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EEIU-Kenya Chapter offices were bustling with activity during the period of 17th to 22nd of August 2002. This was the period we were hosting Ludmilla Marchukova, the Chair of Sevastopol Chapter 1 (Ukraine), known for her fruitful involvement of school children in environmental actions.

Here was a giant in her own right. She has not only harnessed her great teaching potential but has also pulled her medical training to instill environmental awareness in her school and succeeded in producing a generation that is not only ecologically ethical but also active promoters of the ethical constructs on which the EEIU thrives. Her school children have, for some time now, been the careful custodians of a reserved park area in Sevastopol; she has also acted as an approachable consultant on school and community mobilization paradigms on environmental awareness and actions. For sure, EEIU-Kenya boasted of having her in our midst.

Prof. Kinne, the president of EEIU, catered for the visit and all the accompanying costs. The purpose was to have an exchange between one of the most established EEIU Chapters (Sevastopol 1) and the actively upcoming EEIU-Kenya chapter, to give a chance to Ludmilla to share her experiences with EEIU Kenya members, to explore areas of further cooperation and to see for herself the worth of EEIU-Kenya in tackling some of the world's most pressing environmental and ecological problems.

For the four days she was here, Ludmilla had perhaps one of the most exhaustive and fun-filled schedules she will live to remember, especially coming after a two-day stint of air travel. During the days she visited our project sites, she talked with our members and affiliated institutions and paid a courtesy call on some personalities associated with Mombasa city. She also visited the world famous Tsavo National Park, where she was met at the gate by famous 'Tsavo Kichwa', a pride of eight lions, and later was shown all the Kenyan-wildlife big game. Her camera work perhaps will illustrate this better.

During the nights, she admired the star dotted skies, we believe her best hobby, and was entertained by the Masaai dancers at the Hotel Voyager and Ngombeni dancers at the Hotel Reef along the Kenyan coast. On her last day, she visited the Mamba Cultural village where she had a horse ride, fed crocodiles and ran away from seriously poisonous snakes. Fun and risk was hers all the time -staring lions, elephants drinking water just a few meters away, and poisonous snakes able to spit their venom several meters. After it all, she remarked 'I have no words'.

Regarding serious EEIU business, it was agreed that EEIU-Kenya Eco Clubs' members, mainly in schools, be encouraged to interact with their counter parts in Sevastopol through emails, and also to possibly organize some exchanges where possible, especially during school holidays. It was also mooted that EEIU-Kenya and EEIU-Sevastopol keep each other constantly informed about their respective activities through the Internet. Ludmilla advised EEIU-Kenya to do a lot of marketing of their activities through mass media, using radio, television and newspaper as a medium. In fact she went ahead and showed how the whole activity could be achieved. She advised that there is need to have the Kenyan public appreciate the activities of EEIU Kenya, and in one incidence where she visited 'Teen Watch Center', one of our affiliates, she literally imparted pedagological skills to the staffs involved.

The two Chapters also explored the possibility of doing similar projects and evaluating their success as influenced by the difference in locations and environment. About the impending conferences organized by the two chapters towards the end of this year, invitations were made both ways.

While the four days were not enough for the crystallization of these talks, they were clearly the eye openers to the great potential available within the EEIU global structure. These days provided the stimulus for exchange between the various chapters, the platform for bringing together the great and yet diverse talents of the various chapters, and perhaps enhanced the global institutionalization of EEIU and its concepts.

We were happy to have had you Ludmilla, and thanks also to Prof. Kinne for the enormous resources he committed to the visit.

This page was last updated on 31 January 2003.