The Environmental Story

Personally I’m not into conferences, so my mind wandered a bit during an Agency’s conference somewhere in the Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe. The Agency promotes itself as a development NGO but I was not sure that it was my role to develop people, it seemed to me to be a weighty responsibility. I thought it more appropriate to empower people and/or organisations so through choices, their development proceeds in the direction they see as most appropriate.

Maybe it is splitting hairs but I don’t think people will pick up new ideas unless they see or have ownership in some way.

Anyway, sitting there among the gas I was thinking of the project I was responsible for and how to deliver environmental information into the village primary schools. There was the little role play that Joshia and I had refined, but I thought something else was needed to break up the lecture type of delivery that my hosts, Hifadhi had been putting across.

As you can, I drafted a story in my head that I thought might interest the students but it was not until we had returned to Arusha and I had sorted out a few normal issues a tree nursery has, that I sat down with my pen.

‘Grace’s Dream is about a little girl who during her birth, the light of a falling star fell upon her face. The midwife/soothsayer promised an important future for the child. Grace grew up normally and one day she fell asleep under a baobab tree and dreams that the tree talks to her and asks for her help to save the environment. The tree mentions terms such as conservation, erosion and drought. Grace seeks advice from a village elder who happened to be a retired school teacher and he explains the terms to her. Later she castigates her father [most unusual in African culture, so she apologises] when she sees him cutting down the last acacia tree. His reply was a question: how do we cook food without a fire? Grace tells him sadly that she does not want to be a nomad and the answer is to save the environment by planting trees – plant five trees before cutting one! She decides to start a small tree nursery and the village people at first laugh at her but she motivates them. The village now has a sustainable environment.’

To go with the story, I drew some illustrations, black and white pen drawings because I could not find coloured pencils anywhere. Mags typed out the story in both English and Swahili and we made twenty or so copies.

My co-worker, Joshia liked the story and was prepared to read it out during our primary school seminars so I redrew the pictures to make a large flip chart to illustrate Joshia’s reading.

I knew Joshia was the choirmaster at his church but I had no idea what a competent actor he was! He did not read the story, he performed it, changing his voice for each character – especially giving the baobab tree a deep sad voice.

I was spellbound! The kids too were spellbound! He read the title then named me as author and illustrator then himself as the narrator – so very professional.

On a visit to Dar es Salaam I visited the Forestry Department and they had a whole shipping container of materials – posters, badges, books and more. They were housed there to be used during seminars but a lack of funds meant that they could not distribute them. They gave us as much as we could carry!

The Forester wore two hats, he was also the editor for the Mkulima [Farmer] Magazine. I don’t know how he knew about Grace’s Dream – Ndoto ya Grace, but he asked for a copy, which was published in the next issue of the national farming magazine – together with my amateurish drawings!

After each school seminar, we handed over a copy of the story and it was not unusual to hear kids performing it in their own way for each other.

Joshia gave me a gift. It was a cassette recording of the story performed by himself, his wife, Mama Ng’ida, little Ng’ida together with her small cousin Grace, who was the one that actually inspired me. They had modified the story, adding dialogue and effects so it sounded like a realistic radio programme.

After I left Hifadhi to continue with DME, I used the tape-deck in my truck to play the story to the new schools we worked with. At the same time still keeping in contact with Joshia and his family to utilize his skills in my new assignment.

Sadly, on our return to New Zealand the tape was damaged and I have lost something was a treasure.