A big part of any organisation is its ability to change and be flexible; LWF is no different. For 24 years, LWF has gone through a number of changes that helped it grow and respond to its membership, opportunities and demands.
More recently, and for the last 8 years, LWF has enjoyed the generosity of US and Dutch tax-payers who supported our Mission: “To conserve Laikipia’s wildlife and ecosystem integrity and improve the lives of its people”, and programmes in Laikipia.
This present level of funding comes to an end in June 2016. With the end of this funding comes the departure of staff members whose positions were dependent on donor support.
The end of June also comes with celebration of our accomplishments. These were achieved, in no small part, by the dedication of these same staff.
Because of their efforts, we can celebrate the formation and support to:
- 29 Water Resource User Groups
- 13 Community Forest Associations
- 53 Community Enterprise Groups
- 12 Community Fence Management Teams
- 13 Grazing Teams
- 4 Holistic Management Committees
- 100 School Groups assisted every year in conservation education
We extend a heartfelt vote of thanks to the unit directors, field personnel, programme personnel, and support staff that made work with this many groups possible.
We also thank the communities and partnerships that supported this success.
LWF is not going away. We return to our roots. We will remain a FORUM – a place where people can meet to exchange ideas and to fashion solutions to natural resource problems in Laikipia and the Ewaso basin.
We will continue to address our common Laikipia issues of wildlife, rangeland health, and water resources.
We will work harder to listen to the many voices of our membership and work to strengthen their institutions.
You will see us emerge stronger and more capable of supporting your neighbourhood priorities. You will find us better able to serve you to connect your livelihoods with conservation of our natural resources.
Join us in honouring the contributions of these departing LWF staff
More than 15 years!
Josephat Musyima – Director of Programmes – 19 years of service
Josephat started work with LWF in 1997 and was hired by Gilfred Powys to serve the early needs of the Forum when zebras were being harvested in Laikipia. He served in various LWF roles including Programmes Coordinator and acting Executive Director, until promoted to Director of Programmes in 2015.
David Masere – Senior Community Liaison Officer – 17 years of service
More than 10 years
Martin Kahindi – Assistant Education Officer – 13 years of service
More than 5 years
Dorothy Katungwa – Office Manager – 7 years of service
0-5 Years
- Jackson Njari – Conservation Education Officer and LWF Education Bus Driver of service
- David Silanke – CLO Ewaso Ngiro Unit
- Moses Mbarlai – CLO Central Unit
- Wilson Remoi – CLO Northern Unit
- Ochen Maiyani – Eastern Unit
- David Mutaru – CLO HEC Fences Maintenance
- James Thiong’o – CLO Western Unit
- Ibrahim Lesian – CLO Northern Unit
- Mejooli Wilfred Lesit – CLO Rangelands
- David Ewan Lesowopir – CLO Rangelands/ former Desert Edge extension agent
- Ann Wangari – Office Cleaner
- Sakina Wanja – Security and Office Assistant
- Grace Wanjiku – Receptionist and Membership Administrator
- Gilbert Momanyi – Strategic Planning and Evaluation
You can continue to find membership guidance and support from these LWF staff remaining:
- Rosemary Oyugi – Head of Finance and Administration
- Eunice Wangari – Accounts
- James Mwangi – Mt. Kenya-Ewaso Water Partnership Officer
- Virginia Wahome – Wildlife Conservation Programme Officer and CWCCC Chair
- Joan Wandegi – Communications
- Gabriel Maina – Grounds Keeper
- Matthew Chana – Rangelands Specialist
- Moses Cheruyiot Kipchirchir – Transport Management and Driver
- Margaret Wambua – M&E Specialist
- Peter Hetz – Executive Director
To find out more about LWF and its future, please stay tuned to the next Forum Focus, or:
Visit us on our website at www.laikipia.org, or
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or
Visit our offices behind the ASK Showground, along the Likii River.
This is not an achievement by any stretch of the imagination. This is a story of collapse of an important organisation. What is this ‘roots’ that LWF is going ‘back’ to? Where has the forum been all this time? One of the key duties of the executive director is a to raise funds for the forum, so the same officer should not try to portray this “change” as a “going forward”, if it has been precipitated by his inability to raise the resources he promised to raise when he took office. Is LWF going “forward” or “back” to it’s roots? We need some clarity because both cannot be true
at the same time.
Very true, this can never be going forward. The executive director has failed terribly. The most confused I have met in my working career. This guy should just pack his bags and go back to the US. We can handle conservation of our natural resources.
I would call this lack of strategy and confused leadership. The executive director has been using LWF as an experimental pond to tryout his vague ideas. His alternative to fundraising has been business model which failed terribly through membership drive. Recently, the executive director employed CLO some of whom left jobs elsewhere to join LWF. They are now jobless; do we call this going forward? I wish to make this statement as a former employee of LWF. Peter Hetz the current executive director has nothing new to offer in Laikipia conservation and I can only smell a white man’s game, the usual trends in conservation…..
I decided to leave Laikipia Wildlife Forum when I realized that this guy was just a mixture of personal interest and confusion. I support you Sammy that this is the most confused leader or manager I have ever come across!!
For any organization to be a High Performing Organization, it must have the ability to MAINTAIN,
1. High quality management (quality leadership)
2. Openness and action orientation (transparency)
3. Long-term orientation (relational & financial sustainability)
4. Continuous improvement and renewal (creativity)
5. High quality employees (strong workforce)
Unfortunately, the above have not been realized (at least in the recent past) and hence these “changes”. I strongly recommend the management to visit the HPO Centre if LWF is to regain its lost glory.
I agree. It is taking the Forum backwards not forwards. Very disappointing
I put up my comments earlier on LWF facebook page but for some teason someone decided to pull it down. I repeat the same here again though not word for word. What does “emerging stronger” mean? Why has’t LWF been stronger since its leadership was changed in Dec 2014? My take is that this is because of poor leadership who purport to know it all with little or no regard to LWF’s history. How else can you explain LWF losing through resignations and retrenchment several brilliant brains? What did its leadership do about new fund raising knowing pretty well that USAID’s and EKN’s was coming to an end? I thank both donors for their support.