"Look at the landscapes; The ecosystem, and the biodiversity that surrounds this area, now. The nature of this place has always amazed me. I can smell the sweat striking on my clothes. I can feel the temperature. I can perceive the humidity of the heat trapped into the sole of this wetland in my feet. I also see the roots of the trees that surround the bay, and they are so far from me.
This landscape I am immersed in is a swamp, the Ondiri Swamp.
Ondiri used to be a religious place a long time ago. I still see people from Kikuyu coming here to engage with the most spiritual source of nature of this place.
Most importantly, Ondiri is a unique, clean water supplier to the towns nearby.
Today, I smile. I smile because I know most people from this area and I are doing a great job. We have been working so hard. It has been many years now, and we can finally see the results. We have been restoring Ondiri to its original shape and function.
You have to know that there are bad people here also. They have taken advantage of this Swamp. They have taken advantage of Wetlands most generally. They have been unloading industrial waste for decades here.
I do not like these people. They do not know the actual damages they are causing to people, depriving them mainly of clean water.
When I am on my way to work -I am a professor of biology at the local high school- I stop by the Swamp. From above the hill, I have a look at all we have done so far.
I see the uprooting of eucalyptus trees and the reimplantation of new indigenous ones. They help conserve the biodiversity in the area and conserve clean water, releasing it during the dry season. I see illegal water pumps from private owners being shut down for a long time now. I see plastic and more garbage slowly disappearing.
The Land is all we are; my mum used to say when I was little. Today, I have grown up. My mum is not here with me anymore, but I agree with what she said. The Land I have grown up in has shaped who I am today. It shaped all of us.
Today, I thank the Wetlands around me particularly. They are all I have left, all we have left. I am so happy my mum was right. After all, we all must preserve and nourish our Land. It is all we have left to pass on to our future generations and the only chance to say who we had been for them."