Maasai Mara Villages Covid-19 Food Aid

The Covid-19 virus has had a devastating affect on Maasai villages in a remote part of  the county of Narok,  in southern Kenya. It is part of the area that is home to the world famous Maasai Mara game reserve. Because of the lockdowns and curfews the schools are closed and with no tourism money and food  is running out .The villagers basic diet is maize, a bale of maize  (12 bags) costs £13 and will keep a village fed for a month ! The price of a takeaway!  I am hoping to raise money for the villages of Oleseke and Elitalesho in an area that I have visited many times  when I am on safari.  it’s a very remote area, 3 hours off-road drive to the nearest large town of Narok.  The  money would buy them maize and cooking oil.  The school closures is a heavy blow, they can’t do online learning like us, the children would usually eat at school but can’t do that so the parents have to supply the extra meals.  They could not social distance if they went back to school, the average class has 150 children!  Basic hand washing means collecting water from a communal tap. They don’t get furloughed like we do,  so basically it’s no work no money during the lockdown period.   My plan is to raise some money to send over to these amazing  people , in the hope they can eat and survive till the country opens up again. Hopefully it will last them a few months.   All the game parks are closed during the pandemic, which means no tourists, so without income and food there is the risk of poaching and bushmeat , this would place a threat on their world famous wildlife.  If that happens then they would be endangering something else too, tourism! Which is vital for Kenya.  It’s a viscous circle but we can help by making sure they can eat and at the same time protect the balance  between the Maasai people  and their wonderful wildlife. The money raised will be sent to Ken and Marie Culligan at Fisi Safari camp, in the Maasai Mara, they along with local Maasai villager  Mr. Ntimama Mpoe will buy the maize and cooking oil with the funds and distribute it to the villages. Thank you and stay safe