The Milgis Trust

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 28 2008 | By: milgistrust

What is up in the north?.. or is it every where!!!.. In the last few weeks the scouts have reported seeing 2 white baboon, and then a squirrel, then several reports of white dikdiks and now a superb starling,, and a drongo with a white head! Is it the water, the vegetation or the weather up here?? I remember several years ago seeing a white Wildebeeste in the Mara… amoungst the millions!!.. Interesting…

I do apologise for the pictures of the last two blogs not getting posted… I don’t know what the problem is…We tried several times… I will be leaving for ’safari’ tomorrow to meet our visitors in Ngurnit on the 2nd August.. On the way I am going to meet up with Lesuuda, Milgis 3, our Cheetah.[ all 22 scouts represent an animal]as he has reported, that he has seen a wild dog den, with lots of Puppies…I’m very excited… Will be back with more news on the 7th August…

By the way I have a new puppie… Shes called Ndoto!!…

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 26 2008 | By: milgistrust

There is a lot of talk on the importance of education in the developing world… Many poor communities get these messages and try to believe in them. The people talking about the importance of education however do not assist the communities in finding sources of funds to pay for teachers. Pre schools have mushroomed in almost every village you visit. Some just under a tree, or in some old shack that happens to be there..

In the last two months there has been a dry spell in the north. Because of the extra work load on the families to keep there stock alive, the children tend to get slightly neglected, As an option to escape some parents take their children to school and even some children take themselves there so as to get some food. This gives nursery schools a lot of pressure in terms of space, feeding and teachers. When the rains come some of the children who originally came for food find the school interesting and remain. This keeps the pressure on and almost every month we get requests for assistance to pay for a nursery teachers. It is difficult to ask someone who does not get three meals a day to pay for teachers. With donations of US$ 150 a month we can help pay for three teachers, and help feed the children. Is there any one out there that would like to help??

thank you yours Moses Lesaloyia.. The Milgis Trust manager

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Category: elephants | Date: Jul 22 2008 | By: milgistrust

Tusitiridhowlamu@africaonline.co.keThe other day I went to ‘ pay my respect’s ‘ to one of the elephants that had died in the beginning of may… It was fabulous and touching to see that every single elephant that had passed through had stopped and spent a bit of time there… The normal trails up or down the Laana Nikan Lugga have all changed route so as to pass by… And have all been busy!!!… Not only with Elephant tracks, of course, but all the carnivores as well…

The tracks of many many elephants, surrounding the dead elephant…

Again, would like to take this opportunity to especially to thank Theresa and Luke for supporting our trust… Your donations are hugely appreciated… Especially with the news below….

We read in the Kenya news paper, and on the wildlife direct emergency blog, about the Chinese being involved in renewed elephant poaching and this is bothering us, as they have been given the contract to build the road to Marsabit… Our scouts are keeping an extra vigilant ‘eye out ‘ ….

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Category: Samburu, Turkana | Date: Jul 20 2008 | By: milgistrust

The tribal fighting is really hotting up..15th july…9 dead… 5 wounded.. [including one of our scouts, luckily not serious]… over 200 cows taken.. The Turkana V Samburu.. Big battle was fought 20 kms west of our base where the Suiyan Lugga meets the Parsaloi!!.. Full moon ..a good time to plan this as they can get well away with there bounty before the sun rises…They hit at 12 pm just as every one was settling down to sleep… and fought through the night… but the cattle were rushed off, and the back guard kept the rescuers at bay,,, In the last three months 2 attacks north of here…. in a place called Masiketa..3 people were killed, several hurt including one child who was trampeled by the running cows… Yes.. this is 2008… But this has been going on for centuaries, …And after the latest round of circumsision ceremonis in 2006.. There are many young warriors looking for action!!.. Things have really flared up in the last 6 months…But ‘life goes on’!!!

Samburu warriorZoundry..with the Parsaloi Lugga behind where the attack happend..

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 12 2008 | By: milgistrust

To continue the story from yesterday… The Milgis Trust was approached by Illumine partners from America, to find out if there was a need for clean water in any of the areas we work… Our reaction was EVERY WHERE!!,, But for five years now we have been trying to sort Latakwens water problems out!! At the meeting on the 10th the residents could not believe what they were hearing!!.. Very kindly funded through The Voss foundation, we will be fitting a Solar pump like the one we had at the Milgis school… obviously our major concern is security of the panels which was spoken about long and hard!!.. By the way, the panels for the school wil be replaced,[ ref may 7th] by our last guests on camel safari, from private journeys, who visited the school to take them some books. They could not leave thinking that such a disaster had fallen apon such an innocent community!! Thank you very very much to Dianne…and all your friends from Greenwich, USA!!!.. Dianne has been coming on safari for a few years now with groups, and she has noticed a HUGE difference in the wildlife and its behaviour….. ‘What goes around , comes around’.. conserve the flora and fauna and ALL will reap the benefits.. Welldone the people of Latakwen and Ilgwe Eldome for their conservation efforts!!!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 11 2008 | By: milgistrust

Some times one wonders!! when you try to do good, misunderstandings get blown out of proportion… and the next thing is you are nearly ‘out on your bicycle’!!

Latakwen is a little town about 10 kms north of The Milgis Trust Base… Our Neibours and friends for the last 9 years!!…. Yesterday we went to have a meeting with the community to iron out some rumours that we had been hearing!.. We had decided to move the base radio from Elkanto hill in Nairimirimo Location, to a higher hill to get better communications, and decided it would be a good idea to put it in Latakwen Location for a change and make them feel more part of it! After lengthly meetings with the community to explain… There seemed no problem, every one happy to be included, and we immediatley employed 15 people from Latakwen to build the road… but after two weeks, we had a strike!!, yes a strike.. miles away from nowhere!, they wanted to be paid more than double what they had agreed to, for the work they had aleady done!! Eventually we paid them a bit more than the agreed amount but stopped the work… We then got a message that the radio house would not be moving unless the trust paid rent for the hill, and that any work done would be double the amount… ie half as much again as skilled workers get!…To the 100 or so people who attended the meeting, including the chief, we explained to them that the Trust is for the community so who was going to pay the rent, plus 2 people from the community would get a job as radio operators…..The long and the short of the discussion was .. Some very embarrassed ‘ex road workers’, lots of apologies.. And the go ahead to establish the radio room as soon as possible!!, and that when and if theres work, to pay the normal rate…

Having settled the misunderstandings we then went on to tell them the real reason for the meeting… Latakwen is a isolated town that has sprung up in the middle of nowhere, the only water is brackish from the nearby Lugga. Some years ago an organisation put a well in for them, with a hand pump… This soon broke down, and the 1000 or so residents resorted to their old system, and to throwing buckets down the well……. continued tomorrow!!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 08 2008 | By: milgistrust

On the 1st July, while up in the Milgis, I mentioned in my blog that one of the Samburu warriors had said ‘What were the Elephants thinking! How could it rain, Venus hasn’t come back yet!!’ While checking that my blog had actually gone on to the internet, I saw the title “The night sky is full of unanswered questions!!” from ‘art for Gorillas’…. With my fasination for what the sky tells us, and a subject that is persistent in the Samburu way of thinking! I thought ..gosh must check that one out when I get into better internet range… and am delighted to see in their blog .. The question that came up most after the students had been told to check out the night sky… …’where does rain come from?’.. Thought it was an interesting coincidence!!…

And by the way… The ‘art for conservation’ idea is an amazing way to get people ‘on board’.. We have got the women in our area drawing animals on pieces of material,, and sowing beads on to them, also beading wooden animals… they are beautifully creative, and its really making them think!!! When I asked them why they put the eye of the Rhino too low, they say ‘well we don’t know, we have’nt seen one’… and I say.. ‘Are you proud of this??’ Them.. ‘NO’…. me… ‘OK!!!’

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Category: Milgis lugga, elephants | Date: Jul 06 2008 | By: milgistrust

In October 2006 a little one month old Elephant fell down an 18 foot well, in the lower Milgis… She was found the next morning by the owner of the well, holding her head above the water level, trying to save her ‘little’ life!!..[The story is on our web site Milgis Trust under news 2006… ] 36 hours later, we managed to get her to Daphne Sheldricks orphanage in Nairobi and for a couple of weeks it was touch and go whether she would make it… But not only has she made it, but she has become a valuable asset to the orphanage, in that at her tender young age she is a mini matriach, taking in all the new orphans under her wing… We named her ‘Lesanju’ … After the chief of Latakwen who had died the year before, in very strange circumstances… And what a shame, as he was the most extraordinary leader… He was young, and full of go, and we miss him… But his name sake continues to make DSWT ‘headlines’!!! Good for her…

Lesanju in the Helicopter, on her way to Nairobi.

Chief Lesanju [in Blue]..Captain of Latakwen football team!!.

DSWT supports the Milgis Trust… by employing scouts in the Luggas to make sure the Elephants can find water in the dry season, without the danger of the little ones falling down wells…

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Category: Milgis lugga, Samburu, elephants | Date: Jul 01 2008 | By: milgistrust

Every Two to three months we have a scouts meeting here at the Milgis base.. This means collectively the 22 Milgis scouts walk roughly 2000 kms to get here and back… The furtherest 3 coming from Ol Doinyo Mara to the North, Ilaut to the north East and Engelai in the Matthews range.. They arrived on 29th evening.. There is always a feeling of excitment in the air as they arrive from the different areas, and lots of chatter, and catching up on news that evening.. Early on the 30th the head of security, Lentokunye, ‘the Elephant’..[ each scout represents an animal] took every one out for a run, and a parade to give them a feeling that we work as a team…Then they all put their uniforms on and came for a long meeting!!! [11am to 6pm so much to talk about].. We were graced with the presence of our Kenya Wildlife Service representative from Latakwen, Sargent Isa, who spoke to them about 3 things… a] we work together as a team.. KWS and Milgis Trust b] ‘BIDII’ ….this is a great swahili word and means ‘work hard’, but harder than Hard!! and c] ’secrecy’ on sensitive information… There is a big worry of the start of the elephant poaching again, and we must ‘nip it in the bud’,,,, and be very vigilant in keeping an eye out for the perpetrators…[ There has been some poaching in the west, near the Kirisia hills] Even though I still maintain that the four elephants, that have died and I’ve mentioned [two in beginning of may, and the two young ones on the26th June] have not been poached.. We are going to get a metal detector to be sure…Hopefully with your help!! will work out the best one to get and will be back!!.. Back to the meeting!! Each scout then had his moment to talk and give us the news of his area of patrol…. Generally all is well, BUT WATER IS A HUGE AND WORRYING ISSUE… Milgis Trust has big plans for this which we will come up with soon…Cheetahs, seem to be on the increase all along the east side of the Ndotos, but one was eating goats… and we have been told that they will kill him if we don’t move him…?? Grevey Zebra with quite a few young!, and plenty of wild dogs reported.. And the big news that the elephants have twice,[ first time 4 and second 6], have probed there way to the Kelesua Lugga, which is a mere 20 kms from Mt Nyiru!!! How incredible is that!! [ref 7th june]

With reference to my last Blog… No rain!! No Clouds!! And the Elephants are making there way back up the Milgis!! The lilies dried up the next day!!..The mornng Glory [ ipomoea], stopped flowering.. But there was one other thing that I didn’t mention and that was a klaas cuckoo had also been calling during the same time…No sign of him either.. A Samburu warrior has just told me that it is not the fault of the flora and fauna getting it wrong it is because Venus [’ lakera dorop’] has not shown her face in the west yet.!! ..He says its true.. believe him!!

With reference to the deaths.. unfortunately the man who reported this,[ Milgis 19.. ‘ nickname ‘Akili Mingi’ lots of brains!], got a huge thorn in his foot and can’t walk but he told me that it seemed that these animals just went to sleep… and they were dried up in that position…He walked right up to them in this position, thinking they were alive… Nothing has touched them…Somebody asked me if it could be poision, but I don’t think so as there is nobody living here, because of the tribal fighting… which continues by the way… He tells me there is one place, where after the rains there is natural water catchment.. could this have become stagnant.. a vet suggested it could be poisonous blue/green algae?? .. As soon as ‘Akili Mingi’ is walking again we will go and investigate!!

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