Sakardala borehole is used by Grevy’s zebra to access water that has spilled over from the storage tank. GZT has employed a water monitor here to dig and maintain a pool for this spill-over water so the zebra can benefit from it. However, when grazing distribution changed, the Grevy’s zebra stopped visiting this pool so we stopped monitoring it. The water monitor decided to fill it in as he was no longer employed. When our Laisamis regional coordinator, Joshua, visited this area, he asked the monitor why he had destroyed the pool, as the Grevy’s zebra and other wildlife might come back to use it at some point and then GZT would start monitoring again. The man replied that as he was no longer employed, he didn’t see why the pool should be there. At that moment, some school children from Mercy Primary, where GZT conducts outreach programs, walked past and overheard the conversation.
Children in the Grevy’s zebra education session in Laisamis (c) Grevy’s Zebra Trust
One small boy of about 12 years old came up to Joshua and said, “If he doesn’t want to do it, my friend and I will volunteer to work on the pan on Saturdays”. Joshua asked the boy which class he was in at school, to which he replied he was in standard 6. Joshua then asked him why he wanted to help. The boy replied that he had learnt about Grevy’s zebra and other wildlife when GZT came to their school. Joshua said to him “But you are in standard 6 and we don’t visit the standard 6 classes”, to which the boy answered, “I was one of the boys who was standing outside and listening through the window”. After listening to this conversation, the attendant said he would dig the pool for the Grevy’s zebra, and make sure that wildlife could access water if needed.
