Growing up, Bahola Maro joined his father as a poacher, hunting wildlife to earn a living. One day as they prepared to dismember a female hippo they had just killed, the hippo’s young calf appeared and instinctively tried to suckle from its dead mother. This heartbreaking image changed Bahola forever and he has since dedicated his life to conservation. He is now a great leader who inspires his community to appreciate conservation. He manages the Ndera Community Conservancy, which despite being fenceless has no reported cases of human-wildlife conflict.

Bahola was part of a group of delegates leading the Ol Pejeta Community Development Programme staff and community representatives in leadership training. The delegates - from Scotland, the UK and Kenya - all came together to share experiences, learn from each other and thereafter pass on their skills to Ol Pejeta community representatives on the 8^th June. The training, organized by the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in partnership with Laikipia Management Solutions, focused on leadership, collaboration and engagement between the community and stakeholders.

Paul Leringato (left), Ol Pejeta's Community Programme Manager and David Parkinson (right) of Laikipia Management Solutions during the leadership training	Bahola Maro (far right) with some of the delegates at the community representatives' leadership training

Most of the community representatives identified with Bahola as they live next to conservancies and they have to convince their constituents that wildlife is worth protecting. At the end of the training session, the local community representatives gave presentations on what they had learnt from the delegates. “I’m inspired by the case study of the Ndera Conservancy in Mombasa. Being a good leader means being open to new ideas and being willing to learn. I’ve learnt that I need to be a better listener and to value everyone’s contribution.” commented Paul Gichungu, a local representative from Withare community.

From the feedback it was clear that the training was a resounding success. Despite their diverse backgrounds and cultures, the participants realized that their problems were not unique and that good leadership skills can be applied anywhere, at any time. 

The training culminated in a barbeque and overnight camping at Ol Pejeta’s Hippo Hide campsite with the delegates sharing experiences under the stars.