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The initiative was kickstarted by the World-Wide Fund for Nature Kenya (WWF) organisation.
A group of young men from the Mara Siana Conservancy alias the Javelin Morans of the Mara are keen on changing the inclination of residents from using their arrows for killing wildlife to sporting activities.
The initiative was launched by the World-Wide Fund for Nature Kenya (WWF) organization which is eager to ensure that they use javelin to conserve wildlife.
WWF Greater Mau-Mara landscape Senior Coordinator Kevin Gichangi noted that through the initiative, they would also be looking to develop the sports as they have realised the young men have hidden talent.
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“We want to ensure that they use the spears to win and not kill. We want to introduce javelin to encourage the conservation of our wildlife. These young men also have a lot of talent when it comes to javelin and we want to ensure the growth of their talent,” Gichangi said.
Meanwhile, Sontanai Nkoile, a javelin moran from Mara Siana Conservancy is open to the initiative and he hopes the conservation sport activity will be a source of revenue for the community.
“We are amazed by the idea and we really love it. We believe the javelin exercise can become a revenue stream. We are so happy about it,” he said.
Nkoile is also confident that in the near future, the whole community will be able to embrace the sport as they aim to change the idea of the community using spears to kill the wild animals.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to come out and change the impression that the community has concerning use of the spears,” he said.
On his part, the 2015 world javelin champion Julius Yego also lauded the efforts by WWF in a post on his Facebook page.
He said: “What a great opportunity to interact with the javelin morans of the Mara albeit virtually. Young men who are determined to turn the tide on lion and elephant conflict at Mara Siana Conservancy as well as tap on the Talanta Hela platform. Thanks to WWF Kenya for supporting this great initiative.”
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