He prayed for a chance to go to school. Now he’s a vet.
As a young boy herding goats in the town of Oldonyiro in Laikipia County, Moses Wakile once walked into a church and prayed for one thing: the chance to go to school.
His family lived beside an elephant corridor and wildlife was part of their daily life. While out grazing, he once came face to face with a bull elephant and had to crawl under a bush while it carried on feeding above him. He also saw animals in trouble and still remembers a zebra with the skin torn from its belly, somehow still walking. Back home, he watched his mother buy medicine and treat their goats herself.
It was during his second year in high school that Moses met wildlife vet Dr. Michael Njoroge and later told Save the Elephants (STE) education officers, George Mugera and Nancy Odweyo, that he wanted to be just like Michael. They took him at his word.
Today Moses holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and is interning with the Northern Kenya Veterinary Unit. This year, as the STE education programme turns 25, we went back to Oldonyiro with him to film his story.
Where it started
Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the late founder of Save the Elephants, and his wife Oria set up the scholarship programme in 2001, believing that the young people growing up alongside elephants would shape their future. Twenty-five years on, 400 students have been through it, backed by over $2 million from donors who shared in this belief.
What a scholarship really involves
Paying school fees is just one piece of the puzzle. Our education team remains very involved in the students journey visiting them at school and at home when needed. During the holidays the students come to our camp in Samburu for tuition, an opportunity for the team to identify anything from home or school that could be holding them back academically. With most being in their teenage years, mentorship sessions to help them navigate the uncertainties that come with this stage are also conducted, through one-on-one sessions and in groups as our teams deem fit.
When a cohort finishes their pre-college admission examinations they spend a couple of days at our research camp for guidance on the college/university application process, in addition to guidance on possible career paths available to them. In most cases, support continues through college or university, right up to graduation day and beyond.
Coming home
Our alumni now work as doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, artists, conservationists, among others, and many have returned to their communities. Emmanuel Rumpella, a former scholar alongside Moses, now works with our education team, guiding the next group of scholarship students through a similar journey.
Moses spends much of his time teaching livestock keepers how to use veterinary drugs safely, tackling antimicrobial resistance, which harms people, livestock and wildlife alike. His work sits right where livestock and elephants intersect, much like the corridor he grew up beside.
“Nothing is more rewarding than seeing a student join the programme young and shy, and years later watching them grow in confidence and purpose,” says Grace Kibatha, Scholarship Officer at Save the Elephants. “Moses and Emmanuel embody this perfectly. What’s even more rewarding is watching them return to give back to their communities. They are role models to the younger generation demonstrating that it’s not how you start that matters, how you finish is what counts.”
The next 25 years
Moses is one example among hundreds of students who have been supported by the program since its inception in 2001. Behind every number is a student. Behind every student is a story. And behind every story is a journey of hope, grit and transformation.
Ultimately, our goal is to mould future conservation and elephant ambassadors who will return to their communities, champion conservation and contribute to our mission of securing a future for elephants.
See 25 years of the education programme in our anniversary film, told through Moses’s journey and the people who helped him along the way.
If you have supported the programme, thank you. This anniversary belongs to you. If you would like to help write the next chapter, email [email protected] or visit savetheelephants.org/our-work/human-elephant-coexistence/education-programme