Deepening Bonds: KKL-JNF Strengthens Partnership with Kenya. Following a memorandum of understanding signed in 2017 on reforestation of arid and semi-arid areas, as well as the successful food security and runoff water management project in Turkana, Kenya, the President and his wife came to Israel and participated in a celebratory ceremony held in their honor at the Grove of Nations in KKL-JNF's Jerusalem Forest, where a tree was planted to symbolize the strong bond and friendship shared by the two nations, and with KKL-JNF in particular.
The next day, the First Lady, herself an environmental activist, visited the Eshta'ol Nursery in order to observe KKL-JNF's technology and know-how and to promote collaboration for the planting of the "Zion Forest" in Kenya, further enhancing KKL-JNF's partnership with the African country. The project, initiated by the Embassy of Israel in Nairobi, will be part of the President's wife's large-scale tree-planting initiative throughout Kenya, in the context of the global fight against climate change.
KKL-JNF's agricultural project in Turkana meant to enhance food security and manage runoff water was launched more than a decade ago. In this project, experts from KKL-JNF and the Arava Institute collaborate with the local population to advance and enhance agriculture around Turkana Lake in northern Kenya, along the Syrian-African rift. Using various agricultural methods currently applied in southern Israel, Israeli experts have been able to assist farmers in this arid region.
Yitzhak Vaknin, Co-Chairman, KKL-JNF: "We are proud to host the President of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto, at our Grove of Nations, and to continue a long-standing tradition where dignitaries who visit Israel plant a tree here, thereby taking part in the Zionist enterprise. We wish the President and his wife a successful visit in Israel."
The The President of Kenya visits Israel. Photograph: Alex Kolomoiski, KKL-JNF Photo Archive