The Girls of Nasaruni Academy

The main event Thursday was a trip to the town of Narok to visit Nasaruni Academy, a girls school in the Maasai region of Kenya (about a 2-hour drive from Tenwek).  This was a very personal visit for Melissa as her recent 6th graders learned about and raised funds to benefit Nasaruni through a clean water initiative called H2O for Life.  The money they raised will go directly to Nasaruni to help provide a new latrine block, hand washing stations and expand their gutter system for rain cachement.  Getting to visit Nasaruni in person was a full circle moment for Melissa, and also very meaningful for the whole team.    

Nasaruni Academy plays a vital role in the Maasai community as they attempt to offer hope and an alternative of educating young girls who would otherwise be caught up in the traditional Maasai practice of being married away very young—ages 12, 13, 14—as a second or third wife to older men whom they may not know nor have chosen.  In Maasai culture, girls are mainly valued for their ability to work in the home and for their “bride wealth” which means a girl’s family receives a certain number of cows from the man who marries her.  The girls are encouraged to bear children as soon as possible because the more children and members of a family, the greater their stature in the tribe community—even though large families are rarely able to meet needs with so many mouths to feed.  Education is the only way out of this cycle for girls and it is very rare that traditional families would sacrifice to pay school fees for girls.      

We met Michelle and Lisa, two dynamic women from James Madison University (JMU), who are spending some time at Nasaruni this summer to help lead, plan strategically, and evaluate the school.  Michelle and Melissa are actually slated to present together at the National Council for Social Studies about project-based learning and cross curricular connections, using H2O for Life as an example. 

Lisa, Michelle and Melissa 

We also met Moses and Alice Sayo, who founded Nasaruni out of a vision from Alice who herself, as the 11th of 12 children, was the only girl in her Maasai family to escape early marriage and pursue an education due to the miraculous advocacy of an older brother and her mother.  Alice went on to graduate high school and attend university in England where her school fees were paid through Save the Children.  Her story is powerful and it is obvious God has set her aside for such a time as this for so many Maasai girls who will get a chance to be educated.  She is a light and a miracle.  Alice and Moses are giving their lives to the mission of Nasaruni and it was an honor to meet them. 

 

Dean & Lesli with Alice & Moses Sayo

Moses and Alice, JMU, the Nasaruni Board and various fundraisers conducted by JMU students thus far have played a significant role in getting Nasaruni off the ground as it expands.  Nasaruni currently boards and educates girls through grade 8 and they are very anxious to secure funding for another classroom building so they can continue to educate the girls in high school.  It would cost $7K for them to build another classroom building so they can have a 9th grade class.  They hope to eventually add a total of four classrooms to complete their high school. Another need is sponsors for school fees.  It’s only $80/semester to cover a girl’s school fees and many of the girls currently at Nasaruni need sponsoring as their families cannot afford to pay these fees.  For more information and to learn how you can help Nasaruni grow and provide for these girls, please visit www.nasaruniacademy.org 

Zebra crossing as we were en route to Nasaruni!

Our welcome from the girls and staff at Nasaruni.  Kenyans really know how to welcome you!  We've noticed this everywhere we've gone.

Some clips of Michelle giving us a tour of the facilities at Nasaruni.  

Truman removes multiple ticks from Nasaruni's school dog, Simba.  Thankful, ticks do not carry lime disease in this area but Simba should feel like a new man after losing all those "friends."

Visiting a Nasaruni class of 6th graders.

Melissa and her 6th grade teaching Nasaruni counterpart.

The values painted on the side of this building were values that the parents of the girls came up with: respect, honesty, love, hard work, faith, peace, patience, self-reliance and cleanliness.

Inside of one of the cubicles in one of the two dormitories.  The bedding usually comes from the family and whatever belongings each girl has go in her trunk.  The iron beds are made nearby.  

All the girls in the dormitory share this bathroom.  This may seem primitive by American standards, but having regular access to water in this way for hygiene is quite uncommon for most Maasai girls who would be used to traveling very long distances on foot to obtain a container of water for their family to use.

Painted on one of the original buildings that they used when they started Nasaruni.

Books in the school library.  Magic Tree House!

The girls have begun learning about computers and this dry erase board shows them how to navigate the creation of a document on their computers.

Nasaruni has a compound of tents called "Camp Madison" which is open for visitors and is a way for the school to generate income.  The tents were very nice and would form a great base for exploring the Maasai Mara for safari!

What time is it?  Chai time, of course!!  The dining area for Camp Madison where we had chai and biscuits.  We also got to hear more from Michelle and Alice here!  

Several Nasaruni students came in and put a special beaded necklace around each girl's neck as a way to say thank you for coming to hear the story of Nasaruni.  We all loved our necklaces.

More at Nasaruni than any other place we visited on our trip, Mamie attracted quite a crowd for the duration of the visit.  They loved touching her hair and asking her questions.

And of course, as always, there was soccer!

Mamie with the Nasaruni 6th grade girls (her own age).

This giant locust/grasshopper was attached to Mamie's back as we started to leave.  SO big!!

Our Nasaruni visit left a deep impression.  Hearing Alice's story and seeing with our very own eyes how her story is impacting a new generation of Maasai girls was truly inspiring and provoked reflection.  Several of us on the trip are now considering how we might partner with Nasaruni to help this school and the girls.  They are off to a good start but there are more girls out there who need what Nasaruni is offering and they will need help to get the school where they want it to be.  Please be in prayer for these girls, the staff at Nasaruni and for any Believers who may feel led to join in this mission.