Profile
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Madam Colleta: Caring for the future of the community
One of the greatest comforts to a working mother is knowing that your child is safe and happy while you are away. No matter which corner of the globe you’re in, there is a constant need for affordable and reliable childcare. For Wildlife Works staff members in Rukinga, the free on-site preschool has been a blessing. Madam Colleta leads the team of 2 dedicated teachers who spend their days entertaining and educating 21 children aged 2-5 . Madam Colleta has been with the Wildlife Works preschool since it opened in January, 2012. The widowed mother of three spends her days teaching and feeding young children, while simultaneously providing for her…
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Scholarship Beneficiaries Give Back to Wildlife Works
Wildlife Works sponsors a scholarship program called the Kelimu Trust, a fund that aims to uplift education standards for underprivileged students in Kenya. As the school term closes, many beneficiaries of these scholarships spend their vacation time volunteering at the Wildlife Works greenhouse as a means of giving back to the community and of showing their gratitude. We interviewed 17-year-old Emmanuel Mulewa, a 12th grader at Ribe Boys High School in northern Kenya. Emmanuel applied to the Kelimu Trust after completing 8th grade when he lacked the money necessary to pay for secondary school. Due to his impressive academic performance (among other various aspects of the application process), he was…
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Meet Willy Kanyeki: Greenhouse Supervisor
Willy Kanyeki is a young and energetic employee who has been with Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project for seven years, and our permanent greenhouse supervisor for four. During his childhood, Kanyeki was passionate about planting and watering trees, and hoped to study Environmental Science as a career. Though he could not proceed with his education due to lack of funds, he did not let go of his passion, and was optimistic that he could do something for the environment irrespective of his academic background. Inspired by what Wildlife Works does to conserve the environment in his home area of Kasigau, Kanyeki decided to volunteer at the our greenhouse back…
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Getting to Know our Female Rangers: Constance
Last week, we introduced a series on getting to know our four female conservation rangers currently working in the Kasigau corridor, in celebration of Wildlife Works’ first-ever hiring of female rangers in the spring of 2011. We sat down and talked to each woman about her experience working in the project area over the past year, and gained some pretty interesting insight into daily life on the job, which we’d like to share with you. Constance Mwandaa, a 22 year-old native of Sagalla, begins her day at 5:30 am with a shower and some breakfast, and then heads out into the bush to begin her duties patrolling the protected area…
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Wildlife Works Welcomes its First Female Rangers
In March of 2011, Wildlife Works welcomed its first-ever female rangers to the team of 75 rangers currently working at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project area to protect the local wildlife from poachers and other threats. At Wildlife Works, we believe vigorously in equal opportunity employment, and are excited that for the first time in our fifteen-year history, we have been able to welcome a total of four female rangers to the WW family. This is a very important milestone for us, and we’d like to take a moment to share the unique stories of these recent additions to our team in a series of posts featuring each woman and…
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Rose and George, Hailing from Deep Sea Slum in Nairobi Join the Wildlife Works Team in Kenya
By Joyce Hu, Creative Director Although our core work is building rural communities, we can’t avert our eyes and hearts from the struggling urban communities in major cities around the world. Nairobi is home to some of Africa’s largest urban slums, where millions of people live without basic needs like running water, electricity or daily meals. On my most recent trip to Kenya, I was introduced to two bright, young adults from Deep Sea, a slum in Nairobi named for its sloping landscape that makes walking out of it a steep hike through the maze of metal corrugation and open wastewater ditches. George, an aspiring photo journalist, and Rose, an…
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Meet Betty, Wildlife Works’ Enterprising Soap Maker
By: Cara Braund- Conservation Intern- 12th November 2011 In an area such as the Kasigau Corridor, where there are thousands of people out of regular work, Wildlife Works has been instrumental in providing jobs for hundreds of people in different sectors of the company. In order to reach as many families as possible, one important factor has been the diverse range of employment available. If you’re not made to be a cutter or sewer in the eco-factory, maybe you could be a ranger, or put those green fingers to use in the greenhouse or use your knowledge of mechanics in the workshop. Furthermore, by training local residents in the different…