Samson was born in “the year of the heavy rains”, around 60 years ago, in the Maasai community of Naroosura in the south west of Kenya, where time was not defined by numbers but by natural events. Today the weather is so unpredictable that relying on natural events as reference has become unreliable.

The Maasai are one of the last tribes in Kenya to still preserve many of their traditions and their relationship with the land they inhabit and the wildlife that has roamed this territory peacefully for centuries.

In between the houses made of clay, and animal footprints, it is common to see along the arid landscape, silhouettes of zebras, antelopes and giraffes wandering.

Unfortunately, every year the droughts have become longer, water is more scarce and as a result, the conflicts between people and wildlife have become more frequent. This is forcing people to have to walk for long hours in search of water, and for hundreds of thirsty animals, which do not die of thirst on the way, to run over and destroy the little crops which the Maasai depend on, and once in a while claiming the life of a young child on his/her way to school, along what is the same corridor of a thirsty elephant.

Samson has been working for years to find ways to restore the harmony between the community and the wildlife. He has managed to raise funds for building sheds to employ and train park rangers to monitor and prevent wildlife attacks. As he puts it, “this is where his heart is” and is not anywhere near giving up. But as is the case for all of us, he cannot do it all alone.

So… what can we do?

The solution is not simple nor cheap. According to Samson, the long term solution is to drill into the soil and access the underground water, but this requires specialized technology, a skilled team and a large investment which the community does not have, and which the government seems to have little interest in. But there is another option: superficial dams can store water for up to 4 months during the dry season, serving as reservoirs for basic needs of the communities, crop irrigation and for wildlife to access and drink along their migrations. This will reduce the pressure on people having to search for water to the river and can keep the animals far from the villages and the schools.

All of these photos were given to me by Africa.

They were given to me by the land of the Maasai, and as every important gift, it comes with a responsibility.

Each photo that is sold means being one step closer to the construction of three water dams, which for many, represents the difference between life and death.

Each photo is a step closer to preventing this land and all that it holds, from vanishing.