This year has been one of the most difficult years in the field. I have been in Samburu since 2002 and I cannot remember such a tough period for the local people, their livestock and the wildlife. The drought has been terrible with wildlife and livestock dying in large numbers. In October we received some rain and again in December. Samburu is green once again and the area is beginning to recover slowly.
A green Samburu!
It was thanks to your support and donations through WildlifeDirect that we were able to get through the year. Sammy, Michael, Stacey, Lee, Madeliene, Stuart, Rhonda, Heather, Katherine, Sauwah, Norma, Paul, Kevin, Brenton, Edward, Kathy, Simon and Karie – THANK YOU SO MUCH! We have raised $5975 thanks to your donations in 2009. It was this that enabled us to continue monitoring the lions, work with the communities, hold workshops and meetings to ask people to tolerate predators, pay staff salaries, fuel Gypsy, purchase tents for camp, increase awareness on lions, take kids on game drives, train our staff, and so much more.
I am now asking all friends, supporters, donors of Ewaso Lions to help us during the Christmas period. Please consider making a donation to the project at this crucial time so we can continue with our efforts. A donation of $10 goes a long way! We urgently need:
1. A laptop for Joseph, data manager. Joseph has been using an old Dell laptop that was donated to us 4 years ago. It is on its last legs now and not a lot works! The battery, CD and USB port don’t work and we are struggling to back-up the computer. It has all the scouts data on it and Joseph really needs a new laptop.
2. A hard-drive for backing up data. I back up my Macbook often and now my 250GB hard drive is full after using it for 2 years. I am seeking funds to get another one. After losing a lot of data and photos last year when my Macbook hard drive crashed, I am being extra careful about this as I cannot afford to lose anymore again!
3. The Ewaso Lions Camp is looking better and more like a home as each day goes by. We need some funds for shelves, cupboards, desks and chairs. We are having 2 Samburu interns stay with us from January onwards and camp will be full!
4. Ewaso Lions has a new member of staff! Julietta has come on board as camp cook and is in charge of the kitchen and mess tent. This has freed up Joseph who is now focusing solely on data entry and office management. I am seeking funds to pay Julietta, who is a young Samburu girl from the village next to camp. Julietta did not have funds to go to secondary school and has been looking for a job all of this year. She is terribly sweet and already has learned the ways of working in a research camp. She is hoping to save enough money to go back to school and we will assist her as much as possible.
5. It is our hope that we can educate some children in 2010. Most Samburu people sell their cows to pay for their children’s education. However, this year they have lost everything to the drought. Almost no cows returned to the villages in October and there are none to sell. So many bright students are completing primary education this year and will be seeking funds for secondary school next year. We hope to assist them as much as possible and I am asking you to please make a contribution to help us do so.
The Ewaso Lions team wishes you all a very happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year. We look forward to sharing our experiences and stories with you in 2010. We have so much planned for next year including new projects that we will begin in January. Please do keep reading our blog!
Until then!
Shivani Lekuraiyo Jeremiah
Joseph Francis and Jeneria
Ricila Julietta