Nomad issue #23

EVENTS
SEGERA RETREAT
UNVEILS ALL-FEMALE
ANTI-POACHING UNIT
Joe Wahome
Pictures: Joe Wahome, Taran Gehlot
On 21st September 2019, Segera Retreat
witnessed a colourful passing-out parade of
12 ladies from the surrounding communities
who had been training for the past six
months to be East and Central Africa’s first
all-female anti-poaching and conservation
ranger unit. The women who are all mothers,
some with little education, form the first unit
of its kind in this region after the success
stories of the Black Mambas and Akashinga
Rangers in Southern Africa. The ceremony
was graced by, among others, Tourism and
Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Najib Balala, the
founder of Segera and the Zeitz Foundation,
Jochen Zeitz, and the Segera community.
CS Balala thanked Jochen Zeitz and
the Zeitz Foundation for providing financial
support for the establishment of the unit and
said it was clear that women can protect the
environment just as well as men and all that
they need is support and opportunity.
“The training of the 12 female
rangers who we are about to see pass-out
today is a testament that women can also
thrive in this male dominated industry,” said
CS Balala at the occasion. “I challenge other
conservancies to emulate them so that more
women are recruited in such academies”
“Education, women empowerment,
community engagement and conservation
are some of the pillars of the Zeitz
Foundation and Segera. The Ranger
Initiative and Academy is just one example
of how we can create employment,
sustainable income as well as encourage
women empowerment,” said Mr Zeitz.
“In communities that have coexisted
with wildlife for generations, women
are natural custodians of the environment
and astute managers of resources due to
traditional responsibilities of providing for
their families,” he added.
The ladies underwent tough
training in different parts of the country and
demonstrated some of their acquired skills to
the audience. These included self-defense,
intelligence gathering, map reading,
tracking, communication, mission planning
and execution, first aid and community
outreach.
Virginia Senteiya, one of the
rangers, said that women should be given
equal opportunities with men and that the
unit has proven that conservation is no
longer a man’s world. She challenged the
head of security not to send the women
on joint patrols with their male colleagues
because both parties are equally well
trained.
Damaris Ngini, a mother of two
who dropped out of school in class two
thanked the Zeitz Foundation for giving
her the opportunity in spite of her modest
education background.
“I was doing menial jobs around
the Segera area and had no say in my
community because it is said that women are
only good at raising families and tending to
our livestock. I now have an opportunity to
give back to society and my kids will have a
chance at a better life,” Damaris said.
The confidence the ladies had
could not go unnoticed from the way they
presented themselves, spoke, did their drills
and handled the attention they were getting
from guests and family members.
“I saw the interview videos
way back in April and I can’t believe the
progression the ladies have made. They
were unsure, intimidated, some looked
outright scared but now they are confident,
can express themselves better and are ready
to mix it up with the male ranger team due
to the good training they got,” Jochen Zeitz
said.
Their trainer, Shane Sargeant, is
a former French Foreign Legion Paratrooper,
British Parachute Regiment, Special Forces
and 22 SAS member and has been training
rangers for 30 years. For this intense course
for the ladies, Shane was reliant on his
military background but also used yoga
and meditation which he has himself been
practising for 18 years. The selection process
lasted for 10 days and what he was looking
for was inner strength, self-discipline and an
ability to learn regardless of the educational
background.
A new chapter is slowly being
written in Laikipia’s conservation effort and
it is great to see that local women will be
playing a key and direct role unbridled by
cultural practices and traditions.
NOMAD MAGAZINE 2019 19