Trees and Water for Masai in Kenya

Jambo (Hi/kiswahili):

We are honored that Global Giving has chosen us as a feature project from April 4-28th. During this time Global Giving will give a 50% match on any donation up to $5,000. This is a great opportunity to get some extra mileage out of your donation.

"Give a Little Green" is designed to help projects like ours raise additonal funds to plant more trees and to combat global warming. If you would like a tree planted in Kenya in your honor please make a donation to stop deforestation and tell your friends that we all can make a difference.

Our third group of visiting Global Giving staff just left for the USA. We were able to help these grad students from George Washington University with their transportation and site visits.

Thanks to the recent rains our tree planting program is growing. We now have 30,000 trees planted out and the fodder crops (grass for cattle) is beginning to grow in completely. Even fruit and vegetables are being grown under the cover of the newly forested areas. This is an exciting time for the local Masai as they can now see the benefits of all the hard work that goes into planting and taking care of trees.

Women and children are enjoying the benefits of new trees and plants. A third woman has been hired full-time in the nursery. They have proven that they are equal or even better than the men. When a woman receives a paycheck she takes care of the entire family, thus we are actively seeking to empower women through our program. An empowered woman means an empowered community.

However, we are still in need of proper irrigation to fully accomodate the 3800 Masai who live in the desertified lands of southern Kenya.

Thank you for your assistance and your contributions. Your donation makes a big difference in the lives of the local Masai. Without trees and water, these Masai will have to relocate to another location. The climatic changes have forced rural Africans to migrate, but due to your generous contributions, the Masai in southern Kenya are staying grounded due to the reforestation and irrigation efforts of Africa Conservation Trust.

Make a donation today and for as little as $1 you can have a tree planted. Let's save the environment ONE TREE AT A TIME!

It has been several months since we have had rain, but fortunately, the skies opened and the rain began to fall. Much of the wildlife which has been dying off have begun to return, including the lions. The 25,000 trees we have planted were beginning to wilt, but the rains have revived our nursery. Also, the local Masai have become experts in gathering water so the rain has made everyone happy!

We are currently working with the Kenyan government to build a series of 5 small man-made lakes which can catch the rainfall overflows and will enhance our ability to develop the Masai community.

Water has always been our biggest obstacle so your donations are helping bring clean water to a community where women literally walk miles each day to get water.

We hosted Global Giving, Marc Maxson and Michael Nolan, this week and had a very successful workshop here in Nairobi. It is always our pleasure to look out for Global Giving employees when they visit Kenya. Global Giving has helped us sustain our project over the last year, especially after the devastating post election violence in 2008 which nearly caused us to shut down all our nurseries.

Thank you for your help in brining water to the Shompole Group Ranch Masai in southern Kenya. Your donations are changing lives, especially for the Masai women who carry a great burden of fetching water. With your continued support we will be able to provide proper irrigation for rain water harvesting and ultimately, the Masai will have a long-term solution to their water problem.