“These animals can pay for our medicines…”

One evening in March 2007 during a stakeholders meeting between community elders and Walking with Maasai supporters and friends, Peter Ole Nyarket, camp committee and Community Trust chairman addressed the gathering around a bonfire and said the following:

” We all know the problems we have with these wild animals – the elephants raid our maize plantations, the hyenas, leopards and wild dogs finish our goats and yet we have no benefit from them. They are ours, but the government will not allow us to kill them, we can also not sell them like cows, but they are still ours and if we are clever enough, we should use them! These animals can pay for our medicines and they can provide a way for our children to go to school. If we can make the Olkoroi Camp work, it will help the community…”

Peter addressing the meeting

In 2009 the much-needed and long-awaited mobile clinic vehicle finally arrived in the community. Sponsored by Starfish Clinic Project International it was agreed that money generated through the Olkoroi Wilderness Camp will subsidise the cost of medicine to make it more affordable for community members to attend the clinic.

The mobile clinic visits 3 remote Maasai villages every week with our trained nurse and driver Florence and Daniel.

The mobile unit goes to the outer reaches of the community, fully stocked with meds, vaccinations and emergency equipment.

Florence and Daniel also visit the local schools and provides training on basic hygiene, HIV/Aids education and general healthcare. Read more about the Clinic project here: http://www.scpinternational.org/index.php/scpi/background/

Last year one of our guests at the camp made a very generous donation of £5000 towards the clinic project and plans are on the way to construct a desperately needed clinic building. But more about that later…

More great news is that the Olkoroi Wilderness Camp recently hosted a whole group of doctors and medical volunteers who came to assist the community with health checks and dental care. We are very grateful to Kim de Wit and her amazing team from the States who provided their services free of charge to the community. In July, over a period of two days more that 700 community members received expert health checks and dental care!