To Yale With Love

By Mona Ombogo, Jane Kombo and Jimmy Musili

A surprise phone call on a Friday night, it was our District Project Chair, having retrieved our contacts from the District logs. Imagine the surprise of our Projects Director when she identified herself. Why was she calling? She needed a club to urgently pick up a global grant for a scholarship to one very deserving gentleman, Jimmy Musili, set to go to, wait for it, Yale University!  As in, one of the top universities in the world!

Taking up the challenge, in less than two weeks, RC Athi River managed not just to complete our grant qualification on the Club Runner portal,  but be the first club to do so in 2023! As proud as we were, the most incredible thing was the knowledge that we would be instrumental in sending an environmentalist and game warden, Jimmy, to study for two years at Yale and return to impart that knowledge on Kenyan soil.

The Global Grant is in collaboration with RC Westport, who welcomed Jimmy Stateside alongside side twelve other clubs.  Though we are co-custodians of this grant and achievement, the story can only be told through the eyes of the man himself.

Here is Jimmy…

From The Yale School of The Environment with Love

Growing up in the early 1990s in a remote Village in Tseikuru, Kitui County, Kenya was a privilege; at least, I can say that now! I grew up in a village approximately 25 kilometers from the 745 km² Mwingi National Reserve in Kenya, which made me know the sounds of many wild animals. I could tell if it was a hyena, jackal, lion, zebra, wood hoopoe, ring-necked dove, or ushbaby, among other animal species, upon hearing their sounds in the late evening or at night. When grazing the cattle, we would partake of wild Indian berries, among other fruits, and drink water from the springs that effortlessly frothed out clean water. Life was amazing, and it was a privilege to experience it that way. It’s a completely different story today, many of these animals are not easily seen or heard.

As climate change effects became worse and anthropogenic intrusions continued, habitat destruction and fragmentation occurred, and animal species gradually declined. Presently, the National Reserve that had all these animals using our villages as dispersal areas is inhabited by illegal livestock herders and has been ecologically compromised.

These events propelled me toward environmental management, and reversing the adverse changes witnessed in these national reserves is my greatest professional goal. I aspire to see my community benefit from a return and preservation of these natural resources and for us to adopt nature-based solutions to climate change.

Fast forward, Yale School of Environment (YSE) heard my knock, and the door was opened! However, the financial obligations seemed like a whole other mountain to surmount. Then Yale offered me 90% of tuition. I was almost there, except coming up with the balance and money for my cost of living was still a challenge and definitely not a walk in the park.

 Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce a unique group of people; so special is the group that I will forever remain indebted to them; here comes Rotary International. They are a network of highly dedicated people guided by service to humanity, honesty, and the community.

 My country Kenya is within Rotary District 9212, and these people held my hand to bridge the gap between Yale University Scholarship and the difference in the cost of attendance running to over $30k.  I needed a grant which was so graciously facilitated by the Rotary Club of Westport and Athi River. To say I have encountered selfless individuals driven by nothing but humanity is an understatement.

I am at a world-renowned university, on a fully paid scholarship, with my cost of living taken care of as well. Instead of taking this spaced to talk more about ecosystem management and restoration blueprint, I want to encourage dreamers and achievers out there to keep striving towards their goals. Getting admission to a top-notch global university is a coveted opportunity; once that happens, do not look at the cost; knock on those doors, and I know one door, for me, the Rotary International, will be opened.

My first three weeks in the United States have been fantastic; I have met Rotarians from different clubs, Westport, North Branford, Wallingford, Woodbury, Wilton, and New Haven. Distinctively they have identifiable characters all through; they have selflessly given themselves to serve others. Special regards to the DG District 9212, Rtn. Sarah, Rtn. Jennifer, Rtn. Protus, Rtn. Rose, Rtn. Marian, Rtn. Rick, Rtn. Lyla, Rtn. Leslie, Rtn. Jane, Rtn. Mona, Rtn. James, the Rotary Club of Athi River, and the Rotary Club of Westport. You

I proudly wear a jacket, rushed to be by the Rotary Club of Athi River at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on the day I was departing. Crested on the jacket is the logo for the regions motto this year, We Are One. Indeed this isn’t just a motto in Rotary East Africa (District 9212), it’s a motto that encompasses the Rotary International Theme, Creating Hope In The World.

Thank you for creating hope in me, and standing with me, as one.

Jimmy Musili is a Rotary Global Grant Scholar

Master of Environmental Management Candidate 2025

Yale School of Environment, New Haven, CT, United States

Rotary Club of Athi River-District 9212

Host Club-Rotary Club of Westport-District 7980