RETURN OF JAZZ
FOR PEACE TO AFRICA
https://jazzforpeace.org/grant
in support of the
Empaash Olorienito Conservancy (EOC)
http://www.empaasholoirienitoconservancy.org
A Report by Paul Kilelu, EOC Manager
February 2011
INTRODUCTION
In April-May 2010, Paul Kilelu went to visit the Jazz for
Peace office in New York City on a mission to explore bringing them to Kenya to
promote the work of Empaash Oloirienito Conservancy (EOC). Fortunately I was able to reach the Grants
Administrator, John De Angelis, on the phone before I reached their
office. He kindly directed me to the
office, and I was joined by Heather Wilkey who had introduced me to Jazz for
Peace. We also met Debra Cerritelli, the Senior Event Coordinator, in the
office and talked about all that would be necessary for Jazz for Peace to do a
concert on behalf of EOC.
I went back to Kenya on the same day, 5th
May. On my return when I met with the
landowners of the Empaash Olorienito Nature Conservancy, I told them of my
success of arranging for Jazz for Peace to come to Kenya. The landowners
embraced the idea and the process of bringing Jazz for Peace to Kenya, even
with all of the challenges involved. We received a letter from Jazz for Peace
which clearly showed all of the steps required.
A personal decision was made to help them out by
selling 4 of my cows to help pay 100,000 Kenya shillings thus showing the landowners
that it was a serious plan and that we would be committing to do all of the
steps to create the opportunity for a Jazz for Peace fundraising concert on
behalf of EOC. After a detailed exchange
of letters and Skype conference calls, the landowners now understood the grant
requirements listed at www.jazzforpeace.org/grant (Section B) and showed their
commitment by following the “two easy steps” required to select and confirm their VIP
Guests of Honor thus enabling this historic event to take place with funds
“already raised” for our Conservancy!
Immediately in the next days, all was done! Jazz for Peace management set the concert
date in February 2011 for our historic event in Nairobi. Some landowners became very cooperative in
lobbying for the venue for the event, despite how big a challenge it was for
all of us, the prestigious reputation of Rick DellaRatta and Jazz for Peace was
impressive to everyone and opened many doors. We were able to secure a venue
for the event at the National Museum of Kenya during the last week just before
the concert itself took place.
SPONSORS
Given that the corporate organizations in Kenya takes
a substantial amount of time to decide on issues, we did not have enough time
to secure any cooperate sponsors. The Kenya Tourism Federation (KTN) was our
biggest target, along with KTN and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
However due to the success of this event they will now
become sponsors for our next fundraising Jazz for Peace Concert.
RICK
DELLARATTA'S ARRIVAL IN KENYA
Jazz artist Rick DellaRatta arrived in Nairobi on 16th
February 2011 via British Airways at 10:25 p.m. Joshua and Geroge Kariuki (both
landowners) from EOC came accompanied by me to pick up Rick and transport him
to the hotel. We had booked him at the Nairobi Safari Club of the Charlestone
Company, which is noted for its community outreach and corporate social
responsibility:
http://www.nairobisafariclub.com/index.php/corporate-social-responsibility
VISIT TO KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE
On February18th, Joshua and I picked Rick
up from the hotel and took him to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Headquarters
to meet the authorities and explore the animal orphanage. http://www.kws.org
We were received at KWS locally with a staff person (Mr.Mutiwa)
from the KWS office at Ngong, who also took us to meet the Assistant
Director, Southern Conservation Area, Mr. Wilson Korir, (Tel: +254-20-602121,
Mobile: +254-721604434, E-Mail: wkorir@kws.go.ke.)
Mr. Wilson Korrir welcomed us as we all sat around a
table and introduced Rick DellaRatta to the authorities and to the Kenya
Wildlife Service representatives. According
to Mr. Wilson Korrir, the Jazz for Peace concept of empowerment was the best at
this time when conservation of wildlife and the environment is in critical need. I reminded Rick that the crucial work of the
Mara River recently had risen in international awareness because of the CBS-TV “60
Minutes” piece, "The Great Migration:"
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5362301n
This piece was shown on CBN and CNN. It was stated that the international
awareness of the concerns that were so well expressed should be connected with
work of the Kenya Wildlife Service. This
is because KWS started as a competent authority for wildlife protection and can
best advice and addresses the relevant bodies’ concerns. Mr. Wilson Korrir contributed many ideas on
how the Jazz for Peace empowerment concept can be used to save our critical
ecosystem with the EOC being only a pilot project. All of this can be done in many parts of
Kenya.
The assistant director and other KWS officers, Karen
Ndiema and Zablon Omulako, who were part of Empaash Oloirienito founders' group,
joined us for a walk in the animal orphanage and later joined us for lunch,
courtesy of the KWS.
We took Rick to the Karen Blixen Museum where we also
experienced an amazing tour guided by very experienced guilds. (http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/13/19/)
The day was very well-spent but Rick became so tired we took him back to the
hotel to rest!
RICK'S VISIT
TO EOC
On this second day visiting in Kenya, Rick started his
day from the Nairobi Safari Club and stopped for awhile at National Museum of
Kenya (http://www.museums.or.ke/) to meet his curtain risers.
The Charleston van drove him to the trainers' Empaash
Oloirienito Conservancy. They waited for Rick to sign a visitor’s book at our
KWS office at Ngong. This office is
under the jurisdiction of the KWS Ngong Station. Mr. Mutiwa, the warden of the station,
briefed Rick about the area and its needs.
We waited for the senior officers from KWS who also wanted to include
the conservancy as one of the supported conservancies this year. Mr. Wilson Korrir, as stated, is the
Assistant Director for the southern area of the conservancy.
All members of the party later followed us to the
conservancy where the land owners and their families had gathered to welcome
our guest. Rick was given a hero's
welcome where the Maasai women adorned him with a Maasai dress as a symbol of
acceptance to the community, its culture and tradition.
The ceremony marked a new beginning, a new lease on
the life of caring for wildlife in the area.
The Chief EOC Chairman, the KWS and Rick all touched and agreed on a new
relationship of dedicated support for the challenges facing the community.
It was imperative that the relationship between Jazz for
Peace and the EOC be able to do its utmost to create a significant impact on
what is needed for the preservation of the Mara River and its ecosystem.
The nursery and primary school out of EOC has many
needs to be acknowledged and developed. It is part of the EOC mandate that
small children of nursery age should be gathered in the school. This area is
also where the community gathering took place as they waited for Rick to
arrive.
The critical need in this area is water for both
wildlife and for people for domestic use.
The administrators of KWS promised the community 3 important things:
The community asked for support from KWS, especially
to equip the local station of Ngong to be able to deliver services
sustainably. The Administrators promised
a new Land Cruiser for the station and anything else of critical need. The meeting was very successful and served
to reinforce the strong partnership between EOC and KWS.
THE HISTORIC NAIROBI CONCERT EVENT
Rick spent the better part of the rest of the day
relating to local artists and sharing music-related information while making
friends around Nairobi. The National
Museum of Kenya was set up to accommodate 313 people. It was adorned with all sorts of decorations.
Tickets were sold at the door, and Maasai women
displayed beads for sale by the door.
People started arriving from 6:30 p.m. and continued to assemble until
7:30 p.m. for a "taste of jazz!"
A cocktail reception was available for guests. This gave Rick enough time to greet Kenyans
and the assembled fans of jazz. Everyone
was jovial, and we were all eager to hear Rick's piano playing and magical
fingers on his instruments.
The curtain raiser that opened the show was local
artist Aaron Rimbui, whose background is at once dramatic and inspiring: http://www.mwafrika.com/content/view/396/98/
Aaron set the perfect mood as he prepared us all for Rick's
performance:
http://www.reverbnation.com/aaronrimbui
The event was
attended by people of all backgrounds - politicians, conservationists, musicians,
tour operators, students, government officials and the landowners of EOC. Mr. Gideon Konchela, the former Minister for
Immigration was the chief guest. He opened the ceremony and welcomed our guest
from New York, Rick DellaRatta, to sit and play jazz for peace!
RICK'S VISIT TO THE UPPER MARA
The “60 Minutes” piece (see “The Great
Migration” above) about large animal migration has raised an awareness of this
global concern. Now many are visiting
the area and want to help stop the degradation that has been occurring in the
upper Mara. Rick had an idea to unite
people into One World as a species, including those found in the great
Mara. He invites people to consider
joining others and avoiding a world of divisiveness. This better world is one where people can
meet one another from different destinations and make lasting relationships. He
chooses to support the people of Empaash as well as the people of the greater
Mara and implores all to stop degrading the ecosystems.
The team which included Rick DellaRatta,
Paul Kilelu, George Kariuki, James Migwi, Nasieku Saiyore of Evolution
Magazine, Shiku and Steven Ole Narasha, who has starred at the Nairobi Safari
Club.
We started our safari at 7:30 a.m. We had to stop at Narok town to buy water and
later headed out on the road to Mara. Rick
was amazed by the presence of so many wild animals that we saw on the side of
the road as we passed the plains on the way to the Maasai Mara.
Our safari was full of fun; Rick was asking a lot of
questions about animals.
Most people in the team did not know
that in the past, the sexual mating of most wildlife breeding was usually
portrayed as a classic polygamous mating system in which dominant males fight
off competitors in an attempt to monopolize females encountered on their path.
Mostly females are content to mate with the nearest dominant male. In my experience of wildlife, the strongest male takes over and
chases the rest away.
The safari trip took us 7 hours to
reach the Kitchwa Tempo where we stayed for 2 days. Our Safari was sponsored by friends of EOC
and the full board at Kitchwa Tempo. We were greeted and welcomed to the most
luxurious of camps in the upper Mara. There were several resident wildlife
animals within the camp (harmless): warthog
baby, water back blue monkey and leopard.
Shadrack Ole Seiyo, a staff member of
Kitchwa Tempo, offered us the best hospitality we could have wanted and which
we will never forget. On the second day
at the Mara, we went on the same drive in the large Maasai Mara game reserve.
What did we witness at the Mara River
where the Great Migration is taking place? The residents are cutting trees and
clearing bushes to plant wheat. This activity is seriously incompatible with
the existing natural ecosystem.
A question came into my mind, "How
can these landowners be convinced to preserve the biodiversity?" I reckoned that this forest, which is being
degraded / cleared, could remain home to millions of animals and plants. If utilized sustainably, this area could be
developed into homes for many living organisms. Unfortunately these valuable benefits may never
be found because the landowners are not paid to conserve flora and fauna.
‘’DICKSON OLE KAELO’’
http://www.theworld.org/2009/07/protecting-kenyas-wildlife/
Dickson was talking in the “60 Minutes”
piece, and Rick wanted to meet him regarding ways to stop the Mara River watershed
degradation. I called Dickson, and he came all the way from the Base camp about
fifty kilometers away from Kitchwa Tembo.
We arrived back from game drive at around 2:00 p.m. We had our lunch and later went with Dickson.
CONCLUSION
In all of the description in the above report, there is a
focus on Music / Jazz by musicians who inspire us:
Aaron Rimbui:
Aaron Krucial Rimbui has embraced one
of the most innovative and enduring musical styles in the world. He has embraced the sound that is jazz. In 2005, he released his first album, Keys of
Life - an exceptional jazz album with elements of world music and a tinge of
benga-fusion. Having incorporated noted vocalists Eric Wainaina and Mercy Myra,
this album went on to become one of the standout albums of the year. In 2009 and the stage was set for the release
of Aaron Rimbui’s sophomore album aptly titled “Alfajiri”. Executive produced by Joseph Hellon for “The
People Music Group”, this recording testifies to Aaron’s growing stature on the
playing and composing fronts.
Rick DellaRatta who created "Jazz
For Peace Poem:"
I hear jazz for peace coming through the trees,
And in my heart it fills me like a celebration.
I see the light and I want to follow,
Inspired by the past contributions of
Those that came before and laid the groundwork
For us to build on in this universal language
That is a gift for all mankind.
And when we speak it,
People are enlightened by the creativity and artistry
That stands for peace and love and humanity
And intelligence that leads to reaching potential
That we have in our soul.
So we can raise our total conscience and
See that the gift of giving is our greatest privilege.
See video of Rick’s performance in Kenya along with photos
of his trip to the Upper Mara: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qp1fGDMeyY
"I had the privilege and
honor of videoing Rick DellaRatta, Jazz For Peace Founder and invited guest
performer, playing 3 songs at the "Enchanted Evening of Jazz" at
Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, California on 03/11/11, ending with
"Waters of March," Deb, and I was up close and was able to zoom in
from time to time: "If you look at that video, which I have done numerous
times now, and watch Rick's talent in action and how his entire body relates to
the expression of his talent (the piano is a fixed object in the environment to
which he relates and utilizes to express his gifts) and his obvious communication
with the audience, it is clear that we are witnessing a spirit in the world who
has the potential to help us at ABC4All facilitate what the world needs so
badly, namely, Global Humanitarian Relief (GHR) for anyone alive who is
receptive." -- Burton Danet, Ph.D., Co-Founder, A Better Community
For All (ABC4All)
EMPAASH OLORIENITO CONSERVANCY (EOC):
With the charge to work on preserving
ecosystems within the region of the Maasai Mara River with the implications of
drought and drying up of the river causing extinction of so many of the big
animals.
Robert
Chew, as Co-Founder with ABC4All Team, states, "We are
aware that solar pumping stations in most areas of Africa are possible. The technology will be made available via
networks of networks that have studied the water tables of all of Africa and
can also be of some help in this arena to minimize the costs of installation of
the technology to resurface the ground water to places where animals can
drink."
UNITING PEOPLES OF THE WORLD
Rick had an idea to unite people into
One World as a species, including those found in the great Mara. He invites people to consider joining others
and avoiding a world of divisiveness.
This better world is one where people can meet one another from
different destinations and make lasting relationships. He chooses to support
the people of Empaash as well as the people of the greater Mara and implores
all to stop degrading the ecosystems.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Kilelu, Manager
Empaash Olorienito Conservancy (EOC)
Information Desk/Conservancy Manager - Paul Sadera Kilelu
Kiserian, Kenya 385, 00206
E-mail: empaasholoirienito@yahoo.com
Mobile Phone Number: +254(0) 722 668 800