Muvera Wa ASSETS

Muvera wa ASSETS  is an association of the parents of the beneficiaries of the Assets programme .It was formed in 2006 after the first Assets beneficiaries graduated from secondary school.The main aim of forming this association was to improve the benefits already received from the Assets programme,the name''Muvera''  is  a giriama word meaning ''Thanks''.This group now has over 100 members from all the 10 schools that are in the Assets programme. Over the past few years there were problems in the registration of this association because of a lack of a good forest management plan.This has changed since the Arabuko-Sokoke  forest,forest   management plan was launched couple months ago and it has three regions which are, Gede, Jilore and Sokoke Community Forest Associations (CFA) . Now the Muvera wa ASSETS association in the Gede region has been registered. The gede group comprises of Mida, Mijomboni, Mzizima and Chipande.

Last week we visited the four groups to explain to them the whole registration issue and how this brings an avenue of how the group can come up with eco-tourism projects for their benefits.The meetings were very well attended and we had 30 members all together.Stanley and Mr Suliman(one of the Assets Commitee member) were there to explain the registration issue

MUVERA WA ASSETS GETS REGISTERED AS A CFA USER GROUP

Finally,after a long time and several setbacks, a cluster of Muvera wa ASSETS, an association of the parents of the ASSETS beneficiaries, has been registered as a user group of  Gede Community Forest  Association. This cluster is of parents whose children are pupils at Mzizima, Mijomboni, Chipande and Mida primary schools,four of the ten schools in the ASSETS program.

The registration means that the association can finally benefit from different activities it maybe involved in in the forest as opposed to before when it wasn't  registered.

As a result, Stanley and Patrick have been up and down holding meetings with parents from the four schools.The main reason being to set up structures that will facilitate maximum exploitation of the advantages that come with the registration and establishing the most effective way of dealing with  it's affairs.

Being a user group means that you can set up projects and activities that promote conservation and sustainable use of the resources within the forest .The income generated from these activities is for the benefit user group.

Isn't that great?

Some of the projects by ASSETS include the board walk in Mida creek and the tree platform in Gede ruins.This two Eco facilities were set up to collect funds through Eco tourism.The funds are then used for bursaries for the children' s secondary education.The parents of these children,who are members of Muvera wa ASSETS in turn participate in conservation activities.

Any project ideas?

we would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Assets Second camp

The assets second camp was on from 28th of August and ended yesterday 30th August.It was a three day camp with alot of activities just like the first camp.The students who are first year beneficiaries got to learn about the environment and conservation.A total of 20 students and a teacher and a parent were in this camp. The first day the students were taken to the Mwamba nature trail where they learnt more about tree species and the general biodiversity of the mwanba little forest.

Thereafter there was an introduction part and this second camp was lucky to have two Assets university graduates who gave alot of encouragement to the students.

Later that day there was a talk on education and discipline by one of the Assets committee members(Mr Julius Mwawiswa).Mr Mwawiswa talked and quoted verses from the bible to give emphasis on his talk.Again the students were lucky to get a talk fromMr Rafael Magambo, the National director of A Rocha Kenya.Mr Rafael gave them sound advice on being morally upright and conservation.

It was time for games and two groups were formed,SIMBA(lion) and NYATI(buffalo).The first game was filling an empty bottle with water using hands from one member to the last.This was by giving water using the hands, then to the other member the same way until the last member who takes the water in the botlle. Nyati emerged the winners.It was then football where we had a great encounter and simba won 1-0.

In the evening the students watched a movie (finding nemo) before they went to bed.

Day two of the camp saw the students going for snorkelling after the morning glory and a powerpoint presentation from Benjo.Snorkelling  was a great experience for the students whose majority had not been in water.Mr Robert Sluka and Benjamin cowburn who are the marine biologists at mwamba led the students on this wonderful part of marine life.Students were able to see corals and different types of fish.

After snorkelling Mr Stanley gave a powerpoint presentation on drugs and HIV Aids.We later went to the Watamu turtle watch(WTW) where the students learnt alot  about turtles. We later went to games.After a tough match which ended on a 1-1 draw we went to penalties.Nine penalties were taken from both sides and Simba won 2-1.In the evening we had a session of bible study and a session of quiz in which simba won, before they went to bed

After a bird ringing session led by the director of conservation and reserch,A Rocha Kenya, Mr Collin Jackson, the last day was full of movements.The students were taken to the two eco-facilities where the bursaries come from.Mida creek was the first place they visited and were happy to learn the various species of mangroove.They were very amazed by the different species and their long biological names .They went on to climb the boardwalk. Few of them were very afraid of its shaky nature but got encouraged by their fellow students.

The second movement was visiting the Gede ruins tree platform. Here the students had a lot of fun on the platform after a tour of the ruins.

The students returned to mwamba for lunch.After lunch we had a recap of the camp and a short final quiz. The points were calculated and Simba became the overal winnere with 23.5 points and Nyati had 23 points.Prizes were awarded to the winning group.The losing group also got consolation prizes.The teacher and the parent who attended the camp were also awarded prizes. The camp ended with a prayer from one of the students and then they were shown a slideshow of all the photos taken during their stay.At 3:20 the students left mwamba.

Mijomboni seen by a professional photographer...

Last week, we had the visit of a professional photographer Matt Brandon, who followed us throughout the week taking pictures of our activities.On Friday morning we went to a Muvera Wa Assets meeting in Mijomboni, to meet the parents of the beneficiaries. While we were interviewing a few parents, Matt was having fun with the kids...

ASSETS graduate off to study at university!

We posted  previously about our 3 ASSETS graduates currently volunteering in Mwamba with us, Brian was one of them. He's been helping A Rocha Kenya for the past 5 months, working  at  Gede  Tree  Platform,  our  eco-tourism  facility,  raising  funds  for  the  ASSETS  bursaries. He enjoyed welcoming visitors there and telling them all about the history of the Ruins.

He'll be leaving us at the end of the week to start his nursing studies at Pwani University, in Kilifi! Hoi, one of our past volunteers from Singapore, kindly raised money for him to start his studies. To be able to continue, he will apply for various local and national bursary schemes.

Brian graduated from secondary school last year, and enjoys interacting with people and caring for others, which is why he chose to study nursing. He loved his time spent in A Rocha, saying its 'the best place', because of the conservation goals as well as the social side of working with communities. He especially appreciated building friendships with people from different parts of the world, and is grateful to have met this volunteer who agreed to sponsor him.

Looking back, the ASSETS scheme has really motivated him to study hard in secondary school, and to meet and work with the people who helped him has given him 'zeal and zest to study further'.

A great example of what the ASSETS scheme aspires to! We're grateful for this opportunity he has to study, and are still praying for funding for the many more graduates who wish to go to university too.

An encouraging letter!!

 

This week we received a great encouragement from one of our current beneficiaries in second year of Secondary School, who wrote us this letter of his own initiative.

What great news to hear that he is doing well and enjoying his education! Thank you again to our kind donators who make this all possible!

Just click on the picture to read the letter...

Visiting Mida Creek and Gede Ruins with ASSETS beneficiaries

Today, last day of our camp already, after Morning Glory, a time of praise and worship, and assisting Colin in bird-ringing, the students headed of to visit the two eco-facilities which provide income for their bursary scheme. It was very interesting for the students to see first-hand where the money for their education comes from, and how this income is directly linked to the state of surrounding environment. We first visited Mida Creek, where we listened to a guide telling us about the different types of mangroves, and why they are endangered, as well as a bit on the birds of the Creek - we saw some flamingoes and yellow-billed storks!-, and we then moved on to try out the newly renovated boardwalk!

We then visited Gede Ruins and the tree platform, supervised by Brian, our current ASSETS volunteer. There the students learnt more about the history of the site, 'how people lived in the past'.

After this followed a lunch back in Mwamba, and a feedback time before everyone took off around 3. A few comments..:

'The teachings I got from the A Rocha hosts also contributed to have encouragement in studying very hard'

‘I learnt where the funds are coming from'

‘I have really learnt a lot about A Rocha and career chioces, and know my mind has opened’

‘thank you for your teachings they have benefited me and from here I have a story to tell my friends. From now I am sure I will advise people who go against environmental conservation’

‘I lack words to express how happy I am’

‘the other thing is that I will now change myself against the damaging of the forest and some of the creatures in our home area’

' I am sure this will result to a great change of my life'

'This is a camp will never be forgotten’

ASSETS Camp: Watamu Turtle Watch Visit

 

On Wednesday afternoon we visited Watamu Turtle Watch Visit with the students. Its impressive how curious they were, I'd never seen them ask so many questions!

Through a guided tour round the site, we learnt a lot about marine wildlife conservation, the threats to marine wildlife (and particularly human threat), and about the various programmes the Turtle Watch has in place (such as education, community conservation, ...) AND of course we got to see the 2 turtles they had there at the time! For many of us it was the first time we saw such a big turtle!

With this visit in the afternoon and snorkelling in the morning, the students learnt a lot in a day about all the species you can find under water! On this, a student said 'About the living creatures, there were so many things which I was not aware that they were existing in this world, so the A Rocha association has made me know about them' and another commented 'We saw different types of turtles and learnt their importance. We will take care of them if we come across them and try to educate others at home on wildlife and how to take care of it'. The students left with a sense of care of God's creation, and encouraged to tell others about it.

Praise the Lord for his beautiful creation and protection during the camp!

Snorkelling with the ASSETS students !

Today is the second day of our camp, and this morning, after a time of praise and worship and breakfast, we all headed to the sea to go snorkelling! For many it was the first time in deep water, so we used life jackets and life rings. The students weren't really decided at first and preferred just looking through the glass floor of the boat, but after an A Rocha volunteer got pushed in the water, and a couple of other volunteers joined in the water too, the first few jumped in the rings and tried it out.

Eventually nearly everyone took turns in going in and trying out masks to see the fishes and coral. We even had a boat of tourist next to us through bread in the water, so the fish literally swarmed around us, which impressed more than one. The students really enjoyed seeing big and coloured fishes, and encouraged each other to go in.

On the way back we stopped in more shallow water to play about without rings or life jackets. There the students were much more confident and had a lot of fun! So overall a great experience for everyone, students as well as volunteers!

ASSETS first camp - first day

Our first or the two ASSETS camps organised in August has started yesterday! This camp is designed for first year beneficiaries of our bursary scheme, so for most of them it's their first time in Mwamba, and for some even the first time to see the sea! They have come from all around the ASF, so many had long journeys to get here. This three day long camp is packed with activities, visits, good meals games and talks, from 6 in the morning until 10 in the evening! Yesterday morning the students were shown round the site and the nature trail by our ASSETS volunteer Kirau, and listened to a couple of talks in the afternoon (on education and discipline, and on career choices and personality assessment). After that, we all went down to the beach to enjoy a well-deserved game of football, which was appreciated by everyone (girls included!). It ended on a score of 2-2, so the game will continue later today...!