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 2002 Seminar in Nairobi

Global Partners in East Africa

Richard Peterson, Environmental Studies, University of New England, formerly of Antioch College

Fax: 1-207-294-5956

Building Collaborative Research Relationships With Colleagues at East African Universities

Introduction

Together with my wife and two boys, I recently spent a very full and productive four weeks in Kenya funded by a GPP Travel Grant. Travel advisories notwithstanding, this was an especially heady time to be in Kenya. Most all the people we met with were very enthusiastic and hopeful about the new government elected in December of 2002. Many felt that President Kibaki is making a sincere effort to clean up corruption and to liberalize various government institutions, notably the universities. A strong indication of this came during the first week of our stay when the headlines announced that the president would no longer be the chancellor of Kenya’s six universities and that Kibaki had appointed six independent chancellors to be in charge. Many felt this would help free the universities from political patronage and yield them a greater voice in the democratic process. Other positive indications included the fact that those once imprisoned for their dissent, such as the environmentalist Wangari Maathai, are now serving in major government posts, in this case, as Assistant Minister of the Environment. Other Kenyans in exile during the past two administrations such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ali Mazrui have been called back as advisors to the Ministry of Culture, and in Mazrui’s case, as a university chancellor. Although many challenges remain, things are looking up and there is growing sense of optimism that Kenya can fulfill a lot more of its great potential.

Trip Objectives
My trip had the following objectives:

• to continue to develop collaboration begun in 2000 with colleagues in the Department of Environmental Studies and others at Maseno University
• to explore the needs and opportunities for conducting collaborative research with Maseno colleagues on community-based environmental management
• to establish contacts with various individuals and NGOs working on environment/development issues in the area
• to contribute to the academic culture at Maseno by giving guest lectures and/or visiting classes
• to explore the possibilities of future longer-term work at Maseno through the Fulbright Scholarship Program

Continue Developing Collaboration with Maseno Colleagues We were warmly received by our hosts at Maseno–Dr. Monica Ayieko, Director of the Institute of Gender and Undergraduate Studies; Dr. Barack Owuor, Director of International Relations and Interlink; Dr. Raphael Kapiyo, Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies (DES); and Professor Philip Aduma, Director of the School of Public Health and Community Development (ESPUDEC)–who were very enthusiastic about our being on campus and about the possibilities for establishing new, and strengthening existing, linkages with U.S. based institutions. I later met with VC Frederick Onyango on my way out, briefing him on my activities and presenting him with three boxes of books donated by colleagues at UNE for the Maseno libraries.

Our schedule was full exploring opportunities for collaboration both within and outside of Maseno University. In general the university is very eager to establish international linkages in any number of fields, although the VC emphasized that such collaborations should involve institution to institution linkage agreements. Hosting individual U.S. scholars who want to base their research at Maseno is not as desirable as full inter-institutional collaborations that lead to capacity building among Maseno staff. In that regard, I was able to confirm that the Maseno-Antioch linkage, initiated under and funded in part by GPP, has been officially approved and an MOU signed. Mr. Charles Nyambuga, a lecturer in the Department of Communications and Media Technology, will be the second visiting professor at Antioch in the spring of 2004. Two Antioch faculty will in turn visit Maseno in the summer of 2004. That linkage seems to be gathering steam with some exciting possibilities in store for expanded capacity building and at some point, for student exchanges as well.

I focused my work on deepening research collaboration with Drs. Ayieko, Kapiyo, and Owuor (see below), but I also met other lecturers in the DES and faculty from many other departments, including Professor Aduma. He and other faculty at ESPUDEC are very keen to establish collaborations with any GPP affiliated individuals and institutions with special interests and expertise in public health issues. It is a young school (currently training its first class of 34 students) with programs that hold great relevance for the critical health and development issues confronting the area, particularly HIV Aids. Collaborative work could be instrumental in its strengthening and direction.

To summarize, following are some suggested needs and opportunities for collaboration between Maseno and GPP affiliated individuals and institutions:

Although among GPP affiliated schools, Antioch has taken the lead, there may be needs other schools within the GPP network could fulfill. For example, Maseno is surrounded by outstanding geologic formations that may be of interest to people in departments of geology and physical geography. One Maseno colleague asked if I knew of anyone that had experience in Medical Geology, a field I must admit I had not yet heard of. There is also a budding botany department in the process of developing a botanical garden, and the university owns two farms that help supply food for the cafeterias. Finally, Maseno has a strong hotel and hospitality management program that will soon be relocated to Kisumu housed at the newly acquired Hotel Royale, currently undergoing extensive renovations. The hotel will serve as a training center for students, equipping them to serve the economically vital tourism and conference-hosting sectors of Kenya’s economy.

Conducting Collaborative Research On Community-Based Environmental Management As mentioned, much of my time was focused on this goal. Maseno lies within the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB), one of the prime target areas for improved environmental management. Although a plethora of both government and non-governmental projects are currently working to address the area’s environmental challenges, the needs for both more and better information, and for community-based actions to enhance environmental sustainability remain overwhelming. My colleagues and I identified one component of this broad area of work that merits greater attention, namely assessing different models for forest conservation, as forests serve critical ecosystem functions that affect the overall health of the LVB. We also share a vital interest in the applications of indigenous ecological knowledge to environmental management and in conducting research using a community participatory approach that goes beyond knowledge generation to incorporate actions toward change. Building on these common orientations, we have produced a joint research proposal involving UNE, Maseno University, and the National Museums of Kenya that we have begun submitting for external review and will distribute to funding organizations this fall.

Connecting with NGOs Working On Environment/Development Issues In The Area I also spent quite a bit of time making contacts with various NGOs and CBOs involved in environment and development issues in Nyanza Province. In Kisumu, I was hosted by a friend who works for CDC and so met quite a number of people involved in health related research, including projects on HIV Aids and malaria. Meeting with International Center for Research on Agroforestry (ICRAF) personnel was especially helpful for gaining a sense of the different types of agroforestry research and project work taking place in Kakamega and around Lake Victoria. While in Nairobi, I also met with Dr. Jason Mwenda, Principal Research Scientist at the Institute for Primate Research (IPR). IPR could serve as an excellent liaison for anyone in GPP interested in doing research on primates, conservation, and health related issues.

Many of you know Humphrey Webuye, who has been so instrumental in furthering the GPP from the University of Nairobi end. The day after we arrived in Kenya, Humphrey had us over to his house for supper and it was especially nice to meet his family. Humphrey is still doing a lot of work on HIV-Aids, currently beginning a project to diffuse Aids awareness programs into the non-formal community-based school system that has blossomed in Kenya as more parents have found it hard to pay for their children’s primary schooling. Under the new government, primary school is once again free, but many parents still cannot afford other school fees such as uniforms, textbooks, and supplies. One of the specific needs Humphrey asked me to relay to the GPP network is a good information source on scholarship opportunities for University of Nairobi students to do post-graduate work at American universities. Humphrey mentioned that his office receives timely information on British scholarships but that he has had a hard time finding good information on U.S. scholarships that he can use to advise his UNB students. I plan to put him in contact with a colleague who is a librarian at the University of Wisconsin, but if others know of such sources of information, they should pass them along to Humprhey.

Back in Kisumu I was able to meet with Mr. Greg Umaya and Mr. Philip Makutsa, Program Managers for CARE-Kisumu. Our meeting was very informative and CARE is very interested in cooperating more with researchers in order to base their interventions on sound studies and scientific information. One of the most inspiring organizations I met with is CCFMC, a cooperative program of three Franciscan communities, two of which are locally based. Coordinated by Sister Irene Akumba, CCFMC is making a difference with a host of programs including working on issues of HIV Aids. Nyanza Province has one of the highest HIV infection rates in East Africa. CCFMC’s HIV program includes projects on training people to give home-based care to HIV patients; a Youth Behavior Change Project geared toward kids in Forms 4-8 and toward school leavers age 15-35; an Orphans’ Welfare Project that helps family members care for orphans at home rather than have to send them to an orphanage; and a Vocational Training Project that trains orphans in a variety of skills including welding, mechanics, carpentry, hair-dressing, and tailoring so that they can have a means to support themselves and their younger brothers and sisters and so maintain the integrity of the household. Another very interesting program experiencing a lot of growth is CCFMC’s micro-finance project known as CENT-SACCO, directed by Mr. George Misore. The program works on a community-based model organized around already established women’s groups in four districts in Nyanza Province. I am seeking contacts with organizations here who might be interested in providing CENT-SACCO with some logistical support and equipment, such as a new computer and motorcycles for credit officers to be able to visit and lend support to each of the community banks organized around Kisumu. Tied in with the micro finance project, CCFMC has started a variety of micro enterprise projects so that money loaned can go towards viable income generation that can be sustained over the long term. Projects include bee-keeping to produce high quality honey; raising dairy goats and improved poultry; working with Aprotech, a Kenyan appropriate technology development firm, to purchase their small foot-powered irrigation pumps that can raise field productivity immensely; potable water rehabilitation projects; and propagation of the fast-growing Neem Tree (known in Swahili as "mwarobaini", which comes from its claimed forty different uses; arobaini means forty in Swahili).

CCFMC would be an ideal organization for students from GPP-affiliated schools and from Maseno to link with in terms of co-ops and internships. All the project officers I spoke with mentioned that having volunteers, even at the student level, would be very helpful. Perhaps within the GPP network of schools, we could also organize various fundraising activities to help supply CCFMC with various needs such as a computer, water pump, rural electrification, etc. I found the day I spent with them to be truly inspirational!

Giving Guest Lectures and Visiting Classes/ Exploring Fulbright Possibilities

I gave a public lecture as part of the regular Thursday afternoon seminar series at Maseno’s Institute of Research and Post-Graduate Studies (IRPS). My talk entitled "Looking to the Side: Lessons for Sustainability from Congo’s Forest Peoples" was attended by about 15 people. Most were graduate students but several faculty also attended, including Professor Bethuel Ogot, Director of IRPS and newly appointed Chancellor of Moi University. The talk, based on my research on the application of IEK and indigenous ethical systems for conservation and environmental sustainability in Congo’s forested regions, was well-received and sparked some intriguing discussion. I found the questions and comments very insightful and gained additional perspectives that will enrich my own work. The seminar gave me a good indication of the caliber of classroom discussion and intellectual exchange that I can anticipate if I am able to return to teach and do research at Maseno as a Fulbright scholar. I will be applying to Fulbright for a research fellowship to return to Maseno for the 2005-06 academic year.

In closing, I want to thank Jo Ellen Parker, Matthew Horstman, and all those at GPP and GLCA who helped in making this extremely rewarding trip come to fruition. I would be very willing to share more of my experiences with GPP colleagues at future gatherings or symposiums, or via e-mail. Please feel free to contact me at rpeterson@une.edu.

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