Carolyne Moraa Nyanga’u

Alfa Network (Nairobi, Kenya)

Today’s Date: 15 July 2008

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Jiggers, this are small animals which stays in someone’s legs, this jiggers stayed in my legs(toes) and created a lot of impact in my life they disfigured my legs (toes) and during the night I could not sleep, I had to scratch my leg all the night, when we were young there were no shoes for us since our parents could not afford, in fact even now in slum like ours not all children wear shoes, so in the morning it was a problem for me to walk on the grass which had dew, the grass could poke the jiggers and you could sit down instantly because of pain. My mother was keen if she notice you scratching your leg, that night she could week up and inspect your legs, if the jiggers are their they could be removed by a sharp needle, and dust your legs with paraffin the area she removed jiggers so that others cannot invade the place.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

Going with the elder girls in the forest when they went fetching firewood

Now? Walking around the hills and mountains viewing them.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is and why?

I love Dove, they are beautiful and are used as food, also a sign of peace

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Environmental challenge we have is pollution from the industries which are not far from our places, they have cause diseases which has cost a lot of resources and deaths. Another big environmental hazard we have we people living in the slum is dumping of waste resources, which are all over in the slum due to production of plastic paper bags which do not decompose, also this plastic paper bags are used for flying toilets in the slum and they have made the slum to stink, causing a lot of pollution and diseases.

5. If you could give one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

Lets use our common sense to join hands together to nature our environment and those who do not oblige should be penalized since environmental pollution kills more than the one who pollutes it