Valentine Mkanyika is a one-woman army at Wushumbu Conservancy
by The Star
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Wushumbu conservancy CEO Valentine Mkanyika during an interview with the Star.
The sun glows orange as it sets in Wushumbu Conservancy, Taita Taveta county. Domestic animals retreat to their shelters, while some wild animals are wide awake and ready for their hunt.
It is 6pm and the daytime heat is still evident as the temperatures are still as high as 30 degrees.
Swirling air and dust sweep the conservancy, which covers 36ha.
The CEO of the conservancy, Valentine Mkanyika, spares us her time to narrate to us how she came to work in that hardship area, having previously worked in Nairobi.
"I came in here after working as a public health officer in Mama Lucy Hospital, Nairobi, but then I wanted to explore my career further," she says with a smile.
Mkanyika, who is married with two children, said she could not stay longer at the hospital since it is not for the faint-hearted.
"It needed those who had pity and were strong in the way they would handle patients. For me, I felt that I was not cut for it. So I went back to school to do accounting and finance because it has always been my passion," she says.
She finished her studies and immediately began her job hunt. But even with all the papers she had, Mkanyika could only get menial jobs that could not help her feed herself.
She decided to open her own online business to try and entice online customers.
"I sold clothes online. I used to deliver to clients but even with this, I kept applying for jobs, including here at Wushumbu Conservancy, and I was never shortlisted," she says.
Wushumbu CEO Valentine Mkanyika (in braids) with other women rangers at the conservancy.
Mkanyika spread her wings by not ruling out any kinds of jobs from any county.
Since she grew up in Wushumbu, Mkanyika says she wanted to help the community in conservation.
"I was interested in doing conservation and I only knew of this conservancy in Taita because I'm from Wushumbu. And so I begun by applying for the position of accounts as it was vacant," she says.
She recalls how a man who had a Master's made her feel like she had failed in securing the job.
"I met another guy applying for the same but he had a Master's and all I had was certified public accountant four. But I was not intimidated. We both went to the interview," she says.
As they waited, the nine-member board decided to take the man who had a Master's, and this made Mkanyika worried.
She did not get tired of applying for jobs even as an assistant accounts officer.
It was only in 2021 that she was hired as an assistant accountant officer to deputise the manager who had been hired six months earlier.
Dry trees along the road to the conservancy
HARSH BEGINNING
All was not rosy as she thought it would be. Mkanyika soon felt like she was not meant to be in that conservancy.
"I'd stay here for a week and I would wonder how people survived with all the wild animals here. It was difficult because I had to be here and at the office uphill in Wudanyi," she says.
Having gotten used to the life in Nairobi, Mkanyika struggled to cope with the harsher conditions here.
"The weather was a challenge, with sunburns and salty water... Ooh, I could not cope. The water made me sick at first. There are no public transport vehicles to this place. I felt it was horrible. We rely on motorbikes," she says.
What's more, her husband was not making it any easier for her as he opposed her working at the conservancy.
Mkanyika says she faced opposition from the spouse over the job she had just secured.
"My husband works in Gabon and flies in for two weeks every two months. At first, he was wondering why I had pursued a job in a conservancy. He asked me how much I was getting so he could pay me to stay at home," she says.
But Mkanyika did not want to stay home she insisted that she wanted to work and that she would work in the conservancy despite the hardship.
"All the while I was wondering how I was going to gain skills and experience with that. So I turned him down and told him I was going to work in the conservancy regardless of the difficulties I was facing," she says.
Her husband was not happy with the decision despite her insistence that she wanted to give back to the community.
"He was not okay with my decision at first. He kept asking me if I was fine with the job or if I had changed my mind," she says.
"I'd tell him I had to do this and achieve my goals. I was determined because I had to tick off my list. I wanted to make this place better," she says.
The Wushumbu Conservancy in Taita Taveta county.
The first weeks were difficult. I thought this place was wild. Elephants could come to the offices. They would destroy crops. But I changed my opinion of the place later on
RISING THE RANKS
Mkanyika put her all on the job to the extent her efforts became evident to the board.
Her colleagues started admiring her work and did not only see her as a woman but someone who could move mountains in the organisation.
"I was determined and so dedicated that I even did other jobs that were not on my description. I wanted to give back to my community," she says.
At some point, the finance manager who was hired with a Master's started being absent from work, she says.
Mkanyika says she could write reports for partners and meet deadlines on behalf of the finance manager.
At this point, she had only worked as an assistant for six months.
"At that time, World Wildlife Fund were here and they had deadlines for the report submission. So I took over the manager's tasks and wrote the report," she says, pointing at files in her office.
Mkanyika says she would handle his job without his input, which made the board to start doubting the finance manager.
Wushumbu CEO Valentine Mkanyika listens to the questions
"The board came to learn of this and I was promoted to the finance manager position," she says.
She worked in that position for four months before pressure started mounting on the team because of too much work.
Many of her colleagues could not cope up with the pressure partners had put upon them, and as such, many of them resigned from their posts.
"I was left alone and I had to be a manager, the human resources manager and do all the work for like 10 people. I had to be prepared always for any task I might be called to do," she says.
Mkanyika says one day, the board met and decided that since I was doing everything, they name her the chief executive officer of the conservancy.
"Giving up is not in my vocabulary. So Ideally, I come up with proposals on how to ensure the conservancy is functional, then push the board to weigh in and accept the strategies I come up with," she says.
"The first weeks were difficult. I thought this place was wild. Elephants could come to the offices. They would destroy crops. But I changed my opinion of the place later on."
I'd like to tell women they can achieve anything anyone has achieved. Don't bring in your personal issues at work. Be professional
MESSAGE TO WOMEN
The conservancy has 30 employees: 20 rangers, seven herders, two managers and the CEO. Mkanyika says when she joined the conservancy, there were only two women rangers.
"When I took over, I proposed that we include more women as it seemed they could handle the duties here," Mkanyika says.
"Right now, we have four women rangers because we have to empower women. These are the people who can change the world. In our next recruitment, we will balance and do affirmative action."
Mkanyika says women should not let their guard down. Instead, they need to fight for their space.
"I'd like to tell women they can achieve anything anyone has achieved," she says.
She asks women to stay true to what is required of them and not be cowed.
"Don't bring in your personal issues at work. Be professional. That is the only way you can say no to people trying to intimidate you with favours or anything else. Be consistent with what you believe is right," she says.
Gladys Wanjiru during the interview with the Star.
I'd like to tell women they can achieve anything anyone has achieved. Don't bring in your personal issues at work. Be professional
FEELING INSPIRED
One of the women rangers, Gladys Wanjiru, says Mkanyika has been a crucial help to her during her short stay in the conservancy.
"She has streamlined this place to the extent you will not feel left out. She gives workers an equal opportunity to grow despite us being a lean team," she says.
But she says being a woman ranger has not been an easy ride for her and also other women.
"I started work in 2021 at Wundanyi branch offices. Back then, the place was a branch, not a conservancy yet. I've always been passionate about wildlife. Even when I was a child," she says.
Wanjiru says when a ranger post was shared, she decided to try her luck with the conservancy.
"So when I saw the position, first I doubted myself, so I did not apply for it. But after a while, they shared a vacancy again. They were looking for rangers at the time, and they told us to submit our IDs," she says.
She got recruited and was taken for training sessions at another conservancy in Kasigau.
But after she got the job, she got pregnant by one of the locals around Wushumbu conservancy.
But like Mkanyika, Wanjiru did not let her challenges stop her from pursuing her interest of doing rangers' work.
"Leaving my baby was not easy. At the time, the baby was a year old. I had to get a monthly salaried babysitter as my mother is a business woman, she says.
Wanjiru pays the sitter Sh2,500 a month.
Despite her determination, Wanjiru says visiting home to see her baby was costly.
"Once I'm there, I get 'addicted' to her being around, and adapting to her absence once I come back to work is difficult," she says.
But she insists that dedication should be every woman's cup of tea.
"There are no gender roles. You just have to dedicate yourself to be better at your job. It's hard to be a woman ranger, it is hard to be a CEO who does everything like Mkanyika, but one thing is for sure, dedicate your time well and love what you do," she says.
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