and large scale growing of marijuana.”

The Mount Kenya Trust was established to help preserve and protect this important heritage. Named in memory of Bill Woodley, a dedicated conservationist who together with his team successfully protected the mountain and the surrounding forest for 20 years of the 44 years he served in National Parks, the Trust hopes to continue this legacy.

The Mount Kenya Trust works closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Forest Department to ensure that its projects address the issues of highest priority. Friends of Africa International has supported Mount Kenya Trust since 1999.

Image Credit: Left, titled “Mountain Gorilla” is a painting by Canadian artist, Daniel Taylor (center); Above right, courtesy of Mt. Kenya Trust

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t was 1987 in South Sudan. Young boys were out in the fields tending their cattle, when raucous gun shots appeard out of nowhere; huts were being torched with people still in them and chaos ensued. The attackers were Islamic militants whose mission was to kill. They shot at frightened villagers running away. They raped women and little girls.Young boys were captured, emprisoned and trained to be soldiers.

The boys who managed to escape began walking. Many of them naked and barefooted, they walked for days avoiding soldiers, and found more boys on their route. Soon there were 1,000 boys walking and walking, day after day, in the scorching sun, their feet covered in blisters and painful sores.

For days and days they went without food. They ate mud just to fill their tummies. At times, the only liquid they had to drink was their own urine. Many were eaten by hyenas, lions or crocodiles when they crossed the river. If the animals did not get them, dysentery and other diseases killed them. Many simply drowned. In fact, when they crossed the river, they had to push the dead bodies away just to be able to cross.

Eventually, there were 27,000 boys and all were going to Ethiopia to find a refuge camp. The little boys crying in the night for their mothers. After months and months, they reached Ethiopia and remained in a refuge camp for 3 years where they were fed and given shelter.

When Ethiopia broke out in a civil war and the

boys had to return to Sudan - walking, walking and walking again for thousands of miles. Eventually, they were directed to go south to Kenya where they would find refuge in the UN settlement camp called Kakuma. Again they walked. Once there, they were given shelter, food rations and basic education, and remained in hopes they would eventually find a home. The lucky ones did.

The U.S. government agreed to resettle some of them. They brought plane-loads of the boys to various cities in the U.S. Phoenix became the largest hub of the boys. Here they have flourished, educated themselves, made their homes and become indoctrinated into American life. Some are doctors, some earned master degrees, many bachelors degrees, most holding reputable jobs and have become citizens to be admired.

Now that South Sudan has regained its independence, many of the boys, now young men, want to return to their native country to help rebuild it. We, at Friends of Africa International, endeavor to help them do that. These “Lost Boys� are no longer lost, and have become outstanding young men.

They have enriched many lives, mine included.

Bonnie Bishop is co-founder and chairman of the board of Friends of Africa International. She has set up a fund for the Phoenix-based Lost Boys Center for Leadership Development. To donate, please visit: FriendsofAfricaAZ.org.

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photo courtesy of TheLeap.com

TRAVEL WITH A CAUSE Ecotourism to Voluntourism

by Peter Greenberg

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ver the last few years, eco-tourism has become popular among nature enthusiasts and environmentally conscious travelers seeking to minimize their carbon impact, explore untamed natural settings and support resorts and travel companies practicing mindful sustainability. In the wake of the myriad of natural and man-made disasters that have devastated whole regions lately, a growing trend in travel has emerged – a global call to action is being met with an outpouring of generosity by tourists and travel companies alike.

It’s always great to hear about travel providers that use their resources to give back. It is especially heartwarming to hear that their good will is attracting tourists who enjoy knowing that their travels are making a positive impact, not just on the environment, but on humanity as well.

Despite the economy’s effect on tourism, a number of organizations are making donations to support selected causes, coordinating disaster relief efforts or contributing to other concerns impacting their areas.

For example, the Rabbit Hill Inn a well-known country house in Vermont quietly rolled out a monthly package for those hit by the economic crisis. Their “Pink Slip Getaway” promotion offers a free two-night stay to travelers who have been unemployed for more than six months.

During Breast Cancer Awareness month last year, Mandarin Oriental hotels launched its Spa for a Year program where guests can enter a raffle to win a year’s worth of spa therapy. All proceeds were directed toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Even airlines get involved. For example, United’s Eat for Good program means that with every purchase of an in-flight snack box, the airline will donate $1 toward hunger relief efforts.

In addition to integrating giving programs into itineraries, a number of travel organizations are also answering the call by coordinating volunteer excursions in packages known as Immersive & Cultural Volunteer Vacations. Depending upon world events and annual cause drives, these travel organizations enlist support of traveling volunteers. The trend has gained steam. According to a U.S. Travel Association poll, at least 25% of travelers surveyed indicated that they were interested in cause or service-oriented vacations.

Immersive volunteer vacations are a great way to get to know an area while making a positive impact on a community or conservation area in crisis. The idea behind these trips is to combine learning experiences with volunteering.

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But if you want to get even more out of your trip, look for an organization that incorporates cultural and travel experiences along with the volunteer work.

Many organizations incorporate some R&R with farm tours, outdoor adventures and cultural programs. For example, you might spend a few days working on a community farm in Zambia or a children’s school in South Africa, followed by a safari on a game reserve.

Ecological conservation, construction, social services, teaching, medical aid and disaster relief are just some of the thousands of volunteer opportunities currently being offered by reputable organizations.

Numerous non-profit organizations enlist the support of volunteers in regions affected by natural disasters, poverty and environmental crisis. With Habitat for Humanity’s Global Villages program, participants work with local communities to build affordable housing. The Planeterra Foundation is a non-profit organization with more than 30 projects worldwide.

And then there’s a new company called Roadmonkey, which was founded by a former war correspondent to offer adventure travel with a purpose. An upcoming trip to Ecuador includes three days building a playground for a local children’s foundation, followed by four days of hiking the beaches, learning to surf and exploring the jungle.

Another company, i-to-i offers a wide variety of volunteer excursions such as teaching English in Sri Lanka or panda conservation excursions in Xi’an, China.

If you’re in the mood to help out while you’re on the road domestically, state parks offer short and long-term volunteer opportunities for visitors--so chances are there’s an activity that fits your schedule.

And in many cases, finding volunteer gigs is as easy as contacting the state’s office of parks and recreation, or department of environmental conservation.

Several of Arizona’s state parks offer one-day opportunities, including trail restoration at Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood, or volunteer positions at park festivals and parades.

Palo Duro Canyon in Texas has longerterm positions for camp hosts, which involves assisting guests and helping with park maintenance. In exchange, volunteers get free camping accommodations with water and electricity hookups. The same

deal applies to many state parks in North Carolina, where campsite hosts get to stay for free.

The New York Restoration Project hosts cleanup and maintenance days at a state park in the South Bronx. At Minnewaska State Park Preserve, volunteer hikers, bikers and skiers help patrol the park; and several other New York-area parks have volunteer openings for aspiring nature photographers.

With the recent natural disasters in Haiti, Chile and China, and right here in

our own country, a record number of wellmeaning groups are heading out to provide relief efforts. Whether you are planning for an international disaster relief excursion or a local volunteer opportunity closer to home, a word to the wise: be armed with as much information as possible before committing your good will and valuable vacation time.

Make sure you spend some time vetting volunteer vacations to sort through wellmeaning vs. well-organized or bare-bones vs. well equipped so you know what to expect. Most importantly, be sure the excursion organizers are legitimate, or you may be doing more harm than good.

Here’s what to look for:

When researching a volunteer organization, find out if they already have a presence in that destination, and for how long. Some companies have staff on the

ground, and others work with local nonprofits and NGOs. The bottom line is that they should have some history in that location.

In an area where the infrastructure has been damaged, relief efforts can face major challenges. Navigating these roadblocks requires having contacts on the ground and a familiarity with the lay of the land.

What you DON’T want to do is jump on board with a group that arbitrarily decided to show up in a disaster-hit area, no matter how good their intentions are. Find out what the program’s short, medium and long-term goals are. The more clearly defined the plan, the more they can assign specific roles and prepare.

Ask if you can talk to former volunteers – and consider it a big red flag if they outright refuse. Find out about the individual volunteer’s experience, and what they liked and didn’t like, and what (if anything) surprised them. This type of due diligence applies to all volunteer vacations, not just disaster relief.

Although there is no accrediting body that can fully vet organizations for you, check out CharityNavigator. org, which evaluates how much of the money goes toward programs versus administrative costs. Voluntourism.org is another resource that can provide insight into domestic and international volunteer vacations.

Peter Greenberg is Travel Editor for CBS News, and appears on The Early Show, Evening News with Katie Couric, and across many CBS broadcast platforms. Peter is also host of the nationally syndicated Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio show, broadcast each week from a different remote location around the world. His other current titles include Travel Editor at Large for AARP, Contributing Editor for Men’s Health magazine, contributor to Parade, ForbesTraveler.com, Bing Travel and Oprah.com and featured guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Dr. Phil and Larry King Live. For more ways to give back when traveling, check out the Volunteer Vacations / Voluntourism section at www.PeterGreenberg.com

Photo Credits: theleap.co.uk / habitat.org / hands.org bounlessjourneys.com / tripwow.com / ewb-pitt.org

Friends of Africa Magazine l PHOTO: MICHAEL NEUGEBAUER

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Even Mother Naturehas an agent.

Volunteer in Africa: If you have time available, a desire to serve and a taste for adventure, there are plenty of worthy African volunteer programs offered in a variety of fields. Here are just a few:

PHOTO: MICHAEL NEUGEBAUER

STEWARDSHIP

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall Institute & Roots and Shoots The Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) International Volunteer Program gives volunteers from all over the world the opportunity to the participate in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots environmental and humanitarian education program in Tanzania. The program promotes important cultural exchanges between international volunteers and local Roots & Shoots program members, staff, and volunteers. Website: www.JaneGoodall.org PHOTO: MICHAEL NEUGEBAUER

Cross-Cultural Solutions Cross-Cultural Solutions is a nonprofit working to address critical global issues by providing meaningful volunteer service to communities abroad, and contributing responsibly to local economies. In every community in which CCS works, local organizations communicate real-time needs and objectives to the CCS team so that volunteers can work alongside local people and make a sustainable impact. Website: www.Cross-CulturalSolutions.org Volunteer 4 Africa Volunteer 4 Africa is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people volunteer in Africa for free or at reasonable cost. The organization publishes an e-book that identifies numerous opportunities for in volunteering throughout Africa in conservation, education, humanitarian aid, and more that help volunteers find programs such as work with animals, gap year programs or working holidays. Website: www.Volunteer4Africa.org Global Volunteer Network The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) offers volunteer opportunities abroad in 25 community projects throughout the world, as well as 3 treks. They ask that prospective volunteers fill out an application form, and they will work with applicants to match them with compatible volunteer opportunities. Website: www.globalvolunteernetwork.org

Even Mother Naturehas an agent.

Jane Goodall STEWARDSHIP

Jane Goodall

Omprakash Omprakash is a free online platform that connects grassroots health, education, and environmental organizations in over 30 countries with a global audience of volunteers, donors, and classrooms that can learn from and support their work. Website: www.omprakash.org Volunteer In Africa Volunteer in Africa is an organization dedicated to disseminating information on volunteer work and volunteer-tours programs in Africa. We are also dedicated to organizing a wide range of volunteer work and internshipvolunteering programs in Ghana for individuals and groups of any size.

Website: www.VolunteerinAfrica.org

Did you know?

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and United Nations Messenger of Peace, began Iher landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in 1960, which launched her lifelong stewardship in conservation.

She became a member of the Friends of Africa International Advisory Board in the early 1990’s.

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Friends of Africa Magazine l

The city of Chipata is not that far south of Africa’s Great Rift Valley and the city itself could be mistaken for any small sleepy town in the western world. Accommodations are more than adequate and the easiness and attitude of the staff certainly make it a pleasant stay.

Zambians are basically a happy group of people, living in a smaller less populated area. They are soft spoken, happy and at one with their environment. No post-conflict, no human rights abuse. Maybe a little too quiet for us without restaurants or drinking holes other than the lodge we’re staying at. Then again, work takes about 90% of our awake hours so that’s a good thing.

If only I could catch a Yankee game on TV! Work as usual for me includes strategic planning and NGO strengthening for a large agriculture cooperative, and for my wife, Flo, HIV/AIDs education and women issues all held out in bush villages around an hour drive each morning. Admittedly, days are exhausting taking unpaved roads deep into the bush where eager villagers await to listen to our spiel. We all meet under the mango tree providing the shade from the strong African sun where each village makes it their amphitheater for meetings such as these. The women find their spots on bamboo mats, while the men grab benches or logs, and occasionally machete the high grass to accommodate the overflow and create more some comfortable seating. We stand and talk for hours through a very

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talented interpreter. Hospitality can’t be matched, even by the Ritz Carlton at home, while we enjoy dinning on pumpkin squash, Simi [mashed corn] and chicken that was running for its life not more than hour before. We eat in 5’X10’ mud huts with either the chief or leader of the cooperative [usually one in the same].

We see children change before our eyes from ripped dirty shirts to clean bright white t-shirts when Flo divvies out brand new “Run for the Cheetahs” shirts donated by our friend Claudia Whitehead. We can evaluate the wealth of each village by the size of their pigs and the material used for their outhouses, either bamboo to the more effluent brick. We open each of the five sessions, one each day, covering the five large farming cooperatives with a prayer. Before our part starts, the women sing and dance with that great African beat rivaling the best of our Southern Gospel. I explain their importance to agriculture sector in Zambia, and Flo discusses sex and HIV/AIDS to a usual very traditional audience of folkways where polygamy is a way of life. All in all the life in the village and their farms is as good as or better than any recipient of a Wall Street triple-digit gain.

It’s the bush that makes us enjoy what we are doing the most.

The scenes and scenery around us make it surreal, but that’s just our point of view. For us it’s not a bad way to spend the back nine, instilling what we know under a mango tree.

Letters from Africa is a regular department featuring correspondence, musings and excerpts from travel journals submitted by our readers. If you were inspired by an experience in Africa, and if you’d like to share it with Friends of Africa Magazine, we’d love to hear about it. Email your journal submission to info@FriendsofAfricaAZ.org.

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Pokot School Project: A New Generation of Hope Exactly one year after Friends of Africa International broke ground at the location in Ng’aina, Kenya, Bonnie Bishop, also known as “Mama Pokot” returned to dedicate the first ever school for Pokot Children. The preschool promises to break the cycle of violence that has plagued the region by replacing guns with books.

Clockwise from right: Mama’s sing and dance at the dedication ceremony; Friends of Africa International Chairman, Bonnie Bishop, welcomes the first class of Pokot Children; Bishop with Pokot Chief Yatta; the Honorable Asman Kamama from the Kenya Administration officially opens the pokot school; Pokot children of the first class.. Photos by Nigel Pavitt

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Delegation of Hope:

Tanzania’s Fir! Lady and

First Ladiesʼ Luncheon, honors First Ladies from around Tanzania’s Fir! the world.

So far, the Firstannual Ladiesʼ LuncheonLady eventsThe First and Project C.U.R.E.’s largest fundraising event,

The ProjectFirst C.U.R.E.ʼsLadies’ largest annual Luncheon fundraising event, The

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have raised morehonors than $10.7 medical relief Ladies’ Luncheon, Firstmillion Ladiesfor from around thetoworld. hospitals clinics in developing countries.

Project C.U.R.E.ʼs largest annual event, The So far, theand First Ladies’ Luncheon eventsfundraising have raised more than $10.7 million for medical relief to hospitals and clinics First Ladiesʼ Luncheon, honors honoring First Ladies This year, The First Ladiesʼ Luncheon H.E. frominaround developing countries.

This year, The First Ladies’ Luncheon Mama SalmaSo Kikwete, theFirst First Lady of Tanzania, was the world. far, the Ladiesʼ Luncheon events attended by nearly 1,200 people.

The main event was honoring H.E. Mama Salma Kikwete, the First Lady relief of have raised more than $10.7 million for medical to precededwas by a VIP reception with1,200 Mama Kikwete Tanzania, attended by nearly people.

Theand main event hospitals andand clinics inmeetings developing countries. herpreceded delegation private gift exchanges was by a VIP reception withand Mama Kikwete and her

This year, The First Ladiesʼ Luncheon honoring H.E. Mama Salma Kikwete, the First Lady of Tanzania, was attended by nearly 1,200 people. The main event was preceded by a VIP reception with Mama Kikwete and her delegation and private meetings and gift exchanges

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delegation and private meetings and gift exchanges between the First Lady and Project C.U.R.E. principals, guests, doctors and sponsors, K2 Adventures Foundation, Tanzania National Parks, and Microchip.

AZGreen Magazine is proud to have been included and honored to support the worthy cause. www.projectcure.org Clockwise from top left: 1. First Lady and her delegation arrive; 2. Dr. Douglas Jackson, President and CEO of Project C.U.R.E. presents an award to Mama Kikwete; 3. Project C.U.R.E. Board Member Jeanne Lewis accepting her gift; 4. Former Arizona Secretary of State Betsey Baylis and Tanzania’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Lazaro Nyalandu; 5. Fay Fredericks, 12 News Today anchor listens to Dr. Anna Marie Jackson’s address; 6. Mama Kikwete greets VIPs at private reception; 7. Project C.U.R.E. Executi wwve Director talks..

Photos by Snowden Bishop

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Learning for Peace

Pokot School Project Pokot School ProjectThe Benefit

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Since 1989, Friends of Africa International has supported a variety of humanitarian, wildlife and environmental concerns throughout the continent of Since 1989, Friends of Africa International has supported a Africa.

Now the foundation is building a school and medical facility in hopes variety of humanitarian, wildlife and environmental concerns that it may bring peace to a war-torn tribalNow region in foundation Kenya. The newly-formed throughout the continent of Africa. the is building a Scottsdale branch of Friends of Africa International hosted its first galatobenefit school and medical facility in hopes that it may bring peace a warin torn Apriltribal to honor humanitarian heroes and raise money to build the Pokot region in Kenya. The newly-formed Scottsdale branch of region’s firstofschool medical clinic.

Sinceitsnofirst utilities exist within a 200Friends Africaand International hosted gala benefit in April to mile radius of the building site, and the entire be off-grid, built with honor humanitarian heros raise project moneywill to build the Pokot indigenous materials and powered by solar and wind.

For more information, regionʼs first school and medical clinic. Since no utilities exist within visit www.FriendofAfricaAZ.org. a 200-mile radius of the building site, the entire project will be off-

grid, built with indigenous materials and powered by solar and wind.

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Clockwise from top left: 1. Honoree,visit two-time NFL Champion Michael Davis of the Oakland Raiders with For more information, www.FriendofAfricaAZ.org. attorney Cecil Lynn and KC Chiefs’ Hall of Famer Nick Lowery, founder of Nick Lowery Youth Foundation; 2. Friends of Africa International (FOAI) Co-Founder Scarlett Adams; 3. Honorees Michael Davis, LPGA Champion Betsy King and NFL legend Tim Hightower with FOAI Founder Bonnie Bishop and Pokot Clockwise from top left: 1. Honoree, NFL Champion Michael Davis with ____ and KC Chiefs’ Nick Lowerey, partner, National filmmaker Kire2.Godal; of Connection’s Star Simmons andAdams; Trina founder of NickGeographic Lowerey Youth Foundation; Friends4.ofThreads Africa International (FOAI) Co-Founder Scarlett Becksted with Kire Godal andLPGA AZGreen editorBetsy Snowden Bishop; Emcee Brad Perry with Bonnie 3. Honorees Michael Davis, Champion King and NFL’s5.______with FOAI Founder Friends Bishop; of Africa InternationalLetitia Founder Bonnie Bishop with National Geographic filmmaker Godal with; Kire Godaland withPat 6. Auctioneer Frye; 7. FOAI Board of Directors members ClaireKire Myones, Karen4. Thovson AZGreen editor Snowden Bishop, Threads of Connection’s Star Simmons and Trina Becksted; Emcee Brad Perry Reiniger; 8. AZGreen director Rebecca Edwards with partner Snowden 9. FOAI Board of with Bonnie Bishop; creative 5. Auctioneer ______________; 6. FOAI boardmembers Claire Bishop; ___, Karen Thovson and Pat Reineger; 7. AZGreen creativewith director Rebecca Edwards Shipp with Snowden Bishop, Judge 8. FOAILynn Boardmember Directors member Mary Davis Channel 3’s Brittney and Honoree, Toler; 10.Mary Brian Davis with Channel 3’s _______ and _________; 9. ___________ Wood at the silent auction. Photos by Paul Michael

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Global Village

MyArmsWideOpen.org

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Global Village

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Doug’s Ad

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Reflections on the 9/21 Westgate Tragedy

othing could have prepared anyone for what happened at Westgate Mall on September 21 -- essentially a massacre of anyone failing to prove devotion to a radicalized brand of Islam. The upscale shopping center was a popular meeting place for cosmopolitan Nairobians, and was especially crowded on Saturdays. As if it were yesterday, people around the world recalled the horror of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks also perpetrated by Jihadists linked to Al Qaeda.

Like the 9/11 attack in New York, this attack immobilized an entire city with grief. Social media exploded with condolences from all over the world. Despite the empathy, would-be tourists canceled plans. As tourism is one of Kenya’s most important industries, the economic consequences can immobilize the entire nation.

Is Kenya safe?

Is anywhere safe? Parents thought it was safe to send their children to school at Sandy Hook and Columbine; college co-eds thought it was safe to go to the movies in Denver; executives of every race and creed thought it was safe to go to work at the World Trade Center.

The point is that no place on earth is entirely safe. The purpose of terrorism is to instill fear. If we succomb to the fear, they win, and those violated suffer twice.

Humans aren’t their only casualties of Al-Shabaab’s reign of terror.

According to a report issued by the International Conservation Caucus Foundation in 2011, elephants are their other defenseless victims. The report attributes heightened participation from heavily armed poaching gangs funded by Al-Shabaab to the rapid escallation of elephant poaching in recent years. The

report states, “This source of finance will always be available to Al Shabaab and other organizations ... as long as the security/ anti-poaching deterrent on the ground is not sufficient to deny them access to it. Ivory is a source of revenue too convenient for Al-Shabaab to ignor.”

The decimation of elephant populations further disrupts the fragile tourism industry -- wildlife in tranquil safari settings is the most alluring attraction.

One thing is certain: Kenya is safer now than it was on September 21. The Kenya government is making security in public places a top priority.

The tragedy was met with swift action by the U.S. Navy SEALs, with a covret mission that disabled key Jihadists alleged to have been responsible for the attack. The Clinton Global Initiative has committed $80 million to anti-poaching efforts of organizations like Save the Elephants.

As we grieve with Kenyans, ex-pats and tourists who lost loved ones, the best way to show support is to show up for them. If you had plans to travel to Kenya, please don’t cancel your plans. If you have never seen the magic of Kenya, now would be a great time to do so. Let’s not allow fear cripple a nation already terrorized.

In cooperation with the First Family of Kenya, FOAI has set up a Trust fund for families of victims in need of financial assistance. To give, please visit www.FriendsofAfricaAz.org.

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With every spectacular sunrise, opportunity and adventure dawn across the picturesque Kenyan landscape. Picture yourself traveling aside a thundering herd of wildebeest or encountering unique cultures in a world of wonder. No other country offers the visitor as much to see and do with unparalleled journeys of wild discovery.

CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL TO PLAN YOUR NEXT VACATION. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT MAGICALKENYA.COM