Mt. Elgon- it's a District, not a Mountain!

When I looked up Mt. Elgon in my guide book, it said something about ‘the second tallest mountain in Kenya, vast rainforest, and salt-licking elephants’. So, I imagined a peaked mountain rising out of the plains, absolutely covered in greenness. Instead, I found rolling hills, completely covered in a patchwork of brown farms, with no significant trees to speak of. Holy smokes. When we got to our destination I was thoroughly confused- until I realized that when everyone was talking about ‘going up/to the mountain’, they meant (up) to Mt. Elgon District, not the actual mountain, which is still quite far- 2-3 days walking.

People say this is the last area in Kenya to chop down their trees... and will also be the last place to re-plant them. There is a very marked difference between other districts and this one in terms of greenness. The reasons I have discovered so far are these: First, people are not sure how long they will be able to keep the land they are presently on. Even if they own it, the governemtn has a history of moving people around, away from their land, with little notice as part of their resettlement schemes. In the early 90’s 1000s of people were forcefully moved away from the land they thought they owned (they did own??). The people moved, but not before they stripped their properties of every single tree of value- they gave up the land alright, but that’s all they gave up. A second reason is just ignorance or laziness. People simply don’t know of, or don’t think of the value of planting trees. There is so little development up here (because of lack of roads), people are not exposed to many other ways of doing farming. This is where ICM’s community health program comes in.

The program I am working with now is ICM’s Community Health Holistic Ministry. Basically, I am going around talking to schools, CBO’s (community based organizations), and churches about the importance of planting trees, agroforestry concepts, and basic health. I feel comfortable talking about trees/ agroforestry because of my two weeks at the VI project earlier in January. That unexpected extended stay in Kitale worked out quite well! I am talking about very basic AF concepts, encouraging people to continue with the work they have started, and challenging them to think bigger and more purposefully. The people up here really need more in depth education, which I am helping them organize through VI. I went back to the VI center in Kitale today to gather information about more specific tree species that are already known in Mt. Elgon. I was welcomed back to that place with open arms. People here are SO friendly! I can’t get over it!

The other topic I talk about in Mt. Elgon is Afya (Health). Although I am not a nurse, and have not even taken a basic first aid course (it’s still on my to-do list…), I somehow am qualified enough to teach this subject. So, on the morning of Feb. 8, my birthday, I did my first captivating & thrilling presentation on the importance of washing your hands after visiting the toilet, of boiling/ treating your water before you drink it (because you just got it out of a multi-purpose stream at the base of steeply sloping hills), and why/ how to keep fluids and nutrients up when having diarrhea (typhoid and cholera are too common here because people drink untreated water).

Although the subjects I will be talking on are very basic, it feels very worthwhile, because the information I am sharing is totally new to many people. It is also information that can save lives. This is what really excites me about working up there, so I am totally looking forward to my next few weeks!