REKERO CONSERVATION

Rekero Community Conservation News Letter December 2005

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the second Rekero Community Conservation News Letter. We hope you find the information regarding our activities this year of interest.

2005 was another great year for animal viewing at the Rekero Camp. It was also another good year for the Community Conservation Fund. Receipts were strong as a result of a busy season and the generosity of our clients, both past and present.

In 2005 we received donations of over 1.9M Ksh ($25, 500) in cash and cheques. This figure includes the transfer of local school bursaries, which have now been consolidated into the RCCF accounts. The donations have continued to make a big contribution to the life of the community as well as helping preserve the wonderful animals and habitat of the Lemek / Ol Chorro Losoit areas of the Masai Mara Conservation Area.

We have now appointed a community representative, Patrick Parmuat, from one of the local villages to keep an eye on things in the area and act as our day-to-day bridge to the community.

So how have we used these donations?

We now sponsor 16 children through secondary school, paying for both school fees and uniforms. This is a special contribution to particularly needy children that requires a multi year commitment by donors, for which we are very grateful.

At Ngousani Primary School we were able to provide the pupils with pens, pencils, paper and books through generous donations both in cash and materials.

We have replaced 10 desks that were in a state of disrepair with substantial metal-framed units that are finished with timber tops. We have the funding to make 30 more in January.

The generosity of our donors has allowed us to complete a number of important maintenance activities at the school. These include:-

•  The installation of guttering as part of an integrated water catchment system

•  The construction of a 50,000 litre concrete rainwater catchment tank to provide clean drinking water for the pupils. With well spread seasonal rains this should provide water for the whole school year.

We also continue to sponsor a teacher at Aitong Primary School to ensure there is an adequate teaching resource for the village.

Incidents of wildlife / human conflict continue mostly with lions taking goats and cattle, although one case of leopard predation was reported. These domestic animals are a very important part of the wealth and life of the Masai people and they understandably wish to seek retribution. Gerard Beaton, Jackson Looseyia and John Kaelo have regular meetings with village senior elders and predation is always one of the subjects discussed. Gerard and Jackson continue to stress the importance of sensible animal management, ensuring the animals are constantly tended and secure in compounds during the hours of darkness. Even with these precautions animals are lost. In such cases the fund will compensate the owners in return for their pledge not to seek revenge. In 2005 we have paid 142,000 Ksh ($1, 895) in compensation.

The Fund had considered converting a classroom at the local primary school into a Computer Laboratory. However, it was decided that the laboratory could be better maintained at the Rekero HQ and as such we have now completed the building of a purpose built lab, ready to commence classes in the New Year.

In addition to the building of the Computer Lab we have also hired a specialist teacher, Grace, who will provide tuition to the local primary school children. Grace is currently installing the PCs donated by Siemens Business Services UK last year and finalising the syllaba.

Malcolm Schuyl, a professional photographer who specialises in wildlife, continues to donate wonderful post card photographs that he takes during his stays at Rekero Camp. The post cards are sold in the Rekero Camp shop and all proceeds go to the Fund. If anyone would like to find out more about Malcolm's work you can visit his web site at www.wildvisions.co.uk or email him at mschuyl@msn.com .

The Koiyaki Guiding School commenced training in April this year. Twenty-three local Masai students have been undergoing intensive Safari Guide training and will graduate in the New Year. This is a very exciting project driven by Ron Beaton. A part of the project involves the students building a lodge / camp within the conservation area. With the courses providing employment for the young community members in the tourism industry and the income generated from clients viewing fees going to the community, it will continue to help promote the benefits of conservation to the Masai people at large.

We were able to sponsor 4 students on the first guiding course and have already received donations for 2 places on the 2006 intake, which is tremendous!

In closing the year, all of us from the Rekero Community Conservation Fund would like to thank our many supporters for their kind donations. We hope this short News Letter gives you an idea of just how much difference your contributions are making to the conservation of this wonderful environment.

We are looking forward to making further progress in 2006 with a number of projects in mind. These include the following:-

•  Installing a V-SAT in the RCCF computer laboratory to provide internet access and thereby creating links to other schools world wide.

•  Implementing our five-year Management Plan for Ngousani School (Details will be posted on our web site in due course).

•  Ongoing sponsorship of local community members through the Koiyaki Guiding School ($1,800 per student for the year).

•  Maintaining our Predator Compensation Scheme.

•  Preparing a community Business Plan for a small community water-bottling plant at the Ol Chorro Losoit spring.

If you would like further details on any of the information in this News Letter please contact john@rekeroconservation.org or visit the Rekero Camp website at www.rekerocamp.com and click on the Community tab and then on Conservation in the drop down menu.