This year’s World Nature Conservation Day is very significant to us. It emphasizes not only celebrating nature but also acknowledging and addressing the impact of its power.
Imagine receiving your annual rainfall over the course of a couple of days. Two communities – Shompole and Olkiramatian, in the South Rift landscape experienced devastating floods between March and May of this year. The two communities are the flagship projects of lion conservation within the SORALO landscape. The floods come just two years after a severe drought that affected the region highlighting the escalating impact of climate change.
The March to May season commonly known as the long rains because it brings the highest annual rainfall turned disastrous claiming hundreds of lives, displaced thousands, and destroyed vital infrastructure. Across our landscape, rivers broke their banks flooding low-lying homesteads. This isolated communities, cutting off access to food and markets. Infrastructure across the region was severely damaged. The rains potentially influenced by El Niño-induced ocean warming, led to the closure of schools, and the destruction of health centers. Closer to home, SORALO’s ranger bases experienced flooding and building destruction posing obstacles to daily conservation operations.
Well wishers delivering food supplies via helicopter to the communities cutoff by the floods
We sought support from the Lion Recovery Fund to address these challenges and enhance their conservation efforts. Specifically, the funds were to directly support conservation activities and to invite additional support for community-related initiatives.
Yet, amidst these trials, our communities displayed unwavering courage and resilience, confronting adversity with remarkable strength. Patterson Secondary School stands as a testament to this resolve. After delivering food supplies to the school, this is what they had to say:
“The floods interrupted learning, cutting us off from the markets. We had planned to close school and were it not for SORALO the students would not have resumed their studies. We are very grateful to SORALO for standing with us at our time of need,” Mr. Gonza, teacher at Patterson Secondary.
Nelson, Lale’enok Camp Manager offloading food supplies
We would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude to all our partners and collaborators who heeded our call for support. Your help ensured that our field teams played a crucial role of evacuating those stranded by floodwaters and repairing impassable roads. They also distributed emergency provisions to inaccessible areas. At SORALO we emphasize community conservation deeply rooted in supporting people through challenges and successes. We believe in prioritizing community needs, not just for wildlife protection but also for community resilience and strength.
While the County government responded swiftly to the emergency, additional assistance was needed. Still, a lot more needs to be done. Our mission is to rebuild the health clinics, ranger bases, and field stations, while equipping our rangers with flood management and response training. We also aim to create new job opportunities for communities striving to get back on their feet. Our goal is to secure an additional $200,000 to sustain these efforts over the next 12 months. Therefore, we appeal to our friends and supporters to join us in this very important work.
