At Kasaala, Villagers Realize the Elephants built a School

This post was filed from Tsavo by IFAW's Edward Indakwa.

At Lugard Falls, along the Galana River in Kenya’s Tsavo East National Park, a concrete bridge invites the brave to Northern Tsavo.

Unlike the Park’s southern sector – a tourism haven with roads and hotels – Northern Tsavo, as the area north of Galana is known, is desolate.

Starved of ground water sources and devoid of humanity, except, perhaps, armed poachers tiptoeing across the savanna and the ranger sentinels who keep the peace, the north is a wilderness.

A four-hour drive down its sole, desolate dirt road - beneath a range of undulating hills - stands Ithumba Park sub-headquarters.

For years, this anti-poaching station has been Tsavo’s first defense, a firm rear guard against armed bandits who cross over from war-torn Somalia heading south for ivory poaching sorties along river Galana.

From hilltops and rock outcrops, rangers peer night and day across the landscape in lonesome vigil, aware that a poacher slipping through their cordon means certain death for elephants, rhino and – sometimes – the game rangers ahead.

Oft times, their vigils only bear fruit when the local community provides real-time intelligence. Traditionally close-knit, a stranger within the village stands out: If he isn’t a poacher, he could be a fugitive running away from justice.

But the local community isn’t always eager to collaborate with Park officials. Given the severity of elephant-human conflicts, and the dalliance in bushmeat trade by locals, rangers are rarely in good terms with the neighbouring villages.

It isn’t always the case, though. At Kasaala, a village four kilometres from Ithumba Station, the entire community has become a look-out for hunters and armed poachers.

“Previously, villagers ran away at the site of a KWS vehicle. Now they stop me to chat. Since the school rehabilitation began, members of the local community have handed to me names of 35 poaching suspects,” says Joseph Kavi, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warden in charge of community conservation in the area.

This change of heart can be attributed to elephants – or the love for them by philanthropists Suzanne Costas and another anonymous donor. Suzanne and many others who are IFAW supporters are helping to rebuilt Kasaala Primary School, giving hope for a bright future to generations of little children and turning wildlife into a worthy heritage.

Says Joseph Mbindu, Chairman of the school’s board: “I am so touched by their support – my heart overflows with gratitude. This project will re-roof and paint old buildings; build a staffroom for teachers, 2 new classrooms and toilets for our children.

“Previously, we had up to 70 pupils in one classroom. They were too crowded for effective learning. Now our children will learn in a conducive environment, enhancing education standards. We are already the envy of other villages and enrollment at our school has shot up,” he says.

The resulting goodwill is a big boon for elephants. “Only last week, two elephants from the park invaded our farms. Previously, we would have killed them on the spot and sold the tusks. Instead, we called the park warden,” says the chairman.

Julius Mukula, a middle aged parent concurs: “Rangers had guns, but we had our poisoned arrows. We feared each other but now we are friends. The fighting is over. Occasionally, we even meet for a football match,” he says.

The Kamba, Mukula’s community, are historically hunters and gatherers, renowned for their fearsome archery and an intimate knowledge of herbal poisons so potent they can knock down an elephant in hours. In a semi arid land where soils are bleak and agricultural returns meager, Tsavo’s wildlife has practically been the community’s sole cash crop.

Not anymore.

“A dead elephant never built a classroom,” Mukula says philosophically. “Once an animal dies, its value is gone. People made lots of money by killing elephants but it never changed their lives - which is why we want to campaign for awareness about the value of wildlife. After all, its value is staring us in the face.”

For Standard Five pupil Willy Mwandulu, the value is real: “This will be the best school in Mutomo area. It will make us proud, and then we will work harder. I want to score top marks, go to a good high school and become a pilot,” says the bashful 12 year-old girl.

From a symbol of destructive violence and fear, elephants now represent hope and a worthy heritage for the Kasaala community.