DIANI, (KWALE COUNTY)- He enjoys writing about the forces of nature. A cool breeze here, storms in the ocean there and a love for science and maritime resources. Being closer to them, conserving them and telling the world about them is his daily job. At 46 years now, Wanjohi Kabukuru has seen a lot and published many stories about science and nature.
In the journey to becoming who he is today, Kabukuru has worked in countries that equally nurtured his talent to conserve and write about the environment. And in this week's Daring Abroad, Kabukuru tells Chams Media how working in Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles changed him as a person...and as journalist.
“When you go out there, you come out a more refined, more sharpened; you see the world differently,” he says.
Working in those countries, most of them Islands, helped him grow from just a Science journalist to a communication specialist, now based in Diani. But his journey to working in Seychelles began in 2008. In the show, Kabukuru also explains his maneuvers and how he got the job as Scientific information translator at a top NGO in Seychelles.
Also on Daring Abroad
A holder of Bachelors of Science in Communication from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in the US, Kabukuru is now the editor and head of the Indian Ocean observatory media Unit. He is also involved in raising awareness on conservation and proper utilization of marine resources.
Ahead of the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, find out why Kabukuru believes other countries are doing better than Kenya on matters maritime resources and tourism.
“For all those years I stayed there (in the aforementioned countries), there was never anything like even anybody disturbing a tourist,” he says. Lessons from the diaspora.
On November 26th, there will be a diaspora side event, part of the Sustainable Blue Economy conference, at the University of Nairobi. The diaspora side event targets to address the contribution of the diaspora, which is considered a key pillar in creating sustainable economies across the world.
The output of this side event will be a Diaspora Blue Economy Plan of Action that could be considered and adopted by diaspora stakeholders to enhance the role of the diaspora for national development and global solidarity.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Amb. Macharia Kamau told Chams Media that the diaspora side event will activate and raise awareness on how to successfully invest in resource across countries with huge blue economy.
“There is a lot of innovations and a lot of industry but a lot of it is built around their huge enormous water resources and over the years if you look at European countries they’ve built their economies on the blue economy by venturing abroad,”said Amb. Kamau.
Further adding that, “Diasporas also help themselves by investing back home. Most of the resources that come for example in Kenya come from a Kenyan diaspora but they are investing for themselves their relatives and so on.”
Wanjohi Kabukuru will be one of the keynote speakers to address delegates during the diaspora side event at the University of Nairobi.
