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Published: February 13th 2014
The water tank I bought Isaac and Josephine had now been delivered and installed just in time as it has rained very heavily over the last couple of days I was hoping to see water come from the tap before I left. The tank that I decided on in the end was the largest which once full, will keep the family supplied with water for up to 5/6 months. A great relief to Josephine.
Sunday 2nd February it's Isaac's birthday. They don't acknowledge their birthdays and some (the older generation) don't even know when it is or how old they are. I've bought a birthday cake from town which is iced beautifully but unfortunately the icing did not survive the very bumpy motorbike journey. Nevertheless, I've used the Christmas candle that I brought with me and sang happy birthday to Isaac at breakfast. His eyes are filled with tears of joy which sets me off and immediately he calls the rest of the family to come and see. None of them have ever had a cake let alone for their birthdays. Isaac cuts the cake and we all enjoy. It's nothing like the cakes back home but it's enjoyable
just the same.
We have been told of a special church service taking place today also being held at the orphanage. Three nearby churches are to combine their services in one. We (all the volunteers) are asked to attend. We are told it starts at 9am. I'm getting slightly used to the timing here not so don't show up until 10.30. Not surprisingly nobody has arrived. The church service finally starts at 12 noon and after already been sitting around for a while, and not being a religious person, this the last place I want to be. After just one hour I'm tempted to leave but then the bishop arrives and I've lost my opportunity to leave unnoticed. Shortly after 2.30 I decide I've had enough sitting in the heat listening to someone preach in a different language. it's possibly the rudest thing I have done but I really couldn't stand it much longer. Thankfully I did leave because it didn't finish until 6.30 pm.
The children love the photos of themselves on sports day and view them at every opportunity on the school wall. Most children have never seen a picture of themselves, some, not even seen
themselves in a mirror. They are all seem much calmer with me now and are keen to play.
At the school, I was asked to cook for the children as one of the community mothers was not available. I collect firewood, get the fire going and cook beans and rice for 45 children. It takes about 2hrs to complete and start to serve as soon as it's ready. There are no fussy eaters here, no children complaining that they want the pink bowl instead of the blue one, no children saying they don't like it, some have not eaten since the same time yesterday and It's not until this point you realise how hungry the children really are. They push and shove towards me with their bowls and I don't seem to have enough hands to serve them all quick enough. It only takes 10 minutes to dish out until it's all gone and some come for more but there isn't any.
One day on a walk back from town, I crossed over the mountain top and found a knife. I picked it up and tested the blade. It's very sharp and Josephine has only one small blunt
knife so I thought it good to take back home with me to give to her. Isaac said it was no good for her and instead gave it to the children to play with. I'm shocked and within minutes they are playing with it as if it's a sword. As soon as Isaacs back is turned I've managed to distract them away from the knife with sweets and quickly bury it.
I've visited the nearby pool again with the other volunteers and soon after start to feel sick. By the time I've returned home, I'm exhausted but can't sleep due to feeling so unwell. The next day I've got a high temperature and stay at home in bed. As the day passes I feel more and more unwell. I'm very weak and can hardly lift the 5ltr water bottle to get water and paracetamol. I check my temperature with a strip and it's 39. After an hour at 2pm the hottest part of the day it's gone up to 40 and I'm starting to feel delirious. It's started to rains so I go and sit outside to try and bring my temperature down. I'm fearful now because if I
become any worse, I have no transport to the hospital because of the rain. The rain causes a lot of mud and prevents any vehicles to access the area. It's a 2hr walk to the hospital but I can hardly stand let alone walk. I made it back to bed and must have passed out, waking at 9pm with a raging thirst. After water, I slept the rest of the night and thankfully was slightly better the next morning. I felt so vulnerable for a while and it really brought home to me the reality of how these people live without instant access to medical care, something we take for granted back home.
My hosts I have become very fond of since my arrival and they have looked after me a great deal. I've enjoyed their company every evening, either playing cards, debating and chatting. I will be sad to leave but happy to move on to a new experience.
The food, I opted to leave about 5 weeks ago. Surviving on weetabix, porridge, cornflakes with dried milk that water can be added, bread, cold beans, fruit and carrots bought from the local town. Basically anything I can
eat without using anything from the kitchen. Although at first the food was satisfying, I couldn't stand the amount of oil /fat they use. An average meal would contain at least 1/2 kg fat. They fry everything before adding water to it. The kitchen is kept in appalling conditions, the chickens eat from the same pots pans and plates, they walk all over the food and eat from it when they can, the water is often full of soil and this is what they cook with.
I've decided to spend my last couple of days in Niarobi, I suppose just to feel clean and refreshed before I move on. So Wednesday 13th is my last day in Massai land. I have wanted to climb the hills behind where I am staying (Ngong Hills) but Isaac is not keen for me to go there. He says its not safe, but he says this about anything I want to do that other Maasai women don't do. I have asked a couple of times for some of the locals to escort me but they have never turned up so on my last day, I decide to go it alone. After reaching the
top, I've come across some security guards holding guns. I'm asked to present a pass to go any further and for them to escort me the remainder of the way. As I've not come through the main entrance, instead up the hill, I don't have one but they escort me anyway. They are so friendly, but soon realise they are desperate for company. They live up there 24/7, one week on, one week off so they don't see anybody other than tourists at weekends. We've walked along the ridge of the hills for approximately 4km which give great views either side. when we return to their hut, I'm asked if I would like to stay for lunch and I greatfuly accept. They have pointed out certain land marks in view while we eat. I've enjoyed their company, but am conscious of the time and make my way back down the mountain home.
On my return, theres a leaving party. Other volunteers, one who has bought party food and larger (she knows me well), Josephine, Isaac and his family and 6 or 7 of the locals come to bid me farewell. The men start by all doing a Maasai dance
which is great to watch. Then one by one, Fransis (the project co-ordinator), Isaac, Josephine, Isaac's father and mother all stand and say such wonderful things about me, and then I'm presented with complete Maasai clothes, scarf and necklaces. im crying by this point, this as totally unexpected and very greatfuly received. The children also one by one give me a Maasai bracelet which makes me cry even more. I'm asked to give a speech and can hardly talk through the tears. I've thanked everyone for making me feel so welcome and vowed to continue to support them.
It really has been a truly humbling experience living with these remarkable people. I've loved it. They have given me much more than I could have imagined, an experience I will treasure for a lifetime. And even though some of their culture is not comprehendible at times, their spirits are high, their homes are happy and their hearts are warm.
The Men
The men are very masterful and dominant in the household and the oldest male rules the rest of the family. They keep cattle which is still used as currency between other fellow Masai
men. They cannot exchange cattle for cash other than at a cattle market. The nearest market from here is a 5hr walk. Other than keep cattle I cannot see that they do much else. I often see men just sitting around even in town, groups of men are hanging around chatting. Isaac's father goes to town every day. It's not good for the men to sit at home. The wives don't ask where they have been and if I've asked then the answer has always been "around". The wives prepare a meal for their return, whenever that may be. Only a few massai men dress in traditional Massai clothes, mainly the older generation, most dress more western style to give the impression of wealth. It's only a tiny fraction of the community that host volunteers and feel that they have begun to rely on the donations and the income it brings them too much, thus making them more reluctant to look for employment. The money that my hosts have earned from hosting volunteers has bought them luxury items rather than seeds to sustain them for longer.
The Women
The woman here I have great empathy for. Having carried
And so the tears start
Florence giving me a bracelet.out all of their duties here, I know only too well how hard life is for a Masai woman. As a girl their only ambition is to have a good husband who will provide for them. They are brought up learning their duties from their mothers, to wash, to cook, to clean, to carry water and to get fire wood. They are sold to their husbands by their fathers (usually for between 10 and 14 cows) at the time they get married. The payment is for an agreement that she will continue her duties for her husband. Although they aretaught about gender equality in schools here, the Masai people don't practice it. The women believe that they are beneath the men and they are here to serve them. Despite this they are happy and are only too pleased to be the obedient wife. They have desires of nice clothes, nice shoes, to have their hair done now and again much like us but only if the husband agrees the spend, even if it's her wages that provides. It is very important to them to give birth to a boy although a girl will earn them money when sold to her
husband. We could suggest that they can't afford to have children but then who can?
Within a month of giving birth the family slaughter a lamb. If they don't farm lambs then they swap a goat for a lamb. They use lamb as it's the fattiest meat. For the first month of giving birth the woman is considered sick and other women of the household take over her duties. She must drink 1kg of fat from the lamb to make her vomit and once she has spent the day vomiting, she is considered well again and her womb cleansed.
The Children
The children are never clean. That does not mean to say that they are unwashed, it is only their clothes that are dirty. They fend for themselves most of the day. If they fight and get hurt then their cry's go unheard. They are left alone for long periods of time, sometimes from sunrise to sunset. They are locked out of the house so don't have shelter other than a tree if the weather gets bad. Most children have just one meal a day, even if the adults eat twice a day. Their needs are put
beneath that of their parents. If the parents can afford, then they go to school. Most households have a debt at the schools. If the debt gets too large the children are sent home from school in the morning. One day I witnessed 11 children being sent home because of their unpaid fees. Regardless of age, the children walk to school and back alone. Some children at the age of 3 have to walk up to 2 miles across very harsh ground to get to school. They seem to be very cruel to each other hitting, punching, biting, scratching but nobody tells them otherwise. Their play activities are mostly running chasing each other and playing with dirt sticks and stones. I have warmed to the children here and can't help feeling sorry for them because of the parents unwillingness to educate them.
The Land
The land is surrounded by mountains, and the Massai live in the valley. The rocky ground is very harsh to walk across even the flat areas. All the trees and bushes have very sharp thorns and theses thorns are along the ground everywhere. The thorns are 3" long that look like toothpicks but are
as strong as nails and can easily go through the soles of shoes/boots as I know only too well.
The landscape changes due to the weather and a heavy rainfall can cause crevasses in the dry ground. The rain can flood some areas within an hour and children can't get to school because of these floods. The rain also prevents any form of transport coming and going from the area and have often had to abandon a motorbike ride and walk the remainder of the way because the bike cannot pass through the mud. If the land is dry then the air is filled with sand/dust.
They only farm small areas of the land and could easily make more money from crops but don't. The houses and people the other side of the mountain are much better off but their land is filled with crops. they cut down a trees to burn to make charcoal. They use or sell the charcoal at the market. They chop the trees down smoke it under bushes and soil for 12 hrs and then chop the charred wood up for charcoal. It burns just the same as charcoal but smells a lot
The volunteers
Great bunch of people, really enjoyed being with them. worse. The fire pits that burn the wood can be smelt for miles around, usually smelt in the morning after it has been smoking all night. It's illegal to chop down these trees but there are no police is Masai land. The wildlife that use these trees (usually the monkeys) are given no consideration and there is conservation projects in the area but no way near enough is being done.
The Animals
The animals are kept in very poor conditions and rank in order of cats, cows, goats, lambs, donkeys, chickens and very last the dogs. The cats are the only animal that they feed daily. The cattle including the donkeys are used as currency, they are whipped beaten with sticks and have stones thrown at them, most of the time for no reason and by the children, for fun. The dogs are treated the worst and are never fed unless another animal dies. It doesn't matter what household you visit they all have between 3 and 10 dogs who keep breeding. They all look like skin and bone and most are blind due to untreated infections. They are beaten on a regular basis sometimes just because they
are passing by. I have never witnessed such animal cruelty as I have seen here.
Locally, giraffes can be seen wondering about, in the hills you can see baboons and small tree monkeys, there are also snakes dik-dik's, hare porcupine and hyena's.
The Weather
They have 2 dry seasons and 2 rainy seasons. The temperature during the dry season (Jan - March and July to September) is usually between 25-32 degrees but can reach 40, with a drop in temperature of 5-8 degrees lower in the rainy season (April - June and October - December). During the dry season it will rain perhaps only once per month and the dry seasons can sometimes similar to last year last up to 5 or 6 months.
The Homes
The homes are made from tin with a wooden frame and most homes have 2 bedrooms. Although I have seen homes of those less fortunate that cook live and sleep in the same room. The floor is soil. In the wind the tin bangs and rattles very loud usually during the night and during heavy rain, you have to shout very loud to be heard. Most have separate kitchens
where all the cooking is done which are usually a 12x12 tin or wooden housing. Most women sit in here all day, in the smell of smoke, rather than in the comfort of their houses.
The Project
The project is designed to help the Maasai community giving them better resources to enable them to develop. The volunteer organisation I travelled with provide the volunteers to work with the organisation MOCCP (Maasai Community Concern & Children Programme). It was founded 2 years ago and is developing all the time. There is still much improvement to be done but what has been achieved so far is enormous to the community here. The one problem with this project is that it prevents the hosts becoming employed as they are required to labour for the project and this I feel makes them more dependent on volunteers. There is also little and out of date information given to all volunteers before arriving at the project and this could also be improved.
The building project is organised by the locals who don't know how to spend money wisely. They pay the highest prices (because it's someone they know). They pay extra for transport
I love this view
I sit here for half hour or so enjoying the view each time I walk back from town. Our house is just in front of the lake you can see in the distance to the left. due to lack of organisation. Then when it comes to them labouring, they take it easy. Overall disheartening for the volunteers who have donated the money.
The feeding project was set up to ensure all children attending the school had a meal. For some of them it's the only meal they have. A lot of money time and effort was put into this project by previous volunteers and a crops planted to sustain the project. However the crop field has not been maintained and lies empty.
There are many other projects going on but it depends on what time of year you travel as to where the you may end up working. I'm glad I got to work in the school here.
The project after 2 years is still developing and the Maasai community is learning all the time. The community resources have grown considerably in the 2 years it has been running and therefore daily life for the Maasai people is becoming a little easier. There is still much more that needs to be done and I will continue to support the project as and when I can.
It costs just £1.50 per month to
sponsor a child through school and if anybody wishes to donate or sponsor a child then please get in touch.
Thanks for reading.
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Moira
non-member comment
So Proud
What a lovely and true life story Lisa, this has to be a book you are going to write when your journey is complete. Love you and wish you well on the next leg of your journey. Aunty Moira & Uncle John xx