The Milgis Trust

Over three months have passed in a colourful blur of wonderful experiences and this last week was no exception.

Having been fully immersed in this wonderful culture and land it was high time Helen decided, to ‘abandon’ me at the Milgis. Of course I was by no means on my own through I had the wonderful company of singing Samburu warriors, the welcoming communities and naturally the beautiful wildlife.

My first task was to begin our very first Eco-Screen event comprising of our new projector, some great conservation films dubbed in Maa, and a white cotton bed sheet (which the Morani warriors were all after to add to their handsome dress).

The screening was a huge success and the entire town of Latakwen turned out to grab their place to watch the films. The Milgis Trust knows how important it is to keep the people involved in its work throughout all its projects – only they can protect their land, their wildlife and their futures. We were also able to show them some filming we took of them during the water and school opening which went down a treat. This isn’t a one-off screening through, it is one of the Trust’s new awareness programmes and we will be travelling around all our communities showing them the different conservation themes from erosion to poaching intermingled with some fun films like the Lion King.

Next on my task list was to handover some supplies to the new primary school; a great selection of books on environment to art, pencils, crayons, paints…even a kit to create a little pawpaw shamba (garden) so each child has their own seed to plant, look after and water in the hope of some yummy fruits – a wonderful exercise to promote the growth of the land and reduce the felling. The teachers and children couldn’t have been happier and it just shows how such simple and inexpensive gifts such as these can really develop and lighten the lives of so many people. There are several other schools in our area that need similar materials and equipment to run effectively and of course such things only last so long – the need for educational support is always present and the Trust does as much as it can to provide to all the schools writing to us for help, which we couldn’t do without everyone’s continued support.

Latakwen Nursary children showing off their new books!

During my stays at the Milgis there is always something happening; this day a camel was in need of rescuing; not just the elephants need support, this land is harsh and accidents can always occur for any animal. This camel had fallen down a rocky knoll and could not stand due to an injury to its back, unable to get to food or water it had to be moved to a safer place. On arrival at the scene in the midday heat the camel grunted irritably at us clearly suffering, but the question was how on earth were we to get a fully grown camel that can’t stand into our pickup?! But suddenly out of nowhere fifteen Samburu appeared – some warriors, some pastoralists and just some people nearby. After ten minutes of discussion they decided on their plan and working as a perfect team manoeuvred the camel as gently as possible into the pickup. I was delighted and so very impressed by the caring nature of these people – this is exactly what happens when any animal is in need of help and it’s wonderful to know these people are there and eager to lend a hand . The camel is now in a safe area with water and food – so let’s hope he finds his feet again!

My journey back down to the modern world was just as much an adventure. Driving down the snaking Barsaloi lugga we passed herds of goats, sheep and cows and their Samburu and Rendille owners – all flocking to the area where there is just a little water to ease the suffering of the drought. Having usually flown to the Milgis it was certainly eye-opening to see the changing of the land from the ground; the further we got towards civilisation the more the land was in disrepair, a ‘tree graveyard’ was my initial thought after a few hours of driving as we followed the dusty track towards Maralal. As clear as anything you can see the slow spread of the ruin of the land, pushing ever further north towards the Milgis – a swell of destruction that we must prevent before it consumes more beautiful ecosystems and that of the Milgis.

This was once forest.. Now its almost desert… Due to fires…