Maasai Water Project

Maasai Water Project works to protect the basic human rights to Health, Education, Culture & Community. We improve access to sustainable safe water, healthcare, economic opportunity and education while carefully protecting and preserving the culture of indigenous communities in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya.

Our strategy is to be led by the local community and work closely with them to implement programs and solutions. The Maasai have a unique and challenging settlement geography and a semi-nomadic pastoral traditional way of life. These factors make implementing modern human rights improvements challenging. Through out women's and men's Maasai leadership councils, Maasai Water Project has direct communication with the community we serve. We work together to identify issues and strategize solutions. Most project implementation is executed by members within the Maasai community or as a hands-on joint effort with our organization's leadership. We insure effective and sustainable results by working side-by-side with the community members we serve. in this way, we work to reinstste and protect basic human rights while carefully preserving the existing community and culture.

- Focus on Community and cultural preservation
- Local leadership from a council of men and a council of woman
- Local implementation through strong community relationships and collaborative communication
- Strong corporate partnerships

Preschool and Kindergarten : Basic education is inaccessible to Maasai children in this remote region of Ngorongoro, TanzaniaOur Small Boma Schools are built by the Maasai people in the communities they serve, utilizing the same construction practices used to build Boma homesteads. Local materials and simple construction methods minimize the cost for the school building so we can direct more funding to learning supplies and teacher salaries. With our Small Boma Schools, early Swahili and English literacy is accessible to Maasai children. In addition to covering the cost of building the schools, we hire local Maasai women teachers and pay them a competitive salary, as well as cover the expenses of uniforms, textbooks, classroom materials, and other educational supplies. As a result, Preschool and Kindergarten children starting at age 3 will be prepared to enter the Misigiyo Primary School by the age of 7.

Adult Language: The Maasai need Swahili and English literacy to preserve their basic human rights and natural environment.  Illiteracy in the national languages excludes the Maasai from full participation in social and economic activities that determine their ability to preserve their natural environment. However, these languages are only learned in schools, which are largely inaccessible. Our Adult Language Education program addresses these needs by providing local language classes that are easily accesable for women who are able to teach in our Small Boma Schools. To ensure that our Small Boma Schools education program is sustainable, it is necessary to increase the number of women qualified to teach in our Small Boma Schools. Our Language Education program serves both men and women, however more than 75% of students enrolled in these classes are Maasai women.

Food Security for Widows :Traditionally, only Maasai men can own livestock. This social system creates an increased vulnerability for widowed mothers. Our “Sister’s Boma” project has gathered 11 widows and their 53 children to come together in one village. The women selected for our Sister’s Boma Project were identified by our local Maasai advisory councils, which includes a council of Maasai elders and a council of Maasai women. The widowed women we serve, as well as their children, are facing starvation and relying on handouts of maize to survive. Now the women of our Sister’s Boma own their own livestock the first time in their lives. In addition to meat, goats provide a sustainable food source of milk and yogurt which can also be traded or sold.

Women' Health: Maasai girls can miss 25% of school days due to their monthly menstrual period. Our Maasai girls and woman do not have access to any kind of menstruation management products. Disposable period management products are not a feasible solution in this part of the world. We supply donated sanitary underwear for our Maasai schoolgirls and women. When distributing, we also provide hygiene education and soap.