Fulbright-Hays Program is a United States federal grant that aims to enhance the capacity of U.S. educators in studying overseas in areas that focus on non-Western languages and area studies. The program is particularly targeted at topics that are relevant to the needs of the United States and promote a deeper understanding of other cultures and international affairs.
A story map (link below) provides an overview of the June to July 2023 six-week field seminar for twelve educators and two co-leaders: Dr. Richard Johnson and Mukila Maitha, Associate Professor, from the United States to Kenya and Uganda. The journey began and ended at O'Hare international airport with a connecting flight at Hamad International Airport in Qatar to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.
Please find next a link to a Story Map: Story Map (This is an interactive map. The buttons allow changes to the points of interest. To return to the original map, double click any of the buttons.)
Departure from O'Hare Airport
Arriving to O'Hare Airport
This program started in Fall 2022, continued in Spring 2023, and will conclude in Fall 2023 with projects presentations. Documentation ensures that information is organized, accessible, and up to date, facilitating knowledge transfer and collaboration among participants for maintaining a history of revisions and allows for improving potential oversea programs. Photographs shown below highlight a personal interest from the Fulbright agenda to reflect with Ivy Tech regional students.
Welcome and meeting with Kenyatta University faculty.
Grateful to Ms. Rita Kavashe, CEO Isuzu Motors East Africa Ltd., for sharing her amazing journey as a CEO. It was an honor to listen about her professional management pathway, her challenges, and her successes. Her inspirational stories as a CEO, as pioneer woman, and as mother are invaluable lessons. I am looking forward to reading her book.
Find next links to some interviews that tell more about her journey: Interview 1, Interview 2 , Interview 3 , Interview 4
Many thanks to Mr. James Nyandigisi, Geothermal Geologist at KenGen, for sharing his presentation about geothermal exploration and development in Kenya. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating over 60% of the electricity consumed in the country.
Mount Kenya is the second-highest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199 meters or 17,057 feet), Nelion (5,188 meters or 17,021 ft) and Point Lenana (4,985 meters or 16,355 ft). It is an ancient extinct volcano with a visual contrast and diversity of landscapes. Mount Kenya is also regarded as a holy mountain by all the Kikuyu and Meru communities living adjacent to it.
Lake Elmenteita is a soda lake in the Great Rift Valley. It is home to over 400 bird species including the famous flamingos and for that reason it’s a protected area to help conserve the birdlife on the lake plus the lake is listed as a UNESCO heritage site.
Many thanks to Mr. Daniel M. Kimondiu for his welcome and for sharing the Participatory Forest Management Plan 2021-2025
I am grateful to Ms. Julia Kamau, Head of Programs, Gender & Agroecology Markets Seed Savers Network, Kenya, for sharing these photos.
The Nairobi Botanical Garden is a project of Kenya’s National Museum that aims to display the country’s diverse vegetation. Many thanks to Dr. Veronicah Ngumbau, and Dr. Yuvenalis Mbuni, Senior Researchers Scientists at National Museums of Kenya, Botany Department.
Dr. Mordecai Ogada, Executive Director of Conservation Solutions Afrika, discussed the myths and lies advocated by the conservation industry discussed in Spring 2023. (Conservation industry myths and lies and Symposion Dürnstein 2022)
The Friends of Karura is a Community Forest Association who are dedicated to protecting for future generations the city’s largest green area, the Karura Forest Reserve. Located in the northern part of Nairobi city, Karura Forest is the largest of three main gazette forests in Nairobi.
Many thanks to Dr. Simon Onywere, Associate Professor, Dr. Miriam Osore, Dr. Rubai Mandela, and Edwin Wamukoya from the Department of Environmental Planning. Kenyatta University.
Sasini coffee is grown in the Central Highland of Kenya covering a total of 775 Hectares (1,915 acres) under coffee. Collectively, the plantations have a capacity to produce an average of 1200MT of coffee annually. The coffee plantations are specifically situated in Kiambu County near Nairobi and Nyeri on the foothills of Mount Kenya. Coffee comprising 90% is exported directly to overseas roasters and trade houses across Europe, Asia, and America.
Many thanks to Mr. Ochieng Ouko for sharing his presentation about the KALRO's Poultry Research Program.
Many thanks to Mr. Bornface Kirimi for sharing his notes of the permaculture setting at Nurisha Farm that would work in drylands to create jobs to youths and women of communities and enable them to be self-reliant.
The Kenyan government recognizes the need to involve fishers and other stakeholders to ensure better management of the lake fisheries resources. Collaborative management approach provides the opportunity to share responsibility for managing the fishery resources between the government and the community. Lake Naivasha has low fish species diversity; therefore, the fishery is based on introduced fish species that are not native to the lake. We learned about the role played by the community, successes, climate change challenges, and tribulations of the fishers regarding the management strategies.
Tharaka is one of the semi-arid lands with a high incidence of poverty and frequently suffers from low and erratic rainfall with a lack of basic amenities such as water, adequate schools, tarmac roads, and electricity. Many thanks to Dr. Marciano Mutiga, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology at Chuka University, for his tour lecture.
Many thanks to Ann Kyalo, School Principal.
Women and girls are among the most marginalized in Kenya, suffering illiteracy, extreme poverty, discrimination, and gender-based violence. Sexual education is widely non-existent, and female genital cutting, which has been illegal since 2011, remains a significant problem. Poverty, lack of education, tradition, and COVID disruption are the present root causes. Education is a path to alleviate poverty and a school like this one has proven the effectiveness of educating girls.
Traditional hives are preferred by many beekeepers because they are not coated with paint, unlike the modern hives. The indigenous trees that are mostly preferred for hives include mutithi, miruruku, mukau, muura, muthegejiu and murugunyu.
Many thanks to Sean Anderson, Edu Africa's Founder and Director, and Adrian Maarschalk, Operations Director.
Edu Africa's goal is for all students to experience holistic transformation during their time in Africa, and that they will become global agents of that change by providing faculty and their students access to experiential learning opportunities, high-caliber industry and academic professionals, and sustainable community initiatives.
Kamuthanga is the first fish farm in the region to receive the Eco Mark certification from the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO). Many thanks to Joseph Odhiambo, farm manager at Kamuthanga
Visiting diverse smallholder irrigation farmers who are using optimization of rainwater harvesting system design. These farmers are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. These effects are affecting food security in semi-arid areas in Kenya. Many thanks to Dr. Marciano Mutiga, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology at Chuka University, for his tour lecture.
Mangroves are a vital coastal ecosystem. Mangroves are essential for people who rely on the forests to build houses, furniture, boats, and to use as firewood.
Soysambu is 48,000 acres situated in Kenya’s central rift valley. Soysambu Conservancy was created in 2007 as an entity to conserve the flora, fauna and scenery of Soysambu Ranch. Its focus involves the protection of 12000 species and 48000 acres.
The Maasai populate vast areas of Southern areas of Kenya and are the dominant ethnic group surrounding the Maasai Mara. The warrior tribe retains many of their traditions as they live largely untouched by modern civilization.
Maasai Mara National Reserve is an area of preserved savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya, along the Tanzanian border. The landscape consists of grassy plains and rolling hills, and is crossed by the Mara and Talek rivers.
Many thanks to Mr. Spencer Omondi Obaka for sharing his professional photos from Maasai Mara. Its animals include lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, and hippos.
Nairobi National Park is located 5 miles (8 km) south of Nairobi. It was the first national park established in Kenya (1946), has an area of 45 square miles (117 square km). It consists of mammals, such as lions, gazelles, black rhinoceroses, giraffes, various species of antelope, and hundreds of species of birds.
Crater Lake is a small private sanctuary centered around a volcanic crater lake with over 170 bird species including the Greater and Lesser flamingos, little grebes, cape teal and ruff’s, Great white pelican, whiskered tern, Maribou, Grey and black headed heron, African fish eagle, yellow-billed storks, pied avocets, Egyptian geese. Also, Crater Lake has a variety of mammals like giraffes and zebras.
Fort Jesus was built and occupied for one century by the Portuguese. The fort changed hands many times throughout its history, coming under Arab, Swahili, and English control. Its important role in the control of trade also saw it host many of the peoples of the Indian Ocean basin.
Swahilipot is a hub built at the heart of Mombasa County. The mission is to empower the community through creative innovation considering arts and technology by empowering the youth to build sustainable projects for reducing the gaps in the community.
Kumbatia empowers its network of fishers by giving them the skills and resources required to produce traceable and sustainable seafood of world-class quality. Website
Small entrepreneurs contribute substantially to the economy in Mombasa. Public and private sector are helping empower women entrepreneurs in the county and by extension Kenya. I am so thankful to Ms. Hailey Mwanzia, Fashion Hailey Kollection Kenya, for creating a collection in a short time for our Fulbright group and for her kind collaboration to this project.
It is important to protect shorelines for sustainable planning utilization and management of the marine ecosystems in Mombasa.
We are grateful to Dr. Stephen Rwangyezi for hosting us at Ndere Cultural Center in Kampala.
Best of Uganda's traditional music at Ndere Cultural Centre 2022
Uganda is one of the few countries around the world where the Equator runs through it. Kayabwe in Mpigi is one of the best places to explore the Equator in Uganda.
TUNADO is a membership body that unites producers (60% women beekeepers), processors, packers, service providers (trainers, research, marketers, equipment manufactures etc.), development partners, government, and all other stakeholders towards apiculture development in Uganda.
Beekeeping is a source of income for women and youth. A beekeeping business is typically low investment and does not require much capital or land. Learning how and when to use adequate equipment is important to demystify beekeeping for women, so they may combine it with care responsibilities or other expected roles, especially in rural households.
Visiting a beekeepers’ co-op training center. Please find next a link to their successful story: Beekeepers’ co-op making some sweet money.
Uganda’s forest covers about 1.9 million hectares, which is 10% of land cover area. The forests comprise both natural and established plantations. The Mabira forest lies north of Lake Victoria. The reserve covers an area of 30,038 hectares.
The source of river Nile is in Jinja – eastern Uganda where the Nile starts its journey to Egypt from Lake Victoria.
Many thanks to Dr. Ludwig Siefert for sharing his insights about The Uganda Carnivore Program. This program is a multi-disciplinary organization, devoted to the research and conservation of Uganda’s large carnivores—lions, leopards, and hyenas.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is in the southwestern region of Uganda along the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The park covers an area of 764 square miles (1,978 sq km). The park stretches between Lake Edward in the south up to Lake George in the north with the two lakes being connected by the Kazinga Channel.
The Kazinga Channel is a 32 kilometers (20 mile) long freshwater channel that links Lake Edward to Lake George. The channel is home to a wide range of animals and birds, including one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos (around 2,000) and countless Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and over 100 species of water birds.
The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs. The basilica is located at Namugongo, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, in Central Uganda.
Many thanks to Dr. Maitha and Dr. Onywere for welcomed us in Kenya. Special mention to Rambolo Dance Troupe for the beautiful music and dancing at Kenyatta University.
