The Giraffe Sees Far

Introduction and physical description Ongata Rongai Location is a small urban shopping center south of the Nairobi National Park in Kenya. In the past two decades it has rapidly grown into a major Nairobi neighborhood due to the availability of relatively cheap and abundant land for commercial and residential development. Two roads, the Magadi and Gataka, connect it to the city, and its wildlife tourism potential has helped to promote its rapid growth. The Ongata Rongai area was formerly inhabited by the Maasai nomadic pastoralist community before many other rural Kenyan groups migrated into the area. Currently it is a residential and commercial center mostly comprised of households practicing subsistence farming, trade in domestic goods, and human services. In the present, most members of the Maasai tribe have sold their land and moved further south and are frequently spotted grazing their cattle during dry seasons near the shopping center. The area is classified as arid to semi-ar...

Let me introduce my self, I am Michael Singoro a Kenyan with international community development experience. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies (Community Development) second class honours (upper division) from Kenyatta University 2008. I interned with the Nairobi based Forest Action Network Kenya for two years, working with poor rural forest adjacent communities in sustainable forest management. I participated in the 2009 International Youth Training Program at Earthcorps in Seattle Washington. Working in a multicultural setting: I learnt intensive environmental restoration techniques, community building, and youth leadership skills. Currently ending this December 2010 I am working with Groundwork Hudson Valley, working with socio-economically declining communities around Yonkers, New York in numerous projects including job training, community outreach, community gardening, trail building and construction, the creation and maintenance of hydroponic and aquaponic plant...

Love her and cherish her. What is the earth? The earth is our mother; With nourishing care she cares for her young; Were children of course so we struggle in her grasp; And as we grow older we figure things out; We can get away with some things; But some things we can’t; Like polluting the sea; We kill all its creatures; And we don’t even see; We ignore the obvious; But what is that; That were killing our mother; Mother Nature at that; She cries and she mourns; For her earth is dying; But here we are living, thriving and surviving; Is it fair that we thrive, is it fair that she’s dyeing. Is it bad that she knows we won’t go on to surviving? When the earth gets to hot or the winters get cold; What will we do when Mother Nature releases her hold? By Taliah Dantelino

Come August this year, the Bukusu community will be circumcising male teenagers from the ages of about 12 to 18. I don't have any issues whatsoever with this initiation tradition that has lasted for many centuries, infact, I actually faced the same knife. What I am up against is, the community's misuse of scare resources on this endeavour , let's face it a poor Man with a household of 12 children sells his only big and mature bull he always use ploughing land during the planting season, in order to buy a smaller bull to slaughter for his nephew who is getting circumcised and yet the same nephew doesn't even have school fees to go to the next grade. Think about this, when will we abandon this poverty increasing traditions Africa? Am wondering,, There is a lot to be discussed in regard to this topic "Cultures, traditions and poverty in Africa" and how this traditions have influenced badly our political systems,

I have been thinking about Women of this world, how miserable the world would be without their service and labor, but look at the women around the globe in places like Haiti who are displaced by wars, natural calamities, how they bear heavy burdens of human suffering. We need to think about this, a girl in rural Africa who even can't afford sanitary towels, think about it.