Recently a very brave Maasai woman, Nice Nailantei Leng’ete, was named one of Time’s Most Influential People.   Nailantei has made it her life’s work to help girls escape female genital mutilation (FGM) or "the cut", escaping the practice herself at just eight years old.

https://youtu.be/oaIuLnqgs84

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO). FGM is a ritualistic practice done as a right of passage, often when the girls (as young as three) are betrothed.

“FGM, for Maasai, is a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood. Women are not considered women unless they have gone through FGM,” Nailantei explains, “FGM in my community connects to girls ending their education, with child marriage, and with teenage pregnancies. A girl is 10 or 12 years old when she undergoes FGM. Then she’s told she’s a woman, and that means she’s ready for marriage, and that means she has children. They all go together. I saw pain. I saw death. Since I was 7 years old, I used to attend these ceremonies in my community with girls undergoing FGM. I saw my friends leave school and get married. And I wanted to continue my education.”

Nailatei escaped by running away with her sister and hiding in a tree until the ceremony was over. She then became the first girl in her village to go to secondary school (high school).  When the other girls in her village saw her in her school uniform it inspired them to run away, seek help, and avoid the ceremony as well.

Nailate has helped over 15,000 girls avoid FGM and doing so made her a wanted woman in the region of the Maasai Mara. She then decided to take a different approach and received permission to share information about sexual health and wellness within her village. After four years of educating her village and community, the elders were convinced that the Maasai would be more prosperous if women were indeed able to stay in school longer, marry later and forego "the cut".

Though the elders in Nailate's village renounced the practice of FGM in 2014 the prevalence still remains very high amongst some communities such as the Somali at 94%, Samburu 86%, Kisii 84%, and the Maasa at 78%, according to UNICEF 2017.

Because of brave girls and woman just like Nailatei, FGM is decreasing. The media also continues to play an important role in highlighting FGM as an abuse of human rights. Social media and radio stations around Kenya and other countries stream programs enabling platforms for community dialogue regarding FGM, human rights, and even avenues to report FGM practices to local and national authorities. Safe houses for those running away and escaping FGM and child marriages have also been placed throughout the region thanks to non-profit and humanitarian organizations as well as Kenya's government.

Today let's highlight and stand for Nice Nailate Leng’ete and all of the brave girls and women who stand up to human rights violations and brave the terrifying obstacles before them. Because of them, countless girls will have access to education, safety, and a healthy life.

Ashe Oleng
Asante sana

Jody Tabibu Naritisho Mattena
President/Founder Tabibu Africa, Inc

Nkoilale's Big 5

Nkoilale’s Big 5

There is a village of Maasai in the Rift Valley called Nkoilale. They saw a problem and they came together as a community to solve it. With strong leadership and a common goal they are making huge leaps and bounds for the benefit of their community.

Disease, malnutrition, water contaminated with cholera and Typhoid, lack of health care and lack of quality schools close by were their main issues. The community came together and came up with a plan, starting with an organization called The Nkoilale Community Development Organization (NCDO).  Then they molded their plan of the “Big 5”:

1-     Water (provide clean water to as many as possible in the community)

2-     Education (provide education for all children, no matter age or gender)

3-     Health Care(provide quality and affordable health care within close proximity)

4-     Security (safety for the community)

5-     Sanitation (take care of litter issue as well as possible sources of water contamination)

The Nkoilale Community wanted their home to go from what you see on the left to what you see on the right.

In order to make this plan a reality each head of household sold one cow (The Maasai’s entire wealth revolves around their cattle. To sell a cow is a huge commitment and sacrifice) and they soon had enough to build a main boarding school (now has over 1000 students) with several feeder schools, an up to date Health Center (the first of its kind in the Rift Valley) and a huge water project. The NCDO were able to cap a large, clean spring and ran a water line to a central point in town. There are also several water hydrants along the water line which provides fresh, clean water to the community as whole and surrounding communities.

 

I am absolutely amazed by what this community has been able to accomplish with some cows and the vision and drive of good leadership. They saw a problem and solved it on their own.

It is truly an honor to be able to work with this community, not just as the vice-president of Tabibu Africa, Inc but as an adopted member to the Nkoilale family.  I can say, without a doubt, that this community will be a great example to other communities for decades to come of what great vision, leadership, and focus for the common good can do. 

Walking through the African Bush for Education

Meet Elijah Kirrokor and his little brother. They both are Maasai children from one of the villages we serve in Nkoilale, a small village in the Masai Mara Rift Valley.

Last year their father was walking the many miles he would every day with his goats and cattle when a flash flood swept him away. Elijah's dad was never found. Because of the Maasai's rich and ancient culture Elijah's mother then had to move to the village of her husbands father which is approximately 5 miles away from the only school in the area. Elijah, understanding the value of education, would walk 10+ miles per day through the African bush just to go to school. He would then return home and tend to his daily chores as well as sharing what he had learned that day with his little brother.

On less than 800 calories per day, the norm for the Maasai, you can imagine how tired Elijah and children like him would be by the end of the day. Malnutrition along with parasitic disease and lack of clean drinking water are normal to these children. However, they love to learn (and they learn fast!), they laugh, they hold hands, they play and are super curious. They love life and their families.




 When we learned of Elijah's story we were able to find him a school sponsor. For $150 USD per year Elijah now goes to boarding school in one of the best schools in Kenya and it's not terribly far from his village. He spends the week at school, guaranteed an education, a safe place to sleep, three meals per day, clean drinking water, safety from not having to walk 10+ miles per day through the bush, and he has many friends. He still goes home at break to share what he has learned with his little brother and the other young children of his village.





There are thousands more children just like Elijah in Nkoiale alone, just a small part of the Rift Valley. They all know that the education is there but it's just out of reach. If you are interested in sponsoring a student at Nkoilale Maasai Boarding School or our Little Giants Primary School you can make a huge difference in a child's life as well. You can be a true hero!

For more information on how you can sponsor a student at Nkoilale Boarding School in Maasai Mara

For more information on how you can sponsor a student at Little Giants School in Ruiru

For more information on volunteering

www.TabibuAfrica.org