There are some 6,000 traditional healers in the East African nation of
Kenya, practitioners whose art has been passed down from generation-to-generation, mostly
by word of mouth.
Most Kenyans rely on these herbalists, who treat a range of ailments at
a fraction of the cost of a trip to a hospital.
But the herbalists and the ancient medicine they practice are threatened
by massive cutdowns of the vegetation they use to derive their medicines. And there has
been little cooperation between the loosely affiliated practitioners, the government and
modern medicine to ensure that their resources and livelihoods are protected.
Enter Laurel Salzman, a senior biology major and Africana Studies minor
who in 1996 traveled to Kenya on a Union Term Abroad to study the problems faced by the
herbalists and to bring their plight to the attention of others.
Salzman and 50 other Union students are presenting this week at the
National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Salisbury State University in Maryland.
Her advisor is Prof. A.T. Miller of Africana Studies.
Salzman developed a questionnaire, translated it into Swahili (a
language she has studied at Union), and traveled up to two hours from her base in Nairobi
to meet with healers. From interviewing about 30 healers in urban and rural areas, she
developed a comprehensive report about their problems to be presented to the government
and various environmental organizations.
“By far, their biggest problem is a loss of resources from massive
cutdowns,” Salzman said. “And because there is very little cooperation with the
government, they aren't notified of pending cutdowns so that they can go in ahead of
time and harvest plants for their medicines.”
Salzman, of East Greenwich, R.I., plans to stay at Union another year to
pursue her master's degree in teaching, but she plans to perhaps apply to the Peace
Corp or travel in the next few years. “All of us are teachers,” she said.
“It's all about communication. I need to see more of the world. There are places
I need to go.”