We're In Maasailand

Living in a more remote part of Maasailand brings amazing experiences as well as causing us to wonder, can we really do this. Those of you praying for us, it is making a differenct.

This year we are seeing some green, it has rained a little awhile ago. We have never seen this before. Now they are anxious for more rain. Lucy, our host is having to bring water down to here place since her tank if about empty.

We are living in a metal house with dirt floors. No window in the bedroom, just a bed and our bag piled up everywhere. WE NEED TO BRING LESS.

Jon is at a male circumscion celebration today over at the next boma. He got to see the cow being slaughtered. He's hiked to the top of the Ngong Hills with Wilson the herbist and loving it. The next day they hiked to the Spring, he's gaining lots of knowledge.

I've been out to even more remote areas to visit with women who have taken the class and have already started their businesses. These are very determined women and working with extreme conditions. FLIES ARE EVERYWHERE. We are staying healthy.

We had our MWEEP meeting yesterday, that was a wonderful experience as well as exhausting.

Today we are in Ngong shopping for the food for the celebration, they are expecting about 100 people.

WE'RE OFF TO KENYA 2008

Jon and Loanna Day are heading to Kenya today, November 29, 2008. We'll fly on BA through London. Since we get in too late for the flight to Nairobi, we'll spend the night with our daughter's family in Reading, England. Then on December 1 we'll arrive in Nairobi late, spend the night and head out to Ngong (east side of the Ngong Hills) and then continue to Oloshoi-bor (east side of the Ngong Hills in the Rift Valley) We'll be spending the first 8 nights with Lucy.

Many of you have heard her story.

On Saturday, December 6th we will be attending an all day event -- the graduation of the women taking the coursework from Project Baobab/MWEEP. The women will be presenting their business plans after 19 weeks of attending class ( 3 or 4 Saturdays a month, June -November). The top 1/3 of the class will receive a $100 grant to start their business.

We will also be meeting with the girls who receive help with their school fees to attend secondary school and some of their parents. One girl is attending Moi University and she would like to give back to her community by having a meeting with the girls in the village. Even thought school is not in session in December, we will be able to visit Olooseous Secondary Boarding School where some of our girls attend.

We will also visit with a Kenyan organization called FAWE http://www.fawe.org/ and also the Green Belt Movement http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/ in order to make connections for MWEEP Kenya.

The second part of our trip we will be staying out of the Rift Valley on the east side of the Ngong Hills with Christine and her husband. She has been managing our coursework with Project Baobab. The MWEEP Kenya women and I will be meeting with Project Baobab to evaluate the coursework.

On December 19th we will be heading back to England to spend Christmas with the Marcus and Amanda Hahnemann family. This will be grandparent time.

African Dinner for MWEEP

The Maasai Women's Education and Empowerment Program USA had an awesome African Dinner at the beginning of this month for a fundraising event. We are now just wondering if it will be an annual event.

We had the amazing contribution of talent, skill and time when Simba Tirima and his wife Koi Tirima volunteered their time to cook the meal. Simba is the International Student Recruitment Director at the University of Idaho and Koi is a Professor of English at Olympic College in Bremerton, WA.

They cooked: Chicken a la Simba, Githeri, Baked Rice with Kenya seasonings, Ntorro, Chapati and Kenyan Chai. It was a very delicious meal with many going back for seconds.

A VERY BIG thank you to Simba and Koi. They made the evening special.

We also had guests from Project Baobab, Wambui (who works for Microsoft and is a Project Baobab board member)and Alice (the new Executive Director for Project Baobab who is moving back to Kenya). You will have read the blog about our work with Project Baobab in Kenya. Wambui spoke about the impact of educating the village women and the difference that makes for her, her family and the community. Thanks go out to both of them for taking the time to join us.

We appreciate our guests for taking the time to be there and to learn about the need for educational opportunities for the girls and women. We are so thankful for all the contributions and for those who have said they wish to host a "Dinner In" or a "Lunch In".

Education for Women in the Village

Picture taken by Francis Sukada (SIMOO), 2008

MWEEP USA has had exciting news about the class being offered in

the village of Oloshoi-bor. The women have now had 10 of their classes.

They attend class 3 of 4 Saturdays of the month.

Women are coming from 4 different villages. Some of them walk up to

2 hours one way.

This past Saturday, August 23rd, the class had a visit from the Interim Executive Director from Project Baobab. This is the group that is offering the class and has developed the curriculum.

Colleen McLaughlin is in Kenya now and went to visit the class with the in country director, Jane, and the head trainer, Ruth. They took along a Spanish journalist from Business Weekly who want to see what the classes were like. Fortunately he took along some photographers so we will hopefully see some of those pictures.

Here are some quotes from Colleen: "The class was fantastic."

" The class is being taught in 3 languages: English, Kiswahili and Kimaasai - which I found incredible - there were women who followed in one, two or all languages."

"We asked the women to share some of the knowledge they've gained though the Project Baobab course and it was so exciting to see all of them anxious to share. They talked about how they had tried business before, but were running things "upside down" and now they understand the importance of bookkeeping, customer relations, business location, marketing, etc. Businesses mentioned were selling milk, a hotel (small restaurant/cafe'), selling mobile top-up cards, braiding hair, a "camera lady" (which challenges gener roles here, as usually men are the "camera men" -- she mentioned that if she hadn't had the lesson on thinking creatively about business ideas, she never would've seen her camera as a business opportunity).

Project Baobab also teaches Life Skills: one woman shared that from the "family relationships" section, she's now learned to communicate with her husband in a way that he is more open to her and even supportive of her.

Then to all of you who have contributed, Colleen said ". . . you should feel great about the opportunity that you have been able to avail these women - it is clear their lives have changed and they said a prayer for you. You have truly made a difference."

Fundraising Activities

Fundraising is continuing through out the summer.

One fundraiser was a neighborhood garage sale, 5 miles of sales.

Our family decided to donate what we raised to the Maasai and to

put up a display to educate people about MWEEP. Neighbors and friends

donated items to sell which helped to make the event successful. ANYONE

interested in helping with this event next year or donating items (no clothes) please call

Loanna 360-830-4674 or email mweepboard@massaiwomen.org.

We will be hosting several lunch and dinners in. If you would like to attend an event, please call

or email Loanna.

Hellen Pulei from MWEEP Kenya is in the Seattle area. She has already attended one event and will be at two more events before she returns to Kenya.

Coursework for Village Women

The women taking the Project Baobab course number 30. They have now taken 5 of their 17 classes. They are coming from several villages to Oloshoi-bor where they are hosting the class in the local church. They start about 9:00 am and work until 2:00. Three women are hired to cook for them and present a lunch at 2:00 before the women start heading home. Since conditions in that area of the Rift Valley are very dry and gardens are without food, having a meal is very important. Women are hired to bring wood, water and the food and then do the preparation and clean up. There is also a woman hired to take care of any children who might be with their mothers.

The women meet the first three Saturdays of the month. I have been receiving emails with comments about the class.

"The training has become more and more interesting women are learning alot (more) than they expected, the topic we learned was about the reasons for starting a business and advantages of a business."

"I want to brief you about Saturday training. The turn up was good, 30 women attended the training. The lessons are wonderful every woman is enjoying it and they have started involving themselves in small businesses even before they have finish the training. This have bring a great impact in the life of each woman who is attending the training. The topic learned last Saturday was, types of businesses and marketing. Loanna may God bless you for organizing for us to have such training. I believe we shall never be the same again."

We are looking forward to some pictures from the class and will add them to the blog page as soon as they are received.

INVITATION TO HOST A "DINNER IN"

HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING ABOUT A WAY TO BECOME INVOLVED WITH MWEEP

Hosting a "Dinner IN" or luncheon/tea would be a fun and exciting way to let others know about MWEEP and to give them an opportunity to donate toward the education of girls and women in Maasailand, Kenya.

If you are considering this idea, please call Loanna Day (MWEEP Founder) at 360-830-4674
or email at mweepboard@maasaiwomen.com

We will have board members help you with any aspect: hosting, invitations, the meal, drinks, thank you notes and of course the presentation and decorations.

As of June, 2008 we are still in need of raising $8000.00 to meet the budget for this year.
These funds will help send about 30 girls to secondary boarding or day school for the 3rd and final term of 2008. It will also help pay for the Project Baobab Entrepreuer Coursework for the women in the villages.

Spring Fundraising Events

This Spring we have had several "lunch or dinner in" events. The idea is to host a lunch/tea/dinner/etc where women are invited to attend and bring a friend. The host presents the food or shares with another friend or ?. One or more board members of MWEEP USA attends to provide a presentation on the program. This usually includes photos, traditional Maasai clothes and beads work as well as information about the girls and women receiving costp-share help with school fees and for the woman in the village coursework to learn how to develop and present a business plan.

Luncheon at Loanna Day's (MWEEP Founder)
AMY'S CHOCOLATES FROM BREMERTON, WA donated chocolate dipped strawberries.
Loanna made an African Peanut Soup with shrimp that had been caught by her
home on the Hood Canal. The new brochure, business card and first newsletter
were introduced.

Dinner at Barb Stark's (MWEEP Corresponding Secretary)
Barb hosted a meal of salads and did the presentation with Pat O'Rourke (MWEEP)
Vice-President) and Liz Drew (MWEEP Secretary). Some members of Pat's guided
tour to Kenya were also present and sharing their stories.


We have had about 10 - 20 women attending our events, a very manageable group.
Those attending are friends, neighbors and colleagues as well as other women who they bring.

Central Kitsap Presbyterian Church Women's Ministries hosted a "Maasai in May" event. It was the 3rd annual gathering to hear about the needs of girls and women in Kenya. Wendy Kraft (MWEEP Donor Relations), Barb Stark (Corresponding Secretary, Barbara Coffey (MWEEP Financial Advisor) and Loanna Day (MWEEP Founder)helped with the presentation. The Fellowship Group of the church handled the meal which was provided greens for salad and guests brought toppings for the salad. We were delighted to have Hellen Pulei (MWEEP KENYA Assistant Chairlady) attend and speak to us (she is visiting her husband in the Seattle area) and Koi Tirima (Kenyan daughter, wife, mother and Professor of English at Olympic College) to share the way education makes a difference for the women in Kenya.
We had about 30 women in attendance who came from CKPC, Summit Avenue Presbyterian Church, North Point Presbyterian church and other invited friends.

The photos are of: Hellen and Shiela, Koi Tirima (in blue), Hellen Pulei(in red) presenting, Barb Stark and friend at the dinner table, and women at Loanna's luncheon.

"Educating women is like a vaccine against poverty and AIDS/HIV"

-- Koi Tirima (Kenyan daughter, wife, mother, Professor of English Olympic College, Bremerton, WA)

Village Coursework in Oloshoi-bor

The MWEEP USA board has continued to meet monthly. We are now waiting for the letter of determination from the IRS so we can be an offical non-profit.

We have had severl fundraising "dinners in" and were able to send off half of the fee for the coursework to Project Baobab. We now are continuing to set up fundraising events so we will be able to wire money for the second half of the course and to pay for the local MWEEP fees for coursework lunch, child care and transportation. By August we will need to wire $2000.00 for the last term fees to the boarding schools where the girls attend.

The Project Baobab cousework in the village began on Saturday, June 14th. There were 29 women in attendance. This first session "was about a vision and it was so interesting" according to Christine Pulei who is a MWEEP Kenya member and is managing this project. This coursework will continue for 24 weeks with a few breaks.

On December 6th they have scheduled the graduation ceremony for the coursework. Jon and Loanna Day plan to be in attendance to honor their work and to hear the women present their business plans. draft 10:12:00 AM by loanna Delete

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MWEEP USA Non-Profit Status

The MWEEP board in the US has now finally completed the non-profit paperwork and it is mailed off. We have our EIN# so we are ready to receive donations.

They can be made to: MWEEP
PO Box 1958
Silverdale, WA 98380

EIN# 87-0809872

We have finalized our MISSION and GOALS, they are:

MISSION: Providing educational opportunities to empower Maasai girls and women

Goals:

1) provide funding for cost-share educational opportunitites for girls and women through:
*secondary school
*college and vocational opportunities in health care, leadership, agriculture,
teaching community development, social work, finance and environment
*life and entrepreneurial skills at the village level
2) educate Americans about the life of Maasailand women and organize fund
raising for support of Maasailand women's education

We are pleased to be adding the education at the village level with the coursework that will be taught by Project Baobab. The photo is from December, 2007 when the MWEEP Kenya women and Loanna Day met with the Project Baobab in country director, Jane Kunyiha.

Our immediate funding needs are for this coursework and the $100.00 grants that will go to the top 1/3 of the women when they present their business plans upon graduation.

New Secondary Girls School in the Rift Valley

I was pleased to be able to view the new secondary girl's school in the Rift Valley. It is in the village of Kimuka right next to the Primary school there where Joshua Santiamo is the headmaster.

I did meet Joshua but school had already ended for the year so didn't have an opportunity to view his school.

The new school is ready to open this January. It will be a day school until there are funds to build the dormatories. It is my understanding that they will begin with Form 1 (9th grade to us) and add a Form each each year through Form Four.

A church in Ireland matched the money the greater community raised. The Maasai "taxed" each man a certain amount and each woman a lesser amount. Once they met their commitment, the group came with the rest of the money and built the school.

This group is called Asterias. You can see their webpage at www.asterias.org and then go to Team 2007.

MWEEP Kenya continuing to support SCHOOL FEES

I have been receiving emails from MWEEP in Ngong. They are continuing to meet. Last week the officials met and today, January 19th the whole MWEEP Kenya group met.

Inspite of unrest in their country, they are moving ahead with the goal to support girls and women to attend school this new school year and issuing scholarships for the first term starting in January.

I am hoping to receive a report from this meeting this coming week and will post information at that time. At this time I am not sure if all the schools are opening.

Life in Kenya for our Maasai friends post election

It is a very difficult time in Kenya while the country is sorting out it's response to the election and to the final outcome. Other countries have now gotten involved in working through this and to promote peacekeeping.

We have had emails from some of our friends. There was some unrest in Ngong Town; however those living in the Rift Valley around Olosho oibor have been safe. There are hardships related to the infrastructure: food getting to the stores, costs have gone up, available petrol and it's cost and restricted travel (ex. what is it safe to go to Nairobi, or where in Nairobi can we go?).

We have heard from Kasey Cox with Network of Change. He left Kenya for the US soon after the conflicts began. He told us that as he flew out of Nairobi, he could see many fires. He is not sure when he'll return. He had just built a house on Rosemary Sakuda's property and started a sustainable garden. He also had a memorial garden underway on the school property for sustainable food.

We've also heard from Project Baobab leaders in Nairobi, we are hoping to network with them in the future. They are back in the office and their staff and families are safe. Things are moving slowly.

There are various points of view regarding the politics and who should do what. Who has been corrupt/illegal, etc. Both parties and many people say there are problems from both groups. We pray that there will be negotiations to bring all peoples together in some form of cooperation so the country and it's people can move ahead.

Many Kenyans voted (some statistics we heard were 70%), democracy and it's privileges like voting mean a lot to these people. We have much to learn regarding our voting, etc. They want their votes to count and their voices to be heard.

If you wish to read more look at:
www.BBC.com
www.nationmedia.com/dailynation
www.eaststandard.net/news

I will post another blog story regarding our MWEEP women.