Keeping true to the theme of my blog, everyday in Kenya, I have had the pleasure of meeting someone remarkable and it’s been nothing short of inspiring.  On April 13^th, Michael Dyer, touched down in his private aircraft to pick me up and personally escort me to Borana Ranch & Safari Lodge.  Michael comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and philanthropists.  Overachieving seems to run in his family too—from his amazing wife, Nicky, his brothers and his cousin Ian Craig.

Michael and Nicky, opened Borana Ranch & Safari Lodge on the family owned land in 1990, which happened to be the first eco-lodge in the area.  The grounds of Borana are breathtakingly beautiful and animals are everywhere—precisely what you would like to see on safari.  A giraffe literally stared in through my window while I was having a coffee and I could see the cape buffalo at the lake below.

I was impressed in speaking with the hotel manager, Flick Woodhouse, to hear that Borana actually offered a plethora of experiences beyond game drives.  Sad as it is to say, I was getting a bit tired of bouncing around in a safari vehicle.  In addition to safari, bush dinners and visits to the local village, Borana has horse back riding, mountain biking (not for the faint hearted), the Ngare Ndgare Forest where you can go trout fishing or see the endangered rhino.

While the adventure offerings at Borana are vast, I was beginning to crave some human connection.  And boy did I come to the right place! For over 20 years, Michael has dedicated himself to helping teach and implement the importance of preservation, conservation, working with and supporting the community.  So much to my delight, Michael and Nicky also offer guests the opportunity to visit the tannery, where they employ and then teach local  disabled or blind  people the craft.

And given their dedication to the local people, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that they also started a mobile medical clinic eight years ago.  They employ two nurses and a driver to visit the local villages across the Laikipia region, Monday-Friday.  These hardworking women treat over 20,000 patients per year—from vaccinations, HIV/AIDS education and notably planned parenthood.

While these projects were impressive, I was both honored and floored when Michael and Nicky kidnapped me for a day.  On the very bumpy, curvy drive, we passed through multiple villages and by people who had literally nothing.

Imagine my surprise when our final destination turned out to be a soccer field (as we say in the US, or football everywhere else in the world).

At the match, I learned that Michael was one of the founders of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum which is a member driven organization that brings together land owners and resource users (from large-scale ranchers to small scale farmers) to tackle the challenges in the Laikipia ecosystem, description of LWF below.

And the LWF  as it turns out, is one of the key sponsors of the “Laikipia And Beyond Unity Cup Football Tournament”  (LUC, description below) held on a biennial basis.    LUC was created to utilize the power of sport  to bring together the diverse communities within Laikipia in a constructive spirit of peace and harmony, to build environmental awareness and deliver free health care to the communities of Laikipia.

Two years ago, the LUC brought together 32 teams in remote rural locations throughout the district during 5 separate three day weekends, thousands of people participated in environmental education sessions and activities, ranging from tree planting, town ‘clean up’s’ to water conservation activities and over 12,000 people received free medical treatment, primarily women and children.

At the game, the players, the volunteers and the children all stepped back from their daily hardship to enjoy being together.  Post game, Michael took me back to visit the medical clinic.  The lines were endless for the free aid, but it was so wonderful to see the local people taking advantage of the services provided by the volunteer doctors.  I have immense respect for the brave patients who literally had their teeth pulled in front of hundreds of people without any painkillers.  There was never screaming, only smiles, “asante sana” (thank you) and handshakes.

No matter where we walked, players, kids, patients, doctors and the organizer of SAFE, a show put on to communicate the importance of unity pre-election (picture of SAFE truck below), greeted Michael with smiles and hugs.  Even the cooks preparing dinner for the players happened to be cutting up some sheep that Michael had (of course) donated for the weekend.

While I may not have seen all the wildlife and adventure Borana has to offer, meeting Michael and his family, learning about the work that they do to give back, was one of the most inspiring experiences for me to date.  Please take some time to learn more about the Laikipia Wildlife Forum and the powerful impact the “Unity Cup” has on bringing people together through sport and for such a powerful purpose.

Borana isn’t such a bad place to vacation either. If you have a chance to pick Michael  and Nicky’s brain during your visit, I highly recommend doing so. Their energy and dedication is truly awe-inspiring.  It’s no surprise that they bring smiles to the faces of everyone, including me, around them.  I hope you have the chance to meet them and experience the great work that they do.

More about Laikipia Wildlife Forum, the Zeitz Foundation, the “Unity Cup” and other major sponsors below.

MORE INFO on the “Unity Cup”:

Organisers:  The main organisers of the event are the Zeitz Foundation and the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, in partnership with the Nanyuki District Hospital, the British Army Training Unit (BATUK), the Kenyan Airforce, Mathare Youth Sports Association, the Laikipia Peace Caravan, 50 Treasures of Kenya, IUCN and wildlife conservancies and ranches throughout Laikipia. 2010 saw a further 20 organisations supporting the event, many of whom will be involved again in 2012.   The patron of the event – who will participate in the finals in Nanyuki – is Samuel Eto’o, international football star. He has indicated that he will be accompanied by, various other international soccer stars, including Lionel Messi.

Participants:  A total of 40 football teams will participate in the five regional tournaments, 8 teams per region. These teams will represent their particular villages/areas, all ethnic groups in Laikipia, local government, formalised Natural Resource User Groups, the University and other educational establishments and wildlife conservancies. Directly involving some 800 players, the LUC also attracts thousands of additional supporters (over 20,000 in 2010) who participate in a broad range of environmental and peace building activities. MYSA teams, drawn from underprivileged areas in Nairobi also participate at each of the five events and Mathare United will play the Laikipia Unity Team – drawn from the best players throughout Laikipia, strengthened by Samuel Eto’o – in a friendly match following the regional finals in Nanyuki.

 Dates and Locations: The regional events will take place at five different locations – all surrounded by wildlife conservancies – around Laikipia, over 5 weekends in April and May.

• 13-15th April – North Kenya Polo Fields
• 20-22nd April – Endana Primary School
• 27-29th April – Kimanjo Primary School
• 4-6th May – Ol Maisor Primary School
• 11-13^th May – Kinamba Primary School

The finals and friendly match with Mathare United will take place in Nanyuki on the 22^nd and 23^rd of May.

Activities:

Peace and Unity:  With the general elections due in August 2012, strengthening peace and unity and building inter-ethnic community identity as residents of what is to become Laikipia County, is a priority for Kenya as a whole, as well as Laikipia. Simply by bringing together in a spirit of peace and harmony and utilising the unifying spirit of football – over 20,000 people who otherwise rarely meet – the LUC is able to achieve this objectives. This was succinctly summed up by one young player during an interview with Reuters at the 2012 event as follows, ‘last year this man was my enemy and we fought, this year he is my brother and we are fighting together to win the cup for our region’.  In 2010, throughout the whole event there was not a single disruptive incident either on or off the field, despite almost a thousand young men and women being brought together and living in close proximity, with thousands of their supporters attending. The behaviour and spirit shown by all teams was exemplary and a credit to the communities and institutions they represent.  Reinforcing this will be a range of activities and talks by the Laikipia Peace Caravan and other governance and democracy focused civil society groups.

 Environmental Education: A broad range of environmental education and awareness activities will be undertaken, including: restoration of water catchment areas, local ‘clean-ups’, training on construction of predator-proof bomas and conservation agriculture and tree planting to mention just a few. All players sign the ‘Green Pledge’.

 Medical Camps: Each of the five regional events will see the establishment of a 3 day medical camp, involving over 20 qualified medical personnel from the Nanyuki District Hospital and Kenyan Airforce at each event. The regional tournaments take place in remote areas, far from any conventional medical facilities and this represents a vital opportunity for these marginalized communities, particularly women and children, to access medical care. This care ranges from general medical services, through HIV-AIDS testing and counseling, de-worming, dentistry and eye specialists. All treatments and drugs are donated to the LUC.  2010 saw over 12,000 people treated.

About the Zeitz Foundation:  The Zeitz Foundation promotes an innovative approach to sustainable ecosystem management which aims to achieve sustainability through a balance of conservation, community, culture and commerce (the 4Cs). The aim is to encourage action today for a better tomorrow. The vision is of an ecosphere – the planet and all of its life-sustaining regions – maintained in the healthiest possible state, with the major contribution to that health coming from people making sustainable choices. Founded in 2008 by business entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA AG and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of PPR, the Zeitz Foundation is a non-profit organization headquartered in Kenya and with representation in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.  Find out more: www.zeitzfoundation.org and www.thelongrun.com

 The Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF):  LWF is a member driven organization that brings together land owners and resource users of all kinds including large-scale ranchers, small scale farmers and pastoralists to tackle the challenges in the Laikipia ecosystem. They work together to achieve a common goal: To conserve Laikipia’s wildlife and ecosystem integrity and improve the lives of its people by bringing its societies together to conserve and sustainably use the natural resources on which they depend. Laikipia Wildlife Forum has been the first institution of its kind to develop a significant capacity to foster development and conservation goals on a district-wide level in Kenya.  Find out more: www.laikipia.org