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WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS FROM JOSHUAH OWAGO ODHIAMBO – A KENYAN NATIONAL FROM A VILLAGE OF MUD HUTS, NOW STUDYING FOR A PhD IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IN CHINA.

ON COMPLETION OF HIS PhD HE WILL RETURN TO KENYA TO HELP HIS PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR COUNTRY, FIGHT DISEASE, ERADICATE POVERTY, SPREAD EDUCATION, AND BUILD A SUSTAINABLE AND ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY.

 

The photo below is of the headmasters office in Joshuah's primary school in which he received his early education.

 

 

Joshuah wrote the letters below in response to our request for information about the PhD he is currently studying, his early background, and his dreams of creating a school for the poor and AIDS orphans. We have let him speak to you in his own words.

At the end of this document we have included the story of how Joshuah and Leo came to meet and what Joshuah has already achieved over the 17 years since then.

 

Joshuah's letter about his dream for his people

My desire is to serve as an example in my own village where many poor youngsters believe the poor can’t reach that far in Education.  
 
My belief is that, the best empowerment one can get in life is education.  Every child needs to be able to go to school if they are to have any chance of brighter future.  My understanding of a brighter future is life better than one’s parents lived.  Research has shown that a mother with education however little, brings up her children in a better way, especially hygienically.  

In my village, there are many illiterate mothers who can’t even follow a doctor’s prescription and cannot follow basic hygiene rules. So, we have lived with high child mortality and communicable diseases are always with us. 
 
A school is a place that gives vital literacy and numeracy as well as social skills.  For orphans whose numbers are on the increase due to the HIV scourge, the school provides them with a feeling of belonging to society as a whole.  Sadly, because they are living with poor grandparents or extended families, many orphans cannot afford to attend school.  Those children who are themselves heading up a family of younger siblings are even more vulnerable to dropping out of school.
 
With my PhD degree, I will be a good example and role model for many who might have thought it was impossible to make it to that level if one is from a poor family (already I have seen this bearing fruits since there are those who have confessed to me that I inspired them to work harder at school). 

Of course the PhD may earn me a good job, which goes all the way to changing the lives of many. For the few times I have been in employment, I have helped some people with fees, books, clothes and some educational materials I could afford.  

Needless to mention that before I got my diploma, my siblings couldn't’t afford schools fees. My sisters would drop out of primary school for lack of school uniform.  Since 2000, I have seen 2 sisters through high school and one step brother is completing his high school education next year.  Also, I took care of some orphans not related to me and have been giving handouts to orphans in the village.  I don’t mind dying poorer than the society expects of me given my education, if tens can have a brighter future.
 
As always, I am still hopeful that one day I’ll be able to found and manage a school that caters for the poor only.  I would like it to be such that, if I find anybody willing to assist a poor child by paying for his/her education, they do it to those enrolled at the school.  It is an elephant dream but nothing is impossible, especially with good friends like you.

 

Joshuah's PhD

In reply to your email message on the subject above, please find here below the abstract of my proposed study in Kenya. I hope the abstract provides brief but adequate information on the proposed study. However, should there be need for further clarification, please let me know.

Thank you for your continued support.

The picture below is a typical classroom scene in Joshuah's old primary school. Very few students even get to high school and studying for a PhD is almost unheard of.

 

 

Joshuah's PhD title

"SOURCES AND LEVELS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING PESTICIDES IN WILD TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS AND BIRDS FROM MERU NATIONAL PARK, KENYA"

Estimated Budget: Kshs. 1,590,280 (approximately £8356 $11,693)

Estimated Duration:16 months

 

Objectives:

(i) To identify the endocrine disrupting pesticides that are widely used in the areas around the park and in the basins of the rivers that drain through Meru National park.

(ii) To identify the pest control operations and pest handling activities in the areas around the park and in the river basins that could be risking the lives of wildlife downstream.

(iii) To establish the awareness of the farmers, pest control operators, pesticide dealers, and the communities living around the park and in the basins of the park rivers of the dangers posed by pesticides to wildlife.

(iv) To determine the concentrations of selected endocrine disrupting pesticides in sampled mammals and birds from Meru National Park, and to examine the trends of pesticide residues in both the rivers and animal tissues over a one year period (2008-2009) of the monitoring programme, for both the dry (January –Feb and July-August 2008) and rainy seasons (April/May and October-Nov)

 

Abstract

Kenya has a unique and economically valuable wildlife resource, which is spectacular in both variety and abundance. Wildlife accounts for 70 percent of tourist arrivals and has kept earnings from tourism high over the years.

Despite these contributions animal counts have revealed a steep decline in wildlife populations in parks and adjacent ecosystems in the last three decades. Poaching alone cannot account for the losses, given the excellent security provided by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Common explanation given is large-scale habitat changes caused by disruption of wildlife movements, range fragmentation and ecological segregation of large- scale interactions among wildlife and pastoral activities across Savanna ecosystems.

However, the effect of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on terrestrial mammals and birds in Kenyan parks remain largely un-investigated, despite increasing evidence that these chemicals can lead to the loss of wildlife populations without society knowing what is happening.

A number of chemicals used in agricultural products have been found to affect the endocrine system and lead to an increase in birth defects, sexual abnormalities, and reproductive failure. This study aims at establishing the sources of, and determining the concentrations of, endocrine disrupting pesticides in both the mammals and birds and in the drinking water for the animals so that further action may be taken if found to be necessary.

About forty (40) birds and one hundred mammals, occupying the various trophic positions will be sampled for the study. Using gas chromatography (GC), blood, and/or tissue samples will be analysed for some pre-identified endocrine disrupting pesticides that are commonly used in the environments interacting with the park, and for pesticides that are known to be persistent in the environment.

Water samples from different sections of some of the 14 major rivers draining through the park will also be analysed for the same. A community-based survey will be conducted to identify the pesticides used in the drainage basins of the major rivers of the park and to identify the pest control operations that could be exposing wildlife to pesticides.

The results of this study will be compared with the findings in literature and may be used to evaluate the wildlife risk with regard to wildlife exposure to pesticides in the park. Users of pesticides will be given guidelines on safe application of pesticide to minimize non-target poisoning of wildlife.

 

My requirements

The most crucial are the laboratory chemicals, which will consume half of the budget. Also expensive is my two round tickets to Kenya from China, which will consume about 2,000 USD. The rest of the budget goes into local transport and accommodation for game park officers (who must be involved) and my own subsistence.

 

 

How Joshuah and Leo met

In Leo's words

Back in 1991 I was en-route with some friends to Mombassa in a taxi and found myself in conversation with a young Kenyan named Joshuah Owago Odhiambo. At the end of the journey the taxi driver tried to extort more money than we had agreed and a fairly heated discussion ensued,

Fortunately Joshuah intervened on our behalf and the taxi driver relented. Joshuah asked me if I would give him my address so we could become pen-pals. Thinking that no harm could come of it and that I would be unlikely to hear from him, I agreed.

Seventeen years later we are still in regular contact. Our relationship began with my teaching him written English via letters we exchanged. Eventually I began sending occasional cheques to help support Joshuah through the last stages of his teaching diploma.

My thinking was, and is, that by helping one person directly I would do more good than giving my money to charities, and that this one person would benefit the lives of everyone he came into contact with. So my money would ultimately benefit many, many people.

He went on to get a job as a teacher and I learned of his dream of creating a school for Aids orphans, who abound in Kenya. He made his way to Kenyatta University, where I sponsored him to complete a Masters Degree in Environmental Science. He has worked in this profession since and is passionate about bringing health education to his fellow Kenyans.

In 2006 he managed to get accepted for a PhD in Wuhan University, China. He is struggling against almost overwhelming odds to gain this qualification in a foreign country with almost no money. He has had to leave his wife and two children in Kenya while he devotes his time to study.

Joshuah comes from a small rural village where having a tin roof on a mud hut is a status symbol. It is very rare that someone with his background could even get into higher education, let alone gain a PhD. The journey he has made, and the sheer persistence and determination he has shown to succeed against all the odds, inspires me immensely. And this is why I continue to do what I can to support him.

Unfortunately, I cannot fund Joshuah entirely from my own financial resources. But if everyone who reads this gave only a little, or forwarded his story to someone with money and heart who could help, then we could together help him gain this qualification. In turn this would mean he can help many people in his country. The beneficial knock on effect that his work could have on the lives of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Kenyans is incalculable.

Many members of Joshuah’s family have died of Aids and his own small village has been decimated by the disease. He has done his best to educate his fellow citizens about the simple precautions they can take to safeguard themselves but superstition is rife.

When he gains his PhD he will be able to bring greater influence to bear on the political and commercial forces that influence the environmental and health policies in Kenya. What he will achieve I do not know. But I do know that anyone who can take themselves from a village of mud huts to study for a PhD in China is worthy of our attention and our support. Who knows, maybe one day he will become prime minister of Kenya? Maybe that seems far-fetched but so does the journey he has already made...

 

How Joshuah has already helped build one school

Around 1997, while studying for Master's degree in Nairobi I joined an association of people from my rural area working in the city.  The association's main activity was helping bereaved members with funeral expenses, mainly transportation of bodies to rural homes for burial. Most of the members were people we grew up with, went to similar schools and shared great, great grandparents.
 
In the membership were people considered to be the 'top cream' of our poor rural area.  Although majority of them had no reliable incomes, the fact that most of them had gone through high school was what attracted me.  I wanted to mobilize them for the promotion of education and general progress in the rurals.
 
When I joined I made my visions clear to the members.  Luckily, one of the objectives of the association had something to do with collaborating with the rural communities in matters related to development. However, this objective had remained largely unaddressed (unachieved) because there was no will and it was looking unrealistic.
 
In one of the meetings I suggested and it was adopted, that members would contribute some money for purchasing of gifts to be awarded to best performers in primary school certificate examinations.  We immediately organised a prize giving day, which saw the association travel home to grace the occasion.  Here, they came face to face with the problems facing the schools: poor buildings, shortage of teaching/learning materials, school pregnancies.  Also striking was the fact so many pupils were not attending schools because of lack of school levies.
 
Back in Nairobi, members agreed what they could.  The first task was to fund raise for the renovation of the schools (6 schools), all of which had mud walls. We wanted the mud walls redone. It was looking an impossible task given that majority of us were unemployed.
 
Members were grouped according to the schools closest to their rural homes.  They would then choose a coordinator and all play host during the fundraiser.  After balloting it was decided which school to be the first to be assisted.  My school came third and I was the coordinator.
 
By the end of 1999, we were through with the first school.  About 100,000 Kenya shillings (about 1000 pounds) was realised.  It was like a drop in the ocean, but some repairs were done at the school.  The second school realised 250,000 (2500 pounds).  
 
Our school's turn came in 2002.  We didn't expect much for our school given that our group was the smallest (only three of us).  Out of the three, only my cousin, Ben, had a job.
 
The fundraising exercise was more or less like begging.  It was difficult to convince those working that we could do much in the development of the schools or promotion of education.  In the course of the fundraising, my cousin approached a British friend who was conducting research at my cousin's place of work. 

The friend demanded proof that the school was as bad as my cousin's description had portrayed it.  When my cousin informed me of the development, we travelled to the school that weekend, took photos and showed the prospective donor.  He did not believe his eyes.
 
My cousin's friend pledged to donate Kshs 600,000 (6000 pounds), which he said was to be used on the construction of a permanent block for the youngest pupils.  We proceeded with the fundraiser, which realised 245,000 (2,400 pounds).
 
When Ben's tried to wire the money to the school's account from England, he learnt that some percentage of it would go as tax.  He then sought advice and later transferred the funds through a charitable organisation based in England, called Hope-HIV.  Later we came to learn that Hope-HIV was a fundraising organisation targeting HIV-AIDS orphans in the developing countries and that it had a project already in Kenya.
 
With the donation plus the raised funds, we embarked on the construction of a twin classroom block. However, before we could complete, the the donor accompanied by an official of Hope-HIV, visited the school.  The duo came face to face with real poverty.  The Hope-HIV indicated that they could assist but only if we could prove that HIV-AIDS would benefit. 

With my cousin we took the visitors around the village and they met many orphans under the care of desperately poor grandparents.  Some of them had dropped out of school because they were fending for themselves and siblings.  Others could not afford school uniform.
 
The officer asked us to submit a request to their organisation.  They took video and still photos. Hope-HIV has since assisted us build 13 classrooms and sunk a borehole for clean water supply.  We still hope that they will help us pull mains electricity from the nearest line, 15 kilometres away. 
 
Ben and I worked together in communication with the donors, overseeing the management of the fund, which Hope-HIV has since applauded to be well managed.  I consider this an achievement.
 
In my fight against HIV, once in a while I  gather the youth from the area and counsel on responsible sex.  Also, I have founded a football club.  This helps in checking their reckless sexual escapades.  After training every evening, most of them are too tired to look for girls.  Girl child pregnancies have since reduced, after organising some counseling with teachers, and guest speakers.
 
The school enrolment has almost doubled.  The school topped more than 10 schools in the primary school certificate results released earlier this year.  In addition, the community now has clean water supply, which has reduced prevalence of contaminated water related morbidities. 
 
My immediate challenge is what to do with the orphans and the very poor once they graduate from the primary school.  We tried Hope-HIV, but they said they had done enough for our project and to help elsewhere.  That's why I am still burning with the passion of either opening a polytechnic where those who can't afford high school education may be trained.  Or founding a High school, where willing donors, can adopt a child and pay high school fee to the school.  The school may also engage in business and farming to sustain it.
 
The story...is long...you can google "ligodho" (the name of the school).  You will read what we have done there.

 

You can help in one or more ways

1) By contributing money sent either direct to Joshuah via his bank – scroll down for details – or send to us and we will ensure he receives it.

If you want us to forward your money please contact us to discuss the options.

2) By forwarding a link to this page to everyone you know who you think could possibly be able to help, or knows someone who could help.

3) By contributing your professional skills. Joshuah would like to hear from scientists engaged in similar lines of research and is interested in collaborative projects.

 

Are you an environmental scientist, or do you know of one?

Joshuah is eager to communicate with anyone with an interest in this scientific project, including any scientists who may be able to contribute in some way. He is interested in collaborative work with others in the same ,or similar, field.

 

To continue his journey Joshuah needs help to fund his remaining studies. This is why we have created this page.

You can contact Joshuah at China University of Geosciences, China (address below) or by email: joowago@hotmail.com

* Joshuah will send his bank details when you contact him *

Joshuah Odhiambo, C/o International Cooperation Office, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Lumo Road 388, Wuhan City, 430074, Hubei Province, P.R. China

 

Will you help him take the next step… ?

 

 

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