Jon & Loanna Day’s daughter, Amanda Hahnemann, and their two grandsons – Hunter (11) and Austin (9) went to Kenya in December 2009 and spent a day in the village of Oloshoibor to experience life among the Maasai. These Maasai women are part of the MWEEP project that gives girls and women an opportunity for education. Oloshoibor is located in the Rift Vaalley just below the Ngong Hills.
Amanda wrote this blog entry.
We find ourselves into the autumn season again with colder days, leaves turning color & Thanksgiving around the corner. It is the time of year that we are reminded how fortunate we are and how very much we have. Just a year ago, my mom, Loanna Day, and I were putting the final touches on our Kenyan itinerary. I was able to travel to Nairobi with my boys aged 11 & 9 to see first hand what MWEEP has done for a community half a world away.
Just the other day I was sitting in my children’s Primary School in the rolling hills of Shropshire, England. I was listening to the local vicar speaking at the school’s Harvest assembly. The backdrop was a stage overflowing with non-perishables the families had brought in to donate. The audience was hall full of children in impeccable uniforms & quite affluent group of parents. The speech was about global food distribution. He shared the fact that 10% of the worlds population has 90% of the food. Say that to yourself again. It is staggering. As a visual, he had 10 of us parents stand up & had one parent hold 10 cans of food. He then told all of us that that was reprehensive of how the world’s food is shared & do we think that this is fair? He then had that parent whose arms were spilling over with food; share out the cans with the 9 others. We all decided that this was much more the way things should be. The vicar was sharing this story with this privileged group because it is a wrong that should be made right. Was he trying to make us feel guilty for having so much? Was he asking us to stand up and do something about it?
Why am I sharing this with you? What does it have to do with MWEEP? There are two reasons. The first is that any time my kids and I hear about people with so little, it reminds us of our friends in the Ngong hills. Our minds travel back to Africa and we think of the Maasai that may not have a lot but can still find it in their hearts to share what they do have with a smile. They left such an impression on some very young boy’s minds. The second is to point out what MWEEP is accomplishing by educating these Maasai women to break the cycle of uneducation so they can themselves tackle hunger and poverty.
December 2009 my sons, Hunter, Austin & I received a Maasai education during a visit to the village of Oloshoibor. After a long drive from Nairobi to Oloshoibor, we stopped to collect people, water and other items needed out further in the remote areas of the Ngong hills. My children were staggered by the attention they received from other people in the area. Being some of the only white people around, we stuck out like sore thumbs. There were kids running around the van shouting, “Mazunga! Mazunga!” They were so excited to see us and expectations were running high for handouts. We carried on into bumpy, dusty terrain, collecting more people and items as we traveled.
Next stop was Rosemary’s house. We got to see first hand some of her and her family’s business endeavors. She has started a primary school on the backside of her property. Even though it was a school holiday while we were there, some of her youngest students showed up in uniform to sing for us! We also got to see some chickens she has started to raise to sell, eat & collect eggs from. Her daughter was also going to be getting married in the not too distant future and they would need food for the celebration. Now, that is planning ahead! Rosemary also kept goats and cows. When we were visiting, there was a serious drought. All of the animals & plants looked like they were in much need of water. My dad and I helped to lift up a cow and move it to shade as it was too weak to stand on its own. It was very eye opening and as an animal lover, hard to see.
After some more serious four-wheeling, we parked up under a lone acacia tree and got ready to meet the village! It would have been impossible to not feel the excitement and anticipation that met us when the van doors rolled open! What a reception! There were people everywhere, kids running, goats munching on what they could find & dogs trying to seek out shade. There were a few buildings surrounded by natural fence made up of dead branches from the thorny acacia tree. The “buildings” were simple, dirt floored structures. One was made from corrugated metal and another was the traditional mud & dung house used to cook in. The eldest generation of ladies could be found sitting on the ground doing beadwork under trees in the courtyard. Some of the youngest generation joined these ladies doing the beads or helping out in the cookhouse. It looked like it has taken days of preparation to get ready for our arrival. We had the privilege to sit down & share a simple meal with the Kenya MWEEP ladies. They were SO proud to share their own personal stories. We heard what education they received, what they had learned and what businesses they have started.
During this meeting with the ladies, my sons had an absolute blast with a small tribe of Maasai kids. Without much of an introduction, they were running around the surrounding area, climbing the hills, learning how to heard goats & of course playing soccer too. Kids have a knack of quickly picking up that world wide language of play!
Upon our departure, each of these Maasai MWEEP ladies produced gifts for all of us – my boys included. Now remember I just described this simple homestead. There is not much there. These people don’t have much of their own and they were handing gifts over to us! It was really touching. A heartwarming moment to say the least. We said our good byes and left to the sounds of the ladies singing and dancing for us. A day we will never forget. We learned to slow down and enjoy life, appreciate your family, show value in all generations, generosity and humility. A MAASAI EDUCATION
Our day with this Maasai village will stay in our minds for a long time to come. It was a busy day. We saw a lot, heard a lot of stories and saw first hand the way the third world lives. For two young boys, it was a lot to take in. It was not right away that we really appreciated what we had seen. Back in Nairobi, we were all swimming in the hotel pool and exchanging stories with some fellow Americans. My 11 year old son then proudly explained, “My Nana’s project” and what was being done for the Maasai. The other day in the school hall, each of us could picture the 90% of the world’s population with only 10% of the food. We know exactly what that looks like and will never forget it.
MWEEP has touched the lives of so many people already! The ripple effect is amazing in an area like this. One educated girl able to go off and earn her own living, benefits generations behind her. The hope is that it will benefit generations to come as well. So, now back to the school hall in England will tons of cans of food surrounding us. A one off handout is great & can make someone happy & satisfied for a day. It is not going to feed the village tomorrow, the next week, the next month or the next year. They need to take care of themselves. Without education, this is an impossible task.
To each person working with MWEEP USA, our hats are off to you. We have seen the result of all of your time, efforts, hard work, meetings, fundraising, planning, etc, etc. What you are doing is creating REAL results half a world away. What I like best about MWEEP is that the girl’s education is not a Mazunga hand out. The girls have a vested interest in their education. You can see the pride that each family shares when their daughter becomes educated. It becomes a community Endeavour not just something someone is doing for themselves. They have generations counting on them to learn and improve life for all. So, when they Mazunga have gone away, there will still be something left there for these Maasai people. The next difficult meeting, or the funds are not pouring in like anticipated, remember that each contribution whether it be time or money is making a difference in the Ngong hills.
