The day to finally launch the Mahandakini Community Library is fast approaching! We need more books/magazines! The Library is targeting all age groups and reading levels. Reference books are greatly appreciated, biographies, Kenyan/African Writers and/or content, books related to trade skills, agriculture, livestock, handicrafts, children's books, novels (preferably not trashy ie mills & boon or 50 shades of grey) Books on wildlife and environmental conservation. Old Nat Geo's, New Science, Swara, New African, New's Week, Time, or any Mags with similar content to the above mentioned books! If we cant use the old mags in the library we will simply up-cycle them into some beautiful products for Poachers to Protectors. 

So far  two Kenyan publishing houses, Queenex books and Njigua Books  have pledged books, along with 
Teddy Kinyanjui from Cookswell Energy Efficient Stoves, Tess Chillala from GVI Kenya and other well wishers. All this will ad to donations already received from Gustovian Nominees Australia and the guys from Football for Africa. We now have a really nice collection of books on a variety of topics for age range and reading level. Its all a bit exciting really.

If your in anywhere near Killimanjarro and you are at a loose end on the 16th of Feb please come along to show your support. there will be Soda & Bisquits for those who arrive early! 

This is how the library looks now - we cant wait to post another update when the next round of donations arrive!

This weekend 25 of our most committed community rangers gathered at the Kasaani Group for Protection of Animals, Community Education Centre to attend 'Emergency First Response' training. The training was focused around potential health emergencies the rangers might have to deal with whilst in the bush and within their communities. Our fantastic volunteer trainer Rachel Crouthers, guided the rangers through how to respond in an emergency situation and how to give primary and secondary care to injured and ill persons. 

We soon discovered the members hidden talent for acting as we ran through emergency scenarios such as snake bites, attack by large aggressive mammals like buffalo or elephant and ambush by poachers. The training focused on the personal safety of the rangers, stressing that you cant help anybody if you become injured yourself. 

During the training the rangers received First Aid Kits to take into the field on patrols to ensure they will have the necessary supplies to deal with an emergency in the bush. This training along with the provision of the first aid kits makes us feel a whole lot better about sending our rangers out into the bush and potentially dangerous situations involving poachers and dangerous wildlife. The training also makes the rangers an asset to their communities, enabling them to respond to emergency situations within their villages which are often far from medical facilities and have limited access to transport. 

The response to the training was absolutely fantastic. The rangers were extremely enthusiastic to acquire the new skills and knowledge. The only complaint at the end of the two day training session was that they wanted more! Special thanks to Rachel Crouthers for volunteering her time and skills and also to Simon Rushton for allowing us to use his EFR training kit. 

The biggest challenge for many communities out in the Taveta District is access to water. Kasaani is a community of approximately 3000 people who do not have sufficient access to clean water. If your feeling thirsty, need a wash or need to water your garden and livestock you have to walk to the nearest water collection point, 5km away. Even then, there is no guarantee the taps will be working that day, meaning you will have to go another 10km to find water. 

About 12 months ago, something amazing happened, a 10,000l water tank appeared in Kasaani out of nowhere. Nobody really knew what to do with it as there was no borehole and no operational pipeline to fill it with water. A truck from the Ministry of Water came to fill it up about 3 times over the 12 months but otherwise it was just sitting around collecting mosquito larvae. 

In the mean-time, the Taveta County Council answered another one of Kasaani's prayers by building a nursery school for the village. This modern building is 20x30ft and has a lovely big iron sheet roof! One of our Volunteers, Krist'l Lefevere came out to Kasaani to say hello, saw the empty tank and the big shiny new roof and said "why don't we build a water harvesting system?" Everyone in the village agreed it was a fantastic way to make use of the tank and also improve the school.  A few hours later she was on the phone to friends and relatives back home in Belgium and convinced them to send her 300 euro to help us put the system together. 

Two days later we were back in Kasaani armed with pipes, gutters, nails, some mesh to keep mosquitoes out and supplies for lunch. The community of Kasaani had supplied a work force plus  sand, gravel and blocks to build the stand for the tank. Four hours later the gutters were up and the tank in place. 

Just as we finished our lunch the sky opened up and it started to rain, heavily. There was nothing left to do but laugh and enjoy the drenching. 

The great news is we still have cash left over from Krist'ls fundraising to build another water harvesting system. We have found another community with a big shiny roof and a big tank but no water in Matakuja B and are planing to put the two together in Feb 2013, before the next rains arrive.