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Published: March 21st 2011
On Sunday the coordinator of our volunteer program picked us up and we headed to Masailand. We had an idea of what to expect, but still were very excited to meet our host family and see the school we would be volunteering at. Unfortunately, we did not get off to a great start as the coordinator was a few hours late to pick us up and had never been to our host families home. We spent about an hour going around from manyatta (the traditional clay huts that the Masai people live in) to manyatta stuffed in a little car on what I don’t think was even a road. Finally we found the manyatta and our very interesting “experience” quickly began. As a disclaimer before we go on… some of the details in the remainder of the blog may make it seem like we should have never gone to Masailand and honestly when we were wrapped up in the moment we felt the same way at times. However looking back on it now that we are back in Nairobi safely we realize there was a purpose to our journey. We went to Masailand to put smiles on the children’s faces at
the school and to see firsthand how the Masai live. We did just that and the children we met made the adventure so worthwhile.
Meet the family and their manyatta….
Upon arrival we quickly realized how difficult it was going to be to live in a manyatta for two weeks, but really we had no idea what was coming our way. A manyatta in total is smaller than the average American living room. It consists of a small entry way that leads into a tiny sitting room, with a fire to cook, two stools, and a bed off to the side. Just off of the sitting room is another tiny room with two twin size beds side by side that our built from sticks and cow hide. Jake and I squeezed our sleeping bags into this tight area along with our bags. The manyatta is built from clay and sticks with no windows and no chimney. There are a few small holes that let a bit of light in during the day, but for the most part it is very dark. The fire runs pretty much all day everyday and somehow they have adapted to the suffocating smoke. We
did not acquire this adaptation or anything close to it in the short time we were there. The smoke repeatedly drove us to run out of the manyatta unable to breathe or see and woke us up in the middle of the night with a strong urge to run out for fresh air.
Despite the difficult living quarters, the people of Masailand made our stay worthwhile. First our Masai family. The leader of our clan was Chris- mother of 5-7 (still not sure) and second wife of Ole Musei. Beyond strong, her responsibilities were endless. She cooked, cleaned, reared the children, was building a new manyatta, and planted the crops. Through her love and hospitality, we were able to tolerate many of the hardships. Husband to three and father of seventeen, Ole Musei was quite the character. He came and he went. He was sober and he was drunk. He arrived in time for meals and disappeared soon after. His most endearing quality however, was his almost motherly parenting skills. Samuel was our guide the first few days and the oldest child of Chris still living in the village. Despite his guidance, his sharp eyes and his uncomfortable proximity
made us feel far from trusting in his presence. At fifteen, Chris’ daughter Paris had a 16 month old and had dropped out of school. On our first day, she gave us both Masai names, which were the only names we were addressed by for the remainder of our stay. She named Lauren “Nosim”, which was the name of her son and meant “to be happy and to make others happy.” She proceeded to name Jake “Lekishon” meaning “to be blessed in life.” Joseph was the next son and “subtly” hinted at the things that would make his life better. Penina was the daughter of Ole Musei’s first wife, but lived as a true step-child in Chris’ home. Sadly, she was extremely ill and routinely coughed to the point where we thought she would pass out. After which she would spit and vomit on the earthen floor of the manyatta next to us. Finally, John was our favorite of the host family. A step-brother that still lived at home, he came down the road each night to visit with us just for the sake of enjoying our company.
Osopuko…. The School…
Our time spent helping out at Osopuko Primary
School was by far the highlight of our stay in Masailand. It was a very remote school and we were the first volunteers to live in the village and teach at the school. The children were so warm and welcoming. For many of the young ones it was the first time they has seen “muzungus” or white people. The first few days they spent much time starring at us in awe, poking our skin, and playing with my long brown hair which they were fascinated by. The kids loved to greet us with the traditional Kimasai hello “Sopa” and eagerly awaited us to say back “Epa”. The school itself only had funding from the government to pay the extremely lazy teachers and consisted of a series of tin shacks for classrooms. With the difficult living conditions at home, we spent as much time in school as possible, often lingering in the classrooms far past the end of the day. The children loved to have their pictures taken and posed day in and day out for photos. Our favorite youngsters were Lillian and Joseph. Lillian spoke English incredibly well and was my sidekick for the week. To each question, she responded
with a hearty “yes.” Joseph was stricken with Polio and lost his legs shortly after birth. We remember his beaming smile even more than the wheelchair he spent his days in.
Here are a few of our favorite stories from the week…
After a few days, we asked to take a bath. A basin was filled in the dark manyatta for us to wash up. We clicked on our flashlight and gazed into a murky brown pool. As we inspected the water, a swarm of small organisms flocked to the water’s surface. Unfortunately, this water was used to bath, wash dishes, cook, and the families even drank it.
Now for a bit about the food… we definitely experienced the local fare at its extreme. Prepared over an open fire with the above mentioned water it was quite a sight to watch Paris and Chris cook. Each passing meal made us more aware of how dirty and contaminated the food we were eating was which made it more and more difficult to even chew. Jake was a trooper, but I cannot say that I did so well. For anyone interested in knowing- peanut butter and cliff bars are a
delicious combination and keep your stomach satisfied for quite some time! The family was very demanding and a little over the top about making us eat. I repeatedly said no because I was unable to digest the food. We also struggled to accept their generous portions when there were starving kids all around us.
On Thursday, we visited or friend Elijah’s nursery school. Elijah was all smiles and laughs the entire time we were in Masailand and really took the time to make us feel at home. He was the single teacher at a nursery school where he had to go door to door to convince the locals that their children should be in school. We took stickers and balloons to his 40+ kids. The glowing eyes and smiles will forever be one of my greatest memories.
On our last full day in Masailand, we walked an hour and a half with the kids through a forest to zonals, an interschool volleyball and soccer tournament. Along the way, giraffes grazed only a short distance away. We munched on mondazi (fried dough) while cheering on all of the boys and girls from our school. The day was also highlighted by
our first interactions with other volunteer teaching at local schools. After comparing notes, they completely validated our beliefs that our situation was not healthy.
On Saturday, we woke up early and told our host family that we needed to return to Nairobi. We packed up all of our smoky gear and began a slow trudge towards the road. In order to catch a bus into town, we walked with our giant backpacks over a mile, including a steep grade up to the plateau where the pick up was.
As you might have guessed, we were unable to endure the duration of our volunteer experience. In all honesty, we expected grueling conditions and were prepared for the difficult life in Masailand . As our health began deteriorating (culminating with sitting in the rain for three hours soaking wet because we could not breath in the manyatta), we decided we were too far from home to risk staying in Masailand. We will forever be sorry to leave the kids, but will carry with us fond memories of their smiling faces. Viewing the pictures from our week in Masailand, we know that amidst all of the hardship and despite the early
departure, we were able to achieve what we set out to do.
After a weekend washing everything we brought to Africa, we are packed again and heading to the coast for a dip in the Indian Ocean.
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mama
non-member comment
Oh my!!!! Now I know WHY I have been waking up every night at 3 am for the last week praying for your health, safety and blessings! God's timimg is perfect!!!! We loved getting your long email today and the best part is knowing you are safe and happy! So glad you made good of such a difficult situation...I am sure those kids absolutely loved the two of you! We ae missing all that they enjoyed...your enthusiasm, love, and zest for life. Hope you ave time to get healthy and rested on the beach before you move on to the next at of our journey. We love you tons!