Thank You!
From the time Wild Heart Kenya we founded in 2017, communities have been at the heart of everything that we do and we are always working toward reducing wildlife conflicts, nature regeneration and mitigating the effects of the climate crisis. 2022 has been no different, we worked with community scouts to support wildlife during the drought, supported girls affected by period poverty and so much more! Scroll down for our detailed work! In the meantime, here's a summary our impact in numbers:
000s thousands of litres of water delivered to support wildlife affected by the drought
1 borehole revived for wildlife
Over 1,000 girls have benefitted from our sanitary pad support program
1,100 indigenous and mangrove trees planted
10 environment outreach campaigns in Lamu and Mombasa
1 classroom renovated in the Tsavo Conservation Area
The last quarter of 2022 saw the Tsavo conservation area suffer a devastating drought with zebras, buffalo, elephants and other plains herds being heavily affected and some even dying due to dehydration because of lack of water. We worked with the local community scouts to ensure that was was continuously delivered for 2 months. This had an immediate effect as this prevented wildlife from straying into neighbouring farms and causing damage to crops that were already strained.
In November, we managed to revive a borehole that had dried up and would supply water directly to the watering troughs, all this is possible due to the generous support we received from you.
The rains have finally come in and we are continuously monitoring the situation.
One of our major focus for 2022 has been nature regeneration given the challenges posed by the climate crisis. We have been working closely with a fishing community in Mombasa and Lamu to rewild and regenerate a mangrove area that had been deforested. Mangroves are important as they protect islands from storms, absorb up to 10x more carbon than terrestrial forest (so very important in mitigating climate change!) are homes to crabs, baby sharks, feeding places for turtles, breeding spots for fish- basically thriving biodiversity hotspots and provide income for communities.
As Wild Heart Kenya we have planted over 1,100 mangroves and we look forward to planting more! All our seedlings are sourced from fishermen from the local community whose income had been affected by climate change and infrastructure development. This means the community now has an income from a green source! We look forward to planting more.
We are pleased to report that the indigenous and fruit trees that we had planted in 2020 are thriving and doing well - all thanks to the environmental teacher, Mr. James and the school children who have been taking care of the trees diligently. This has made the school cooler especially during hot days and we can't wait to see the fruits coming up!
We have continued to support girls with sanitary products and especially with the drought that has made it difficult for parents to afford sanitary pads. We have so far supported over 1,000 girls in Lamu and Tsavo Conservation area which means girls don't have to miss out on school and important opportunities.
As a way of reciprocating, the girls planted fruit and indigenous trees in their school compounds and continue to take care of them.
When we visited Msorongo Primary school earlier in 2022 for sanitary products support, we noted how the classes had been run down and in need of renovation, we worked with the school to renovate the classroom and support the teachers with staff chairs. We believe that having a conducive learning environment is vital for children.
Kenya is one of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change, and the communities we work are no different and have been affected. The unpredictable weather patterns have seen them bear the brunt from dried out crops to increase in conflicts from wildlife. This has meant loss of income for most and especially the youth who face an unpredictable future.
We at Wild Heart Kenya are committed to educating children about these effects and empowering them to become advocates for their communities in the international forum and support environmental clubs. In March and Sept 2022 we partnered with Fridays For Future Kenya so that children who have been affected by the climate crisis participated in the climate strikes with other young people all over the world. The main aim was to ensure their voices were heard. We worked with Imani School, which borders the Tsavo East National Park and the children going to this school have been affected by the climate crisis.
Over 30 children have taken part in the strike with having a climate awareness session and making their own artworks about how the climate crisis has affected them personally.
Apart from our grassroots work, we are committed to advocating about the effects of the climate crisis on the communities that we work with. We were thrilled that our co-founder Fazeela Mubarak was selected as a participant at a Climate Justice camp in Tunisia. She used this opportunity to highlight our work. We have also been working closely with the Generation Equality Forum, Commission Status of Women 66 under the UN Women to highlight how the climate crisis is increasing period poverty and affecting children. During the COP27, our volunteer Sumaiya Harunany took part in a panel about Sexual and Reproductive rights where she highlighted the plight of women and girls and pushed for policies that bring about transformational positive change for women at the grassroots.
We thank you for your unwavering support! Be sure to follow us on our socials - Instagram, Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with our latest news.
Together we have made such a positive impact in 2022 and we will continue to do work toward transformational positive change in 2023 and beyond. Wishing you all a very happy wild year!
Gratefully,
Brandy and Fazeela.
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