19 Aug Decisions That Changed Our Lives
August 2015. We get an invitation from Alex for the ceremony of matching the warrior of his younger brother. Being a fighter is being a real man, it is a proof of entering into adult life, it is a big event and one of the most important in Maasai life. Usually, the celebration of such a ritual takes several days, the Masai people come – not only from those close to them but also from those more distant villages.
We made the decision to leave – it was a real challenge, and at the same time a unique chance to get to know their life as it really is, not for tourists, not for publicity. We were the only guests from Europe.
Maasai children
Alex’s family greeted us warmly and cordially, only the children were a little distanced and even terrified. They saw a white man for the first time in their lives. One of the children was so shaken by our dissimilarity – here I am referring to the complexion – I was crying. However, after a few hours of staying, we began to win their feelings. They were not ashamed to accost us and speak to us in Maa (this is the Masai language used only in speech, they do not have a written language). They also did not bother us that we do not understand what they say to us :)) Gestures, body language and the timbre of the voice must have been enough.
The only toy that it had was a ball made of plastic nets. They did not know what toys, notebooks, crayons or a book were. The doll that we brought them had made a lot of confusion, the children treated her like a living man, and what’s more interesting, and the adult women were also very interested 🙂
Every day these children are smiling, seemingly carefree and very independent. But their life is difficult, so difficult that sometimes tears are in the throat. The status of families does not allow children to buy many food products (often even for the purchase of drinking water). Fruits are a luxury, children often do not know their taste, I do not mention sweets, because without them you can actually get around (although not our children in Europe). The cornflakes we bought just in case for ourselves (we did not know if we could eat anything there) made a sensation. They ate it eagerly. But these children do not reach out to give them something. They are not aggressive, they can enjoy what they have. Unexpected, they will not take anything. They are proud, but why wonder – this is a typical feature of the Maasai people. From an early age, Masai children are actively involved in the life of the family. They are very resourceful kids. Several-year-old boys go to goat, the elders look after the cows. Cattle graze from morning to noon, but these are not green meadows that we are used to seeing. It is corn stubble, it is also such “meadows”, where on the sun-scorched compacted land from time to time grows something that we can call green vegetation.
Heat 40 degrees, and in search of a place where cattle can eat something, you have to go many kilometers. At noon, cattle are driven to the waterhole, where the next stage of grinding begins. And here it is not about whether this work is hard, here the heart is breaking the very fact that these children do not go to school. Parents can not afford transport, and on the legs it is impossible. To the nearest school you have to walk about two or three hours one way in the heat of 40 degrees. A small child can not make it, there is no money for transport. It is better that they help on the farm and graze cattle, because no one can afford to guarantee their education. And in this way, the next generation that can not read and write grows. A generation that has been given chances for a better future from a child to a more dignified life.
It often happens that the Swahili language prevailing in Tanzania is unknown to them and where to learn it.
Therefore, we decided to do something in this direction to give these children a chance. I mean the construction of a school – there on the spot, Although one class for starters. There are 62 children who could start learning.