Borana Conservancy has welcomed a new team of women who will play a vital role in supporting our conservation efforts. We interviewed a few of these ladies for an insight into how and why they have decided to join Borana Conservancy. They join our staff as gate keepers, fence maintenance crews, radio operators and general security.
“My name is Joyce, I am 22 years old and I am from Ethi and my favourite animal is an elephant.”
Ethi is a village to the South of Borana Conservancy. A large number of employees on Borana Conservancy have family in Ethi village, Borana has a 95% local employment rate across the entire conservancy. Joyce found out about female ranger recruitment via an advert at the village centre.
“I wanted to become a ranger to protect wild animals from poachers. I like wild animals and Borana is a conservancy where I can share their environment.”
When asked what the hardest part of recruitment was, Joyce simply answered “ha!”. Joyce had been through the recruitment process for the Kenya Defence Force but is glad to now be a female ranger on Borana Conservancy.
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“My name is Elisabeth, I am 18 years old, I am from Ethi. I saw the advert for recruitment to become a female ranger when I was on my way to the market. My dream was to become a policewoman, now my dream is to become a ranger for Borana Conservancy, so that I can take care of the wild animals and serve the community of Ethi.”
“The most exciting part of my new job is my uniform, I have never had a uniform before, and I have a hat!”
When asked about the recruitment process Elisabeth seems to have taken it in her stride:
”I think the recruitment went well, I did not find the physical exercise challenging.”
The entirety of the security team on Borana are employed from surrounding communities.
The armed anti-poaching unit are registered as Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and provide support for local communities which are often too remote for fast response from the Kenyan Police. The KPRs on Borana Conservancy deal with anything from domestic violence to livestock theft.
These women have taken their first step to becoming fully fledged wildlife rangers on Borana Conservancy.