GlobalGiving.com: EMPOWERING MASAI WOMEN/GIRLS THROUGH CONSERVATION

Clean Water and Food for Masai Women

Stacy Harris — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:22:17 GMT

Thanks to your generous support we will be opening our "Community Watering Area" which will be administered by the Masai women. On November 27th, we will officially open the site which will become the meeting place for the women.

The area will have clean, purified water for the women to carry home for drinking. Also, they will have regular water to use for bathing and cooking. But most important, the water we will be pumping form our camp will reduce the women's daily walk from 3km each way to less than 1 km each way. This alone will make a big difference. We will also plant out 5,000 trees in the community.

In this area the women will have a garden are are currently being trained in agriculture. To start, the garden will have tomatoes, greens, beans and melons, but as the women progress we will add more food crops. "If we can get water and food we will be able to make a life for ourselves", stated a Masai woman.

The drought has had devastating effects upon the women and children. For the first time in the history of the Shompole Masai, men and women are commiting suicide because they cannot deal with the pressure. Life is just hard and some people cannot take it. One woman recently committed suicide because of the drought. "The woman bought cattle with her life savings as an investment, but due to the drought all the cattle died leaving her with nothing and she committed suicide." Peter Tingai/Masai Elder and Camp Manager

In addition, the new "Community Area' will have 2 hectares allocated for calliandra (fodder crops) so we can also feed the livestock. The herders will take turns to avoid overgrazing which is one of the major factors of desertification. We are also constructing a water trough so the livestock will also have water.

The problem with the river is that it is so steep when children are sent to fetch water for their families, sometimes they slip in and die. This is why people stay away from the river. But due to our solar powered water pump and your support, we are now bringing clean water and food to the Masai community.

We are looking forward to 2010 to see how well these women can progress. They have already proven more than capable in the nurseries and I am confident that by next year they will have a beautiful garden full of food. The food will be allocated to the community and the schools. The girls will benefit the most because they are the ones with the burden of fetching water. We will have a full camp of woman and girls everyday who will be tending the area. 10 women have signed up already to volunteer and we will let the children work the garden on weekends.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Shompole Primary School for winning first place in the Kenya Music Festival. You can listen to them on the video on this site made by Turk Pipken. To see how they live and the obstacles they must overcome each day, this is truly amazing. Yet it is the joy of singing and dancing that makes the children's days easier. They sign about everything from God to rain. A special thanks to Global Giving supporter Turk Pipken and his crew for sponsoring the bus to take the Masai kids to the festival. Turk visited earlier this year. A special thanks to Mary Drinkwater from Canada. She spent 30 days at the Shompole Primary School working with the children.

If you are in southern Miami on November 17th, check out our film produced and directed by Sopranos actor, Turk Pipken. Our film is one of eight films selected from around the world for the Miami Short Film Festival.

Thank you for your continued support. Your donations are changing the lives of Masai women and children in Kenya. In some cases, your donation is actually saving lives!

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Getting to know the people at Africa Conservation Trust

Gerry Kweya, Paul Sedat, and Leah Ambwaya — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:54:15 GMT

STACY (staff)

Our appointment with Stacy had been fixed for 09:30 hrs. We arrived few minutes past the agreed time at the gates of Karen Connections the friendly guards directed us to the offices of African Conservation Trust, or ACT as everyone around referred to it. We were warmly ushered into a well organised single room office. He is so humble and we wouldn’t expect him to be the guy we were to meet, but yes he is Stacy.

In this well-lit office was a gentleman who was calmly sitting in a corner and a bubbly lady, the two introduced themselves as Peter and Zipporah respectively. Before we could even sit down Stacy was already introducing us to the world of trees, trees and more trees.

One of the projects being undertaken by ACTS and particularly the one supported by global giving is based in Magadi. Magadi happens to be one of the driest regions in the country. With the aid of video and pictures, Stacy took us through what they are doing to keep this region habitable and productive; his message was quite simple and plain “plant trees”.

Stacey is so passionate about trees that we sought to know if he grew up planting trees, to our amazement, he is an American whose first love was working with children in the slums of Kenya, something he is still actively involved in and enjoys doing. Stacey was introduced to Mr. Adam Tuller by one of the Trustees of ACT. That's how his love for trees began. By the number of times Stacy mentions Mr Tuller and how much support they are receiving from him it’s quite evident how pivotal Tuller is to the organisation and his passion for environmental matters. Even though he is quite talkative it’s very easy to notice how a team player Stacy is as he keeps on referring some questions to Zipporah and Peter to elaborate on issues on the ground as he actually refers to him as “The Man on the ground”.

Stacy is so proud of having the local community on board of the project; he sees this as the first achievement of meeting their goal which is self sustainability. From the video clips its easy to see how everyone from school children to old women are involved in the conservation of the environment and this is Keeps a smile on Stacey’s face as this makes him yearn for the next day in Africa as a conservatist.

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ZIPPORAH (staff)

Zipporah is one happy lady. Immediately we got into ACT’s office she gladly offered a cup of coffee and for sure it was timely as it was quite a cold, chilly morning not to mention the location of the office which is basically located in a mini forest and so when they talk about trees we actually understand what they mean.

With an elderly beautiful grin on her face Zipporah does not hide her excitement of being associated with this organisation. Having lived long enough to understand exactly how the Maasai’s men have for a long time looked down upon their women folks, she feels very proud of how this has come of age as it’s so apparent with the current empowerment going on, women in the communities where ACT has had an opportunity to interact with are taking the front in the conservation of mother nature which has a polite way of paying back by giving them the conducive environment to do farming.

This initiative has greatly reduced the rate of malnutrition and dependent of handouts. Excess gotten from the farms is sold hence generating income for the families involved in the project. Zipporah's wish is they could have more support as this will greatly increase their presence and activities not just in Magadi but in Kenya and Africa as a whole. Zipporah is all smiles as he teases Peter on how the Maasai women can now go to work and girl go to school and compete with boys in all aspects of life.

As we leave ACT we promise ourselves to visit Magadi and share the experiences with the rest of the World.

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PETER (Masai elder and beneficiary)

Peter - whom Stacy kept on referring to as the Guy on the ground - is a Maasai elder. Because of his position in the community - a community that respects hierarchy - he is a very important person for the project. Peter is composed and calm, from the looks you wouldn’t expect him to speak much but when starts talking about of the project you realise how much knowledgeable he is of the trees especially those that are suitable for the environment.

Peter is very proud when he sees members of his community embrace the initiative with so much enthusiasm especially when his fellow men in community allow women to go out and work, since time immemorial it has been a taboo amongst the Maasai community for women to go out and work as their place belonged to the Kitchen and child bearing. But since the inception of the project more and more Men are allowing their wives and daughters to go out and work for a living. Peter appreciates that when women are paid, they easily transform their earnings into food and savings for the family. On the contrary, Peter notes that men easily end up spending the same in non-beneficial ways, like drinking.

With trees and the involvement of women in the community is, he is aware that the future is bright. Self-sustainability of the community is not elusive as it has been widely conceived in the past. Peter says, "The Maasai goats and cows will have grass to graze on. There will be enough firewood for cooking and even selling."

The most important thing being that the environment will be conserved and food will be produced in plenty due to the nitrogen fixing plants.

Being an elder, Peter is happy that he is imparting knowledge to the future leaders of his community. Through the school outreach program - which is a sure way of leaving a lasting impact and a good legacy - Peter sustains the drive to get involved in the project rather than go for a paying job elsewhere.

"Make sure you visit us and see what we are talking about!" This is Peters parting shot.

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WOMEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Stacy Harris — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:29:38 GMT

Since March 2008 we have been aggressively trying to reforest 500 acres of desertified lands in southern Kenya and at the same time promote development among the Masai community. In addition to the 5,000 trees planted out and 75,000 seedlings germinated in the nursery, we have trained 6 Masai women in leadership and they are making a difference in the community.

We have just employed 2 full-time Masai women in our nursery. This is the first time in the history of the Shompole Masai that women have been able to take leadership roles.

Thanks to your support we are able to train the Masai, especially women, and promote income generating activites while at the same time, we are able to address health, education and social service issues.

Over 2500 school children are participating as we are Combating Global Warming by providing training to the women, men and children of southern Kenya.

Your donation can actually save a life as this Masai community is vulnerable to drought due to climate change and over grazing and deforestation have reduced this once beautiful forest into a desert.

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