10th Day--Maasai schools

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Day 10-Maasai Schools

Our cook made a good, hot breakfast for us the next morning. We shared it with our Maasai guide and then went to his boma. We met one of his two wives, one of his 6 kids, his mother, and his 105 year old grandmother. He invited us in to one of his huts. What kind of compliments can you give when visiting one of these places? What a life! Before we left to visit the school, our guide wanted Sally to show the gathered people her knee replacement scar. In their language, he explained the surgery to them. Their eyes got big, and they all wanted to touch it! They were very concerned about the pain she must have endured. Apparently, they don’t know about anesthesia. Someone showed up with a pickup truck on their way to the weekly market, and several of his family members got in the back of the truck with several goats and took off! We walked on to the nursery school to visit the class. There were 130 four to seven year olds with one fairly untrained teacher. We tried to teach them a song, but we weren’t very successful. They speak Maa and will begin to learn Kiswahili if they stay in school. We were shown the kitchen and the porridge that was being prepared for lunch. Maasai eat only milk, blood, and occasional beef. The porridge was milk with a little flour and sugar in it. Disgusting! Each student received a cup of it--that’s all. The kids walk to school through wild animal country and no one thinks anything about it. The Maasai don’t see much need for education, so many of the kids stay home and tend the herds. It was not unusual to see a child who appeared to be between the ages of 5 and 7 tending a herd with no one or no hut in sight. They would run to the trail when they saw a vehicle coming. Usually they would wave or hold their hands out for us to give them something. Much of our time at the school was spent watching 2 teams of the older boys playing soccer. The other kids stood in a line and watched. When we asked our guide why the girls weren’t playing, he told us they wouldn’t know how. After we quickly disagreed, he said they play separately from the boys. Apparently, Title IX hasn’t hit the Maasai tribe in Tanzania! After our farewell we drove back through Arusha where we stopped at the Cultural Heritage Center to shop for mementos. We were especially interested in tanzanite. It’s a precious gem that was discovered very near Arusha about 40 years ago. This gem is only found in Tanzania, and it’s expected that all of it will be mined and sold within the next 7 years. We also were shopping for wood carvings made of mpingo or African ebony. The tree is tan colored on the outside, but the core of it is very dark brown or black. It has been used for many years in traditional Makonde carvings. After shopping, we drove on to Ilkurot Primary School. This was where things hit bottom. We were scheduled to stay at the Head Teacher’s house, and we had not been forewarned of any issues. It was again a “full body massage” over a very bumpy and dusty road. Once we arrived at the school, we were impressed with its size. The building was large with classroom type paintings on the exterior walls. We drove further off-road to the head teacher’s house. The expression on our faces was probably worth a million dollars. OMG! Keep in mind that last night was spent in a tent without water or a real toilet, so we were longing for the luxuries of a real bathroom! It was a plain concrete covered block home with chicken houses a few feet away. In front of the house was a duplex “house” for 3 teachers. We were greeted by the head teacher, his wife, and infant son. He spoke English, but she didn’t. Walking through the front door established a new low for what was to be our worst travel experience ever. A woman from Australia and her grandson had been staying there for 3 weeks, doing volunteer work at the school. They were preparing to leave when we arrived. The shared some of their experiences with us, and then she gave Sally a brief tour of the house. There was no running water or refrigeration. Keep in mind that we would be eating our next 2 meals with them. Outside, between 2 chicken houses, was a little shed with 2 doors. The door on the right opened to a concrete floor with a hole in it--the bathroom. The other door opened to a concrete floor with a hole at the back that served as a shower drain. Sally was told that the woman of the house would bring a bucket of warm water in which to “shower”. The living room had only a simple couch and 2 under stuffed chairs, a coffee table, and 2 large cabinets full of “who knows what.” The floor and walls were concrete with an open ceiling exposing the makeshift truss system covered with a metal roof. We sat and visited as much as possible considering the language barrier. Again, having a wonderful guide was extremely important. The woman prepared a snack of hot tea and hard-boiled eggs. Before we ate, she brought in a pitcher of hot water and a pan to wash our hands. There was little conversation, but so far the experience spoke volumes about their culture. We even had Maasai men who came to talk the head teacher into staying and not moving to another school. They didn’t understand the government had reassigned him since he was needed at another school. The evening was passing slowly as we sat wishing tomorrow was here and we could leave. Then came dinner. The doors and windows had no screens, so they had been standing open all day. There were hundreds of chickens about 30 feet away, so the house was full of flies. The woman brought in some food for the 5 men and Sally. She ate in another room, because the women and men eat separately. Once again we went through the hand washing sequence only there was no soap or towel to dry with. If we didn’t taste or think about the preparation, the African beef stew looked OK. Instead of potatoes it had plantains. Where had the beef come from? There was no refrigeration. Scary. After one helping we were grateful and ready for the day to end. We said, “Goodnight”, and made our way to our modestly furnished bedroom. It had 2 single beds and a table. There was a sizeable gap between the metal sheets above Sally’s bed. At some point during the night she woke up with a large wet place on her shirt, blanket, and bed. Apparently, water had dripped out of the overhanging trees to the roof and through the opening above Sally. That made for a less-than-comfortable sleep

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Photos

Emsey, our Maasai Guide
He's holding the youngest of his 6 kids.

Emsey's Family
His mom, one of his wives, baby, and Emsey

Grandma
She's 105, and Len is trying to figure out how he can get her moved into his Assisted Living building!

School lunch
And American kids think their school lunch is bad!

Maasai footwear
They all have these sandals made from tires.

Kindergarten
130 students and not even a teacher's aide!

House
Chicken house on the left; people house on the right.