David Ngala

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 20 2008 | By: davidngala

This Blog is updated by two main bloggers – Caroline Lumosi – FoASF Project Manager and David Ngala – FoASF Conservation Officer

Here is a brief history of how they joined FoASF.

My personal history……

Hi my name is Caroline Lumosi, am the project Manager at FoASF, I officially joined FoASF in early August 2008. I stumbled on this position by a mere coincidence and the turn out of events till now still amazes me to date.

Picture of me inside my mud hut in Kakamega.

My journeys to being part of FoASF team.

I read an advert for this position in Nature Kenya’s newsletter and I applied for this position in March 2008 but reported to work in August 2008 after interviewing and reviewing sessions. It surely has been a long journey to this very moment. The position was wanting and the conditions of the job were a bit tricky for me at first, the job required one to volunteer in the position while fundraising for the project as well as the position. As I had also been a volunteer at Kakamega, moving from one volunteer position to another did not really make sense to me at first, and my family was hesitant to allow me to take up this position. Being fresh from campus I had high hope of getting a good and well paying job, I however had my hopes dashed as I continued to apply to different organization only to get regret letters and some didn’t even bother to reply. I got one reply in early March. I was called to become a volunteer at ALIN - Arid Lands Information Network, it was at first disappointing as I thought it was a really job only to be told it’s a volunteer position and adding more disappointing news I was told am to be shipped to Kakamega forest - a tropical rainforest in the western part of Kenya.

My friends and I at Kakamega Canopy watch tower - I was even a guide.

Since I was fresh from campus and having no experience and having difficulties in finding a job worth my dreams I opted to go for this call at Kakamega as a volunteer, after all it was the only call I got, so I guess I had no choice per se.

Off to Kakamega.

So off I went to Kakamega forest, the change of environment from the modern uptown of Nairobi to the rural land of Western was much of a shock to me, I had to learn how to survive fast and I had to think fast, lucky I could speak the language so communication was not much of a big problem, I put up with unique living conditions that at first were frustrating but later on I came to love and I will treasure them, living in a grass thatched mud house was something new to me, living alone was another thing, I had to adapt to these living conditions and more, dressing was also a transformation for me from flashy suits to mother union dressed ( dresses that are long almost sweeping the floor) from making my hair almost weekly to once in who know!! It was a real change for me and the change I embraced. I gradually began to appreciate the community, the culture and the language. I attended various culture shows like the bull fights which are common in Western Kenya.

Bull fighting at Shinyalu in Kakamega.

A picture of me outside my grass thatched mud hut in Kakamega.

Me working at the tree nursery at Kakamega.

I felt proud to achieve what I taught I could not achieve, my greatest satisfaction came when the programme I was running for ALIN at the forest began to bear good fruits. I was helping the community embrace ICT technology like the GPRS, teaching computers skills to the communities, interpreting environmental polices for them and I helped in forming focal groups ( groups of communities within a particular area, who network and find ways to uplift their livelihoods).

Leaving Kakamega and looking back at my achievements.

As I was leaving the forest I felt I had been successful, I had about six students who could use computers well, I had introduced at least one community member to fully use the GPRS for internet connectivity, I had encouraged close to ten community members to write article about their activities and they were selected to be posted on the net (http://196.201.231.147/eNRICH).  I felt proud that my volunteerism was not all in vain, with this I could afford to smile, knowing that “I broke my back for the benefit of others”.

A picture of me having discussion with Community members at Kakamega.

Me training community members at a workshop on use of ICT skills.

Mission accomplished!! It was time to move on.

Mission accomplished! and I had to move one, as I moved back to Nairobi I was called to attend a field training course on making community based conservation films, this again was a blast for me, I was going to be a superstar!!! Or something close to it, the excitement was trilling more so as I would use the film s to educate the community members at Arabuko Sokoke. This was more or less the time I got the final confirmation about the position at FoASF. Double joy, my small heart was trilled.

The film training in Naivasha.

The training allowed me to interact with film students like me from different conservation organizations who had the passion of conservation. Four countries were represented with students coming from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya while the trainers were from UK. We were paired up and were able to work to produce 7 conservation films all on different topics, 2 on waste, 1 on forest, 1 on fish, 1 on birds, 1 on rivers, and 1 on wetlands.

Me learning how to film wildlife from a moving boat.

I was privileged to be filming on forests and this was critical for me as I would apply these skills at FoASF. After the training 7 beautiful films emerged in just 2 week, wow I could not believe my eyes when I saw the reaction of the community school kids after they saw the films, they were ecstatic and left the room singing - mama nataka smaki (mother I want fish) a song they contributed to in the fish film.

Reporting at FoASF.

After the training I officially reported to FoASF and started working on some of FoASF’s activities with the guidance of Colin Jackson - the Chairman of FoASF. Some of my challenging tasks at FoASF include fund raising for FoASF activities like community awareness on Arabuko Sokoke Forest, mapping illegal activities at the forest through GIS system, monitoring of plants and animal species at the forest among other administrative tasks, ooh and getting funds to support my team and me.

Making a difference.

This is hard work but am willing to step up to the plate and make a difference, if there is anything I crave, is to make a positive difference everywhere I go, I aspire to be the next Wangari Maathai ( Kenya’s Nobel Peace Laureate on Environment) and as I look forward to enhancing conservation work I must try my best, make sacrifices as I live out my dream, my passion, in doing something new, something different at FoASF. And that’s my long story - I believe I will bring all my dreams into reality.-

So why FoASF?

I need to grow and FoASF is the best opportunity for me to grow. I accepted FoASF offer as its has great potential in terms of Environmental awareness raising, doing and hence conservation. Conservation is at my heart, knowing that all this is God’s creation I feel happy to be part of it and more so to take care of it. It makes my little heart happy!!!

Ok so what next for FoASF?

A lot, as long as there are still a lot of illegal activities at the forest, as long as people do not understand the environmental benefits of the forest as long as people have to destroy to benefit economically, FoASF has a lot of work to do, I want to see the attitude of the community changed, I want to see more people appreciating the forest, I want to see more people signing up to train as guides or others in a bide to get alternative income from the forest.

Background of Caroline Lumosi.

Caroline Lumosi has a Bachelor of Environmental Science from Kenyatta University in Kenya, and has experience working with local communities. She has a passion for the Environment and her preference is in Natural Resources Management.