How to be a Professional Safari Guide in Kenya

It’s almost everybody’s dream to travel the world. That’s why most young people take up tourism as their field of study. Some choose a job that could allow them to achieve that dream, such as being a seafarer, flight attendant, or tour guide. If you enjoy telling stories and spreading awareness about nature and wildlife conversation, you can be a tour guide in a safari park.

Aside from working for a cause, you can get to meet globetrotters who might have the same passion as you.

Tour Guide Opportunity for Maasai Mara of Kenya

Kenya is well-known for its rich and diverse wildlife. Tourists from all over the world visit Africa, particularly Kenya, to see some of the biggest and rarest animals in the world. Lions, buffalo, leopards, elephants, rhinos, baboons, giraffes, baboons, and flamingos can be found in its national parks and reserves.

That’s why Kenya’s tourism industry needs more tour guides who have an excellent knowledge about wildlife. Do you know who has the greatest potential to be tour guides? The locals; Maa-speaking residents of Kenya, like you.

Koiyaki Guiding School for Aspiring Tour Guides

The European Union Biodiversity Conservation Programme and another organization called Tusk are funding schools through tourism. They funded the building of Koiyaki Guiding School. In this school, you will learn about wildlife management, ecology, first aid, communication, as well as skills in mechanics and maintenance.

At the end of the course, the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association or KPSGA will award you the Bronze Certification. It means you now have a tourism-related qualification and are now a certified tour guide. You can start working in any camp, park, and nature reserve in Kenya.

Koiyaki Guiding School Qualifications for Admission

If you want to study at the Koiyaki Guiding School and become a certified tour guide, you must:

  1. Be a Maasai

  2. Have at least a‘C’ in English

  3. Have a ‘D+’ average in high school

  4. Pass the written exam

  5. Pass the interview

25 students will be selected to participate in the three-term courses. Those who will graduate after the course will be eligible to work in the field. After which, you can apply for Silver KPSGA Certification.

To date, more than 200 Maasai people, 32 of whom are women, have graduated from the school. They mostly work as professional safari guides in the Masai Mara.

Transforming Lives Through Tourism

The efforts exerted by the founders of Koiyaki Guiding School – Ron Beaton, Dixon Kaelo, and Jackson Looseiya– have paid off. One by one their goals are being achieved. They have equipped the locals with professional skills to participate and promote wildlife conservation. More importantly, they have provided the community with their much-deserved financial benefits from tourism. Thus, they have transformed lives through tourism.

Bottom Line

If you are a Maasai, who wants to be part of the change you want to see in your country, study and become a tour guide. Education can empower you to adapt to the changes in the world and encourage you to be an active part of wildlife preservation.