The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is one of the most important public institutions in Kenya. One of the apparent reasons is because the wildlife-oriented tourism sector is among the top contributors to the Country’s GDP. Cognizant of this, the Kenya Wildlife Training Institute (KWSTI) provides special training in Natural Resource Management and Tourism Development. The conservation, management and sustainability of Wildlife Bio-diversity are prime areas that concern the Institution, and one of the ways in which these are made possible is through Capacity Building. One such initiative was done by KENET engineers, who for one week (February 12-16, 2018) offered training to their ICT teams.

The training attended by seven KWS & KWSTI ICT teams relayed Campus network best practices, network monitoring and Cyber Security fundamentals. This resulted in an enlightened ICT team, improved wireless network stability and growth of human networks.

“The training and DES was quite an eye opener for KWSTI in many aspects, but what primarily resonated with KWSTI was the Network Optimization. Since our LAN was laid quite some while back, the Network Optimization helped identify bottlenecks, obsolete devices and even to some extent Network loops within the LAN,” says Mr. Anthony Kaloosya, Regional ICT Technician at KWSTI.  “This coupled with advice on best practices, led the KWS networks team envisage ideas like establishing a fiber backbone for the network and standardizing all network devices. The KWS ICT team is grateful for the help accorded via the DES, collaboration and knowledge shared throughout the week by the KENET engineer duo of Achiki and Nyanjau,” he adds.

The KWS team listening to a training facilitated by KENET

Besides the training, one of the major activities that was done was the installation of pfSense firewall with basic proxy functionalities. pfSense is an open-source firewall quite effective not only as a firewall but as a router, DHCP server and DNS server.  KENET carried out the installation and trained the ICT team at KWSTI on the operation and management of the pfsense firewall. Firewalls protect campus networks from external security attacks, and KENET usually recommends that each institution implements a network firewall to prevent and or mitigate such attacks.

In appreciation to the constant changing trends in the Information Technology world and the need to improve expertise of member Institutions in the use ICT in learning and research, KENET helps build capacity in various ways such as interactive hands-on practical residential workshops, forums, and seminars at both local and international levels. The KENET capacity building program has so far equipped numerous institutions with the skills and tools they need to define problems and issues and formulate solutions.

“The most important aspect of training is understanding the needs of the trainee and leaving them with quality content and skills to improve their environment with cheer and confidence,” notes Patricia Nyanjau, one of the engineers from KENET who trained the ICT team at KWSTI.