“I chose to love wildlife because they are voiceless and I felt good and lucky to be their voice, speak on their behalf …conserve them.”
In turn, I wanted to write about Hellen because for me, she represents the silent side of the new Kenya. Kenya is changing SO fast. Buildings going up everywhere, people investing in the country and with that, a massive increase in the population. Another massive, this time positive change is education. More and more Kenyans can afford (or really deprive themselves) so that they can pay for their children’s education. Education was the priority of Kenya’s first president: His Excellency President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. He set up teacher training colleges. Kenya at Independence needed teachers. He found them and trained them.
We love Elementaita, one of the eight lakes to be found in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. This time we treated ourselves to a morning safari in Soysambu Conservancy, on the North and West side of Lake Elementaita. “Hellen will be your guide”, we were told. Already, it used to be unusual to have a female guide and what a lovely surprise it was to meet Hellen. She took us walking all along the lake shore in the morning light and warmth – the sun behind us. It was beautiful and so active.
Flamingos were nattering away, sieving the water with their beaks up-side-down, or taking off, flying around and landing again. Then all the lake-shore birds were there. Hellen knew them all, including the migrants. I was so impressed by her knowledge both of wildlife and of these hundreds of birds.
“Where did you learn all of this, Hellen?” I asked.
Hellen: “I trained at the Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute, (KWSTI), Naivasha”
“What attracted you to wildlife?”
Hellen: “I chose to love wildlife because they are voiceless and I felt good and lucky to be their voice, speak on their behalf … conserve them.
I chose to come to Soysambu because it is such a special place with 10% of the world’s Rothschild giraffe population to be found here. Three quarters of lake Elementaita is in Soysambu Conservancy.The lake is a stop over to migratory birds … a Ramsar Site (A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance. … The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Convention on Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. There are six Ramsar Sites in Kenya) …so Soysambu is very diverse in terms of conservation.”
Lake Elementaita – a Ramsar Site and a precious wild piece of Kenya
And “oh”, she said “I’ll tell you about the Rothschild Giraffe”. She explained that over the last 23 years Soysambu Conservancy has successfully nurtured a herd of Rothschild’s giraffe. Having started with only seven animals the herd had reached over 160. There are 650 Rothschild’s giraffe in Kenya today. They can live in a relatively small area, which is why this conservancy suits them. The Conservancy is 48,000 acres (194 km²).
They love the leaves of the abundant Acacia trees found around the lake.
But Hellen also told us about how electric power lines had been built across the Conservancy. The electricity comes from the thermal activity at Naivasha and has to be sent to many places in Kenya. The easiest (and the cheapest?) was to just build those pylons across the park. Conservancy land is a buffer zone, and these sorts of constructions just should not happen here where they disturb (kill) the animals. Very sadly, she showed us photos of 3 Rothschild Giraffe that had been electrocuted by the pylons. She was devastated. The Conservancy’s precious count is still 160.
These are the new Kenyans. They are well educated, and they love their wildlife. They want to share what they know, and they want to conserve their country’s wildlife. That’s why I’ve done this blog: to introduce you to Hellen.
Asante Hellen for your contribution to Kenya!!
Find out more on Soysambu Conservancy HERE
Contact Hellen at: hellenkiturjerotich@gmail.com
