Jump to navigation. She started as a volunteer but rose to executive director and currently serves on the board of management. Under Ms. In addition, the area covers two water catchments that hold five rivers, providing water to more than one million people, including those in the city of Nairobi. As a beneficiary of the Conservation International program Women in Healthy Sustainable Societies, the organization also made great strides in empowering women in the communities where they work.
The relationship provides incentives for those upstream to implement sustainable practices, including less-intensive agriculture, tree planting and invasive plant removal.
CEPF: What keeps you motivated despite the fact that conservation work is difficult and often comes with setbacks. Leah: The biodiversity status in Kikuyu Escarpment Forest is improving. Employment within the organization as well as in other nature-based enterprises, like ecotourism which is highly practiced in the hotspot , is increasing. In addition, seeing the life-changing impacts among the community members makes me not see the setbacks, but rather the long-term goal. One day in the local market, I met with a woman who stopped to thank me for saving her the hustle and trouble of using firewood after we supported the installation of a biogas digester in her home.
I no longer have to wake up at a. I now wake up at a. My kitchen is smokeless; I was indeed a slave in my own kitchen. CEPF: What is your proudest professional achievement thus far? Leah: My proudest achievement is having been a lead person in seeing the growth of KENVO from a small community-based organization to a nonprofit organization that has not only changed the approach to conservation but has impacted life for the local community and proved that local communities have the capacity to address their own problems, they only need someone to hold their hands.
CEPF: What is your number one piece of advice for making a project a success? Leah: Do not work for the community, work with the community. Involve them throughout the project cycle and build their capacity to ensure sustainability.
