Corporate Social Responsibility: A KWS Perspective

Unlike the chicken which lays a single egg and creates a hullabaloo about it; Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) like the cod fish, has laid thousands of eggs and the public rarely hears, leave alone speak of the many Herculean achievements that the organisation has accomplished for the communities now and even in the past.

Rarely will the public be told that KWS has built a classroom, given some bursaries and helped communities establish micro-finance projects in their locality. But whenever a lion mauls a village, an elephant tramples a man, and a pride of cheetahs feast on a goat; the public's outcry is unbearable. Indeed the converse continues to pervade the public's conception.

While many of the concerns raised by the different quarters about the Kenya Wildlife Service in relation to the communities living adjacent to the National Parks and Game Reserves have continued to focus on the negative - like the two faced Greek goddess Janus - the flipside has been one full of surprises and shocks.

So far, through a provident kitty set up under the aegis of the Wildlife For Development Fund (WFD), the Kenya Wildlife Service has spent over Ksh. 150 million in supporting viable community projects around the country as part of its’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), programme.

The fund which has been ongoing since 1994 when the Government of Kenya, World Bank and the United States Aid for International Development (US-AID) set up a consolidated kitty to help communities living adjacent to National Parks and Game Reserves appreciate the value of wildlife while peacefully co-existing with them, saw the three partners contributing more than Ksh. 250 million towards the project.

The Wildlife For Development Fund, which has over the years been managed by the Community Wildlife Service of the Kenya Wildlife Service, has been instrumental in supporting a plethora of viable projects across the country. From Suba district in Nyanza province, to Amboseli in Rift Valley and Mwalunganje in the Coast, the fund has been instrumental in helping many families and households living in these areas.

Other than beefing up community wildlife service operations in areas where human wildlife interactions have continued to pose a major challenge, or even translocating excess wildlife to areas that have over the years experienced depletion of this resources; the Kenya Wildlife Service has also been instrumental in utilizing this project specific funds in helping the affected communities.

So far, Ksh. 7 million from the WDF kitty continue to grant bursaries to 7 community-group-ranches that form part of the Amboseli ecosystem, Suba and Homa Bay County council, not forgetting Ole Kajiado County Council.

The fund has also benefited Kinna Dispensary where houses for nurses were built at a cost of Ksh. 2 million, while in Tsavo area Ksh. 4.9 million has been used in building an administration block and 4 classrooms at Ngiluni and Vimbuvu locations.

Ilmeshuki primary school in Kilgoris, Olibor Ajajik Water pan in Kajiado, Ressio Primary school and Kapkechui cattle dip in Nandi not forgetting, Mkokoni Womens Boat Project in Lamu and Kuri Kuri primary school in Laikipia have benefited from this highly interactive KWS social responsibility project.

Indeed when the chicks come home to roost, no one will point an accusing finger to the Organization stating that it has ignored part of its mandate to the general populace, the organization cares not just for the country's wildlife heritage and the tourists who pay highly to cherish it, but also for the communities living adjacent to the National parks and Game Reserves.

Our focus as an organization is holistic and therein lies our motto of conserving and managing the country's wildlife scientifically, responsively and professionally. For without the support and collaboration with the communities and our stakeholders, KWS cannot achieve its mandate as espoused under the laws of the land.

Ends.

NB: For more details contact Senior Warden, Munira Anyonge, E-mail:community@kws.org