Trip to Maasai area

James and I (Doug) made a trip to Kajiado West, the Maasai area 3 hours west of Nairobi.  This also gave me the the opportunity to make my first trip out of town, and into the Rift Valley.  Our trip was to attend the graduation ceremony for 10 self-help groups.  These groups, all Maasai from the area, went through a year-long training, and each started a project of their own.

MCC has a long history in this region/community, until recently a service worker couple lived near the mission church.  It was fascinating to hear about the projects, what has succeeded (or not), and how the area has changed (for instance, a local wash used to run year-round, but now is intermittent).  The area is not far from Nairobi, as the crow flies, but is a world away in terms of culture.  It was a rough but decent track down through the rift valley to get there, through wonderful African savanna - very beautiful!

Driving down into the valley, we had a good view of the western escarpment around the Ngong hills.

Of course I had a close watch out for birds, this is the Grey-capped Social Weaver under its nest.  We saw some small deer and gazelle, and had a close watch out for zebra and giraffe which apparently still live in the area (but didn't see any of those).    

The ceremony for graduating the 10 self-help groups was at the Presbyterian mission church (google maps link).  The ceremony was to start at 10 or 11, but folks slowly arrived until just after noon when we started.

David, who works with Ann on the self-help projects.  Here at the office in nearby Ewaso.

While waiting for the ceremony to start, we took a trip to a farm near Ewaso.  The owner (left) and his brother had started a maize plot.  This is somewhat unusual for Maasai (to do agricultural), who are traditionally pastoralists.  Maize crops can fail depending on the rains, but they were looking fine this year.  The biggest issue is keeping goats out of the crops--goats had done heavy damage to his vegetables.  

The goats didn't get to the tomatoes, though.  Extra vegetables and maize are sold in market for income for the family.  This farmer is an "early adopter" - the hope is that other farmers will see the success of the crops and likewise try to grow crops for food and income.

Farmer's house under the acacia tree, loaded with weaver bird nests.

The ceremony involved lots of short speeches (including, as I expected, by me), and other activities.  Here groups act out short skits which illustrate what they have learned in the trainings.  The skits were in the Maa language, although some was translated into English for us "honored guests".

Members of the community were in a variety of dress, some traditional such as here, others in modern dress.  The ceremony was interspersed by wonderful Maasai "call and response" singing.

Gifts - beaded necklaces and bands - were given to us, and unexpected and wonderful surprise.

JoyFrida, an MCC staff person from Nairobi came along with James and I to the ceremony.