Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek support some of Africa's rarest wildlife. But as communities fight for survival, they resort to unsustainable exploitation of their local ecosystem. ASSETS is a pioneering community conservation project that lifts children out of poverty through secondary school 'eco-bursaries' and engages families in practical conservation activities. With over 900 students sponsored, ASSETS has a proven track-record of success. Help sponsor 100 students in 2026!
The coast of Kenya holds a number of rich yet highly threatened habitats. Among them, the mangrove creek of Mida and the largest remaining coastal forest of Africa, Arabuko-Sokoke, two connected eco-systems home to several Red-listed species. As local communities struggle to survive, they rely on these ecosystems for income, through unsustainable fishing, logging, and snaring. In particular, families often resort to logging trees when they need quick cash, typically for school fees.
ASSETS offers eco-bursaries to disadvantaged students living around these threatened habitats, lifting the pressure off the forest and creek. Part of these bursaries is funded through local eco-tourism initiatives, directly incentivizing communities to protect their local ecosystems. Students are sensitized to conservation through regular environmental education sessions and an annual ASSETS camp, while their families are engaged in sustainable income-generating activities.
Whereas 90% of students would have otherwise not gone beyond primary school, ASSETS alumni become university graduates, professionals, and business people - lifting them out of poverty and making them agents of change for conservation. Meanwhile, their families have access to sustainable income sources and become ambassadors for the protection of local habitats among their communities. This programme has a proven track record of changing attitudes and behaviors of hundreds of community members.
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