Working with local church in Mara to protect wildlife habitats

0:00I am Pastor Joseph Kirembe, full gospel churches of Kenya. I serve God here in Ngoswani, Maasai Mara, and our church is growing very fast and we are trying to bridge the gospel to all the Mase'i who are here and all the other tribes who are here. And the Lord is doing wonderful things to us, but because we are trying to preach even in the most remote areas like in Kew, there is a branch there called, there is another The place we are preaching now has a lot of difficulties, a lot of challenges, and we are experiencing a lot of challenges, especially because we are preaching, now we are preaching in the under trees, we have almost seven branches that we are conducting services under trees, So whenever it rains, those people cannot conduct a church service.

1:27We also have a challenge because the roads there are very challenging, very rough, sometimes even there are some places which have even difficulties in traveling, even a motorbike, It needs focals that are very, very strong, not like the one we have here. So we have challenges in accessing those places. Those are the challenges we have also in those remote areas. Sometimes it is very difficult or very challenging for them to come to the service because of lifestyle. So we are trying to convince, we are trying to teach them the word of God to understand.

2:20And therefore we have some very few people coming because of their lifestyle. But we are trying all the best to make sure that they are coming to Christ. Because there you have to send a person who is able to speak their language well for them to understand the gospel but our challenges is we are preaching under trees so they don't have churches they don't have sheds for them to for them to sit there even if it is a raining season evening it is a very hot season so we have those challenges. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So what do you think of Simon and Mercy's contribution to the church? They have contributed a lot. In a brand called Mua Sidai, although I know you know the name only moment, there you know you consecrate a church. So in that area we have a church that is built, that you build for us. So that was a very, that was a lot of contribution, you contributed to us. Also in here, here at Oswain, we have a battery that we are always using whenever we don't have electricity and that battery is contributing a lot to that tax. Also, there are some times, some years back, I think it was 2018, you contributed, through them, you contributed a laptop to that tax and it It is helping us in issues concerning recording, charting recordings, how to keep the records of the tech just been helping us there.

4:34So Simon is a very materialistic, or a very resourceful person in our town, in a brand called Zeon there in the mountain he contributed a lot in the construction of that church also even the instruments he himself purchased the instruments of that church the speaker the box speaker a mixer and the microphones and even wiring that's it so he contributed even in the constructions so they have been helping us a lot in our ministry. Thank you very much and what do you think of the environment protection and wildlife conservation? Wildlife conservation you know we have our conservators here at Olare and you know the Maasai are very good in conservation so the The challenges here is about wild animals, how to stay with wild animals.

5:46But our people are coming to understand on how to stay with wild animals. You know, even here, we have elephants here, they are not far. Even the other day they came here almost one, I think it is two weeks ago or one week ago, one and a half weeks. They are coming here by 1 a.m., they are disturbing, but our people are now experiencing that friendship. How to stay with wild animals and wild animals, there is a lot of challenges. But we are now building a relationship, or the relationship on how to stay with them.

6:30And we are now staying with them, the conservation is here. There is another conservancy or kinyay conservancy, there is a game is up there and the animals are even increasing in numbers because the Maasai people can now stay with them but also they have a lot of challenges because even those rangers if you can walk in any conservancy you can get them footing. They don't have enough or sufficient fioco for them, motorbikes for them.

7:11So they have also a lot of challenges. Most of them can be attacked even by those wild animals because they don't have fiocos, fiocos, they don't have motorbikes. So, but this conservation is a very nice thing to do. It is helping us. Even now, if you can go to that conservancy or Laro conservancy, Mara Lipoi, Kinyei, National, those are the places that you can get some good trees because of conservation, you can get some plants, because where there is people, the forest can be limited, they can cut trees, but where there is a conservation, it is becoming even.

7:56we are now getting rains because of those concentrations. So our conservatists are very nice and we thank God but they need a lot of interaction with the people like Yusimba for you to help them in some in on how to manage those challenges especially how they can get vehicles, how they can get motorcycles. So there are challenges here and there. Thank you very much, pastor.

8:36I strongly believe that the church also plays a very important role in protecting the environment and the wildlife species. with more wildlife species, more favorable environment and madside people, local community can also live in better life. So we are a one family to support the local community, to live in better life. And also we can protect our environment, our trees, our grasses and also wildlife species. Local community will be benefited from the better environment and from the tourism. And I want to thank, show my special thanks to you and your church to educate people, to be good, to be kind, and to pay much more attention to protecting the environment and wildlife species. So over the past 15 years we have donated five vehicles, 26 motorcycles to Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies.

9:48We also built 16 line-proof bombers for feminists, around the Maasai feminists, around the Okiya Conservancies to reduce human wildlife conflicts. And we also supported six schools around this area, Muswani. And our mission is to work closely with the church and the communities to protect the environment and wildlife species which can benefit Maasai people in return. Thank you very much. Thank you very much Simba. We are, our church works in that. You are a witness of it. We always said you okay people around to conserve the environment, how to plant the trees and you can see now even individuals, even individuals in our church. Most of them are now planting trees they are conserving. Some of them are working very closely with the people in the conservancies and in the game itself. So our church plays a big role in that in educating people on how to conserve the environment and also on how to stay with those animals, not to harm them because the more you harm them the more they can be wild. So we are doing that, our church is playing that role and we thank God for that. We also thank you because of that relationship. You have been a friend to us, you have been helping our church and we expect more from you and also from my visitors. From your visitors. You know there was one day we wrote a recommendation to you for you to assist us in building this church. You know this church it's now very small. People have very many proposal. We wrote a proposal and we sent it to you because even as you can fellowship with us here our church is becoming too small and now people have realized that it's a very good place for education, spiritual nourishment.

12:23So we are expecting much that God can help you and this God help you to have those guests may God give you that spirit of also helping the church as you help the community and conservations. Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you very much. We'll try our best to support the church and support the communities and support wildlife conservation in Mara. Thank you very much. and Seymour would you like to see a few words? Thank you very much for this opportunity, my friends, to thank you. It's also a good relationship because you came to Maasai Mara to educate our people on how to preserve and also to be together with the world, with the nature also together.

13:23And it is a big promotion. It is a big change which is coming on now in our community. And the other good thing is working with the Church, because as you see the Church, it just prevents somebody from doing bad things, not killing. very important. Don't do any crime, any criminality, just be kind and be good. So if we work together like that and we educate the people, they will have this understanding more even than outside, outside the church.

14:07So it is a big change. And as you, as you came with the slogan that in order to protect the wild animals, you have to protect the community itself. Then the community will understand and they will join you and join to protect the wild and the nature themselves and this work will be easier. So I just say all over the world I can call upon everybody to come and join us together, join the hearts to promote the nature with the well animals also with the community thank you Simon Masago has been based in Muswani for many many years and he made a huge contribution to the local communities here because of him I I knew Pastor Joseph we become one family and we do good things together. We make contributions to the local communities and the wildlife conservation by working together. So I'm really grateful to Pastor Joseph and Simon Masago and his wife, Mercy Masago, for what you have done to educate people here and provide the spiritual services to the Maasai people, to make them be good, be kind and be grateful to the good things. Thank you very much. That's all for the radio program, Simba Adventure in Africa. Thank you very much. Thank you, and surely.