Kenya: Kenya Forest Service hosted a graduation ceremony for Lusoi Hill and Mukutani Community Forest Association scouts at Kenya Forest Law Enforcement Academy (FoLEA) in Londiani, Kericho County on Tuesday.
The Kenya Forest Service shared information about the ceremony on its official Twitter account, highlighting, “CFA SCOUTS GRADUATES…Kenya Forest Service Directorate of Protection and Security today hosted the graduation ceremony of Lusoi Hill and Mukutani Community Forest Association scouts at the Forest Law Enforcement Academy (FoLEA) in Londiani, Kericho County.”
CFA SCOUTS GRADUATES…
Kenya Forest Service Directorate of Protection and Security today hosted the graduation ceremony of Lusoi Hill and Mukutani Community Forest Association scouts at the Forest Law Enforcement Academy (FoLEA) in Londiani, Kericho County. pic.twitter.com/MDLSwKjvvR
— Kenya Forest Service (@KeForestService) February 13, 2024
They also shared pictures of the ceremony on their official Twitter page, captioning them “CFA SCOUTS GRADUATES.”
FoLEA is part of the larger training arm of the Service alongside Kenya Forestry College, where both disciplined and professional staff undertake tailored courses to sharpen and enhance their abilities to undertake responsibilities in the line of duty.
The Academy has over the years also partnered with other agencies to offer training opportunities and courses for community scouts and County Government inspectorate officers.
On admission, the community scouts were taken through various sessions, including drills and parade, bushcraft, command and control procedures, customer care, intelligence gathering, map reading, disaster management, work safety and hygiene, forest protection and management and Human Rights Based Approaches among other key elements to equip them to complement forest protection efforts properly.
The community scouts underwent their training concurrently with inspectorate officers from the County Government of Homabay.
On behalf of the Chief Conservator of Forests, the Graduation ceremony was presided over by the Kenya Forestry College Principal, Dr Elizabeth Wambugu, who, while recognizing all KFS partners working towards the conservation of Lusoi Hill and Mukutani Forests, appreciated their efforts to community sensitization.
She expressed optimism that the scouts would use the knowledge they acquired to better themselves and perform their duties effectively.
The Principal reiterated the importance of all members of the public taking part in tree growing to enable the country to achieve the 15 billion trees targeted by the year 2032.
The Ag. Commandant Wilson Leboo, while addressing the trainees, expressed happiness towards the attitude and cooperation of the scouts towards the training. The Commandant reminded the scouts that they are now ambassadors of forest protection and conservation whenever they interact with others. He further encouraged teamwork between the scouts and KFS rangers.
The stakeholders and partners who support training activities were appreciated and commended for playing a tremendous role in conservation.
Representatives from the Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Program (SACDEP-Kenya), Homabay County Government, Lusoi Hill and Mukutani Community Forest Associations, Kenya Forestry College staff, and FoLEA officers attended the ceremony.