By Jenna Daucunas, Development Database Associate
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Violet Matiru, an advisor on our East Africa Advisory Board, who was visiting the Boulder office from Kenya. Violet has worked with Global Greengrants Fund recommending grantees for over 16 years, and has a wealth of knowledge about the overall impact of our grants throughout the East African region.
During my conversation with Violet, she shared a number of fascinating stories about grants she had advised, as well as insight into the fact that each of these grants do not stand alone, but comprise part of a larger movement to protect people and planet.
Violet said that the most important thing about her work is, “growing a network of people who care.”
To make her point, Violet shared the story of a grant awarded to a group seeking to protect the Thogoto forest outside of Nairobi, and the way the locals have come together to protect this importance place.
The Thogoto forest is an area of land that has been almost completely deforested due to extensive logging, which started in the 1930s. Fortunately, a small portion of the forest has been preserved and indigenous trees remain. That portion of the forest also has fresh water springs, which provide clean water to the neighboring communities. Starting in 2011, local groups, using money from Global Greengrants, have been working to protect the area, and help provide a source of clean water to the community through the Karinde Water Project. Grant funds were also used to teach community members about the importance of the forest as a water source.
Thanks to continued education about how the forest contributes to the wellbeing of the people, the locals began to feel a connection to the land and develop a belief that the forest is theirs to protect. Youth volunteer groups were trained on the management of the water system and projects began to restore indigenous tree species.
In Thogoto, Violet has seen the development of a movement that went beyond the issue at hand, and has contributed to a growing awareness for locals of the connection between people and nature.
Recently, the Thogoto faced a new threat.
In early 2017 an anonymous logging company claimed they had been contracted to clear part of the forest. The community members, now united to protect the forest, have vowed that they would not let even an inch of the forest be destroyed and were able to stop any further logging in the area.
Many times it’s easy to focus on the specifics of individual projects our small grants help to fund. However, Violet stressed the importance of the long term impact our grantmaking model has initiated. The grant is only the beginning. Communities are then able to come together, beyond the scope of the project, and bring about real change.
Around the world, local people understand that we as humans must learn to live in harmony with the natural world, and that understanding and appreciation is the biggest win of all.