Kenya Connected Planet visit March 2026

By David Ollington

I was born I Kenya and for a long time have had a desire to visit the country again.

I was talking about this with Dermot and perhaps involving some charity/support work when he suggested I could help with a school which had links with Connected Planet in the Maasai Mara conservation area called Semadep. 

(Semadep is an abbreviation for Sekani Maasai Development Project)

Fast forward 3 months and I’m flying to Nairobi Airport with everything in place for accommodation at a Lodge and contacts at the school.

From Nairobi, I drove towards Naivasha down the snake trail of an escarpment that leads into the base of the Rift Valley. The views are astonishing with Massive horizons, volcanoes, lakes and further escarpments in the distance. In contrast, other astonishing views are the many 100’s of Diesel trucks nose to tail belching black smoke.

 After 6 hours of driving in an underpowered Nissan I arrived at Sunset Lodge where I would be staying for the next 5 nights. The lodge and its staff are the supporters and shareholders of the school I’m going to visit. 20 per cent of their tourist income goes to the school. The school is built on land owned by one of the members and Trustee of the organisation and like surrounding  lodges , schools and villages it overlooks  a stunning  view of the  wide sweeping savannah that makes up part of the Maasai Mara conservation area.

 I was met at the Camp by Luka who is local Maasai, who combines his knowledge as a  guide and an environment teacher across three schools. Luka is sponsored and supported by Connected Planet. 

Luka is my buddy for the next few days and also my Guru in terms of teaching and showing me the plants the Maasai use for medication, tooth brushing, rehydration, lotions and nutrients. We identify the footprints of Giraffe, Wildebeest, Gazelle, Elephant and Hyena that all exist around the lodge area.

 Luka’s knowledge of bird life is also impressive and  we spent a couple of hours wondering round the camp as he responded and copied their call, pointed out their feeding  habits, their colouring and nests.

I had arrived at Semadep Sunset camp on a Sunday evening, spent the next day with Luka and went to the school on the Tuesday armed with a few footballs, natural science books, pens, pencils and books. 

It was humbling to see how appreciative and how lovely the children were. They really wanted to learn and play.

Part of my role there was to get involved in  a couple of activities so I drew on my experience as an exercise and rehab instructor, organised 25 kids ranging in age from 4 to 14 into appropriate groups of 5. I gave them exercises ranging from shuttle runs, squats, press ups, pull ups and knee raises. The 5 groups quickly fused organically into 3 groups then finally one collective, all without my input or control. It was a lot of fun and they were terrific.

This was followed up with an English lesson using flash cards as an aid to vocabulary; however, we first had to get the cows out of the classroom before we could start.

Many of the children were boarders at the school and the teachers had to take on pastoral duties Monday to Friday. Facilities were basic but enthusiasm was 100 per cent. They had a tech room with 5 computers and a varied collection of books that they were organising into library. The school was on a slope and one had to negotiate the deep pools of water from the previous night’s downfall. The kids with wellies loved it! 

The following day I, along with 2 other tourists, Luka and a driver went into the Masai Mara in a land cruiser and spent the day on safari  driving round spotting Rhino, Cheetah, Wildebeest, Buffalo and all types of gazelle.

Two days later I was back in the Masai Mara on a different safari,  this time with 3 landcruisers, 27 children from the the 3 schools Luka taught in. 

The trip paid for by Connected Planet, was to support the ethos of Connected Planet in promoting local understanding and access of the Masa Mara, its animal life, its landscape and its importance to the community, locally, nationally and beyond. It is an investment for now and the future.

(To underline my presence on the trip!? The guys at Sunset Lodge dressed me up as a Maasai warrior. I looked like William Wallace on tour, more faint heart then Brave heart.)

I stayed as a Maasai warrior for a short while before returning to my Western ways.

The children loved the safari, the teachers kept them informed. We experienced running Gazelle, Lion kill, Cheetah on high ground searching for dinner, Hippos wallowing in mud, Meerkats scampering across the grass, Martial Eagle eating its prey. Giraffes mating and water buck running from a predator.

There was also a toilet stop that involved using the facilities of the keekorok  landing strip on top of a large hill with light aircraft landing and taking off. 

For lunch we stopped in the middle of the bush with wide vistas all around and two Giraffe a hundred yards away looking at us completely still like a pair of bookends. Every moment of the drive was lapped up by the children, from 4 years of age to 14, there was lots of stunned looks and full on joy during the whole drive. The experience is one that will be remembered by the children for a long time.

We spent nearly 7 hours in the Masai Mara and for me watching how the children and teachers responded, it was really quite amazing.

It was an honour to be amongst the children and staff for the short time I was there and also gratifying to see how well Connected Planet is working in these communities.