The Butterfly Story of Planting in Kenya Hosting James Musyoka

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This was an exciting episode for me, where I got to speak on the The Butterfly Effect podcast with an incredibly special guest, coming all the way from Kenya, James Musyoka. James is the co-founder and executive director for Kenya Connect, an NGO that helps kids in Kenya, the U.S. and across the world to become ambassadors for peace and global connection through the power of writing a letter. The organization is currently devoted to lifting children in rural Kenya out of extreme poverty, using the power of education. I got to know James through a planting we did together with 1treellion, while supporting their planting project that you will soon hear about.

The organization is based in the eastern part of Kenya, in a place called Wamunyu. They are working with 62 public schools in the area of Machakus county. Mainly in the field of education, trying to allow students in rural Kenya to succeed, provide them with the important skills of the 21st century.

On the podcast we spoke about some of the projects they do. One is their library program about 10 years ago with a collection of about 200 books. Today they have almost 10,000 books available in both English and Swahili. Kids can borrow those books to read at home.

James shared with me that since they started, they noticed that the amount of time students spend reading has tripled, and the kids’ test scores have improved. All is thanks to this library program.

However, this is rural Kenya, east of Nairobi. There is probably no electricity and no light. I asked James, “How can the kids read at home in the dark?”

For that, James answered, they have a solar flight program that “we provide on a rent-to-own basis. Paying 4 times $2, allows the kids to have light and after 4 payments, own the light.”

James shared that they recently added an environmental project. Teaching the kids about the environment, and of course trees and their role in our lives.

They’ve launched it by planting within the community. They gathered parents, local leaders, and staff and planted 350 moringa trees. I always get excited when I hear the entire community coming together to plant. This event was in memory of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize, she won it for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. This is the perfect way to launch an environmental project.

This is where James mentioned her famous quote “…unless you dig a hole and you plant a tree, you are doing nothing. You are just talking”. And they did what she said, engaged the community and got them all to plant trees. “So that they can get their hands dirty to plant trees“.

We started working together with 1treellion supporting the first tree planting in one of the schools. Unfortunately luck had it, and it began in the middle of Covid 19 pandemic with everybody quarantined and many restrictions by the government. And yet we still managed to plan. I asked James to explain how we were able to do that.

“While it wasn’t easy to mobilize the community to come and plant in the midst of this pandemic, because our government is encouraging people to stay at home and schools are shut down, we will still find ways to continue so long as we are taking the right health measures… We mobilized the school parents and alumni to the site… we educated them about COVID 19… the importance of handwashing, wearing masks, and keeping social distance. “The organization also provided masks to all that participated. “We gave them a message of hope that we are planning these trees as a memory — This pandemic will come and go.,but this forest will stay there forever, a forest of hope.”

I found this act so beautiful, as it shows us that whatever we’re doing has a bigger impact on something else. They started with planting trees, but eventually they educated the community about this deadly disease and how to be proactive in keeping ourselves healthy and safe.

This community worked really hard to show the message of “Service above self”. As James said “being focused on long term benefits of doing something noble, like tree planting.

You don’t necessarily need to do something that is going to benefit you, you can do something that is going to benefit generations to come… conserving the environment for the benefit of others, not necessarily yourself.”

I couldn’t agree more.

The tree planting is one part of the environmental projects Kenya Connect is doing, and they are all connected. The other two projects are related to the kids hygiene, i.e a healthy learning and living environment for the kids. One is the compost toilet while the other is clean water stations.

Composting toilets use the natural processes of decomposition and evaporation to recycle human waste. James explained that the compost created by using the toilet is used to fertilize the trees.

In a composting toilet sawdust covers the material creating air gaps for aerobic bacteria to break down the material. “After one year, the compost is ready and we can put it on the trees to fertilize them and make them thrive and healthy” he adds.

Before the compost toilet, pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, was used at the school. The pit toilet is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground. They are not environmentally friendly as they pollute the underground water. “Converting from the pit latrines to the compost toilet is also on a positive note, trying to protect the environment.”

The second eco project was the clean water project, ”water is scars in our area” James explains “and the underground water is normally salty”. Therefore water stations were added to the schools. And when the kids wash their hands the drained water is channeled to water a tree.This entire project is sustainable… You are cleaning your hands. And at the same time, you are watering a tree.”

Caring for the wellbeing of the kids and caring for the environment is a noble act.And if I may quote one Wangari Maathai again, “When we plant a tree, we plant the seeds of hope”. The kids, like the trees, are our seeds of hope and James is caring for them both.

1000 trees were seeded and planted by the kids, however due to COVID-19 the kids were sent home. Someone had to step up, take care of the trees and that someone was a parent named Joshua.

“Joshua came twice a week, watered the seedlings, cleared out the bushes around where the kids planted the trees. He wanted the trees to thrive.” And that is where the community stepped up for him. “The parents gave him a small subsidy for the work he does… It allowed him to take care of the trees and at the same time put food on the table for his family…It was a great relief for him. And he really appreciated that.”

James added “I thought that was good collective responsibility. The parents recognize they cannot all come to the school and water the trees, but they can collect a kitty, give Joshua to take care of the trees”. His good deed in a way paid off, the butterfly stroke, again

At this project the survival rate was set to seventy percent, even though those trees were chosen because the moringa is known as the tree that never dies — it thrives no matter how tough the environment is — However, Joshua aimed for 100% and was determined to keep it like that. So far so good!

Our interview continued with listing the benefits of this tree, I guess you will have to listen to the podcast to learn what they are.

Before we ended our call, I asked James of his favorite tree. I was not surprised that he said it’s the moringa tree. Why?! I think you can guess. He even planted it in his own home.

Out of curiosity I asked James how to say tree in Swahili — “Mitchi”.

And interesting enough Wangari Maathati is “Mama Mitchi”, the mother of trees.What a great way to finish our interview.

Here is a link for you to hear the full story.

Thank you!

Listen to it on Apple podcast

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Google Podcast

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