Teaching the Maasai Part 2

During this past week I worked in Naitolia, a Maasai village about an hour and a half West of Arsuha. We arrived Monday afternoon and met with some villagers at the village office, however there was a bit of miscommunication about time and the people had been waiting since the late morning for us. They were not able to stay longer for a lesson that day so we made plans to begin on Tuesday. Some asked if we would be providing drinks, snacks or other gifts for them during the training. Later I learned that some organizations even pay individuals to attend trainings as incentives for people to come. We explained that the gift is the education itself and if individuals wanted to improve their lives so that they and their families can be healthier and happier, then they should come. I was impressed the next day when close to twenty people (both men and women) showed up for the training.

Meanwhile myself and another volunteer went to the village secondary school to teach students. Our first day was also on Tuesday and the time frame was shortened so we did not get through as much as we hoped. Thursday, after our lesson, we were told that the students needed to prepare for national exams on Friday and there would not be time for us to finish teaching. We left frustrated knowing that the students would miss lessons on nutrition, hygiene and life skills. For thirteen and fourteen year-olds teaching life skills is an especially important component of teaching HIV/AIDS prevention. Life skills include discussing the different communication styles- passive, aggressive and assertive- and the students then practice delivering a message or reply assertively. We also teach decision making skills where the students are given scenarios in which they must go through four steps of the decision-making process to decide what choice has the most positive consequences for them. One of the scenarios we give them is a situation where a young girl becomes orphaned and must take care of her two younger siblings. Students are asked what they think the girl should do when an older man offers her money for sex, putting her at risk of HIV but providing money for which she can buy food. It is a difficult scenario that I found myself struggling with the first time I taught it this summer. Lessons like this are important to teach in a classroom setting to get the students thinking about real-life situations where there is a chance of engaging in behaviors that put them at increased risk of becoming infected with HIV. Leaving the class without teaching these lessons was hard. I hold on to the hope that they will finish reading the books we gave them at the beginning of training and learn about these lessons in life skills, as well as the hygiene and nutrition lessons they missed out on, and not use the pages as fuel for their next meal's fire. The irony of the situation adds humor to the frustration.

While the afternoons in Naitolia were a true test of flexibility and patience, the mornings proved to be very active and encouraging! Working with the Sustainable Agriculture staff, we visited the home of a Maasai farmer who had been trained in Bio-Intensive Ag earlier in the year. We arrived at his house, entering through the typical fence of large African plants, and were welcomed by him, his wife, three children and a garden filled with green plants of all different species: corn, beans, kale, cabbage, spinach, potatoes, and many others whose names I don't know. Three huts sat in the lot, one for the kitchen, another for sleeping, and a small bathroom behind the garden, away from the others. The man had built a hafir with GSC earlier this year, and it sat behind the sleeping room. The hafir was working effectively to collect water for the family to use for cooking, drinking, watering the garden and for the herd of goats fenced inside a second wooden fence about thirty feet from the kitchen and ten feet from the sleeping room. We visited this family every day of the week and helped them with additional ag projects. First we built a keyhole garden which utilizes compost and leftover water from the kitchen to nourish vegetables and fruits to feed the family. First we laid the foundation of stones and mud in a circle, two meters in diameter. The next day we layered soil, compost and manure to fill it to a heaping mound inserting tree branches vertically in the center to serve as an opening for the compost and water. After topping the soil with long grass, we let it sit overnight before planting the vegetables. The garden gets its name from the one-foot insert built on one side of the circle to allow the mama to walk close to the middle where she can dump compost and water. The climate in this part of Tanzania is extremely dry; it rains for just two months out of the year and only plants that have adapted to this climate typically grow under these arid conditions. The keyhole garden serves as a practical way to use kitchen waste while promoting the growth of fruits and vegetables that are otherwise limited. Additionally the lush green leaves that will grow from it is aesthetically pleasing for the family. This family has made an exemplary commitment to what they have learned in sustainable farming, and the healthy six month old baby that sat happily in her mother's arms is proof that dedication and commitment to these projects can work.

Unfortunately not all families are able to attend the trainings to learn these initiatives. Like the villagers expressed on our first day: they need an incentive to come to the trainings. After all, a two hour session soon turns into six for some who must walk for two hours to the village office. This time away from home may mean leaving children alone, delaying the planting or harvesting of crops, or neglecting care of the animals. In a culture where waking up the next day is not always a given, planning for the future and understanding the long-term benefits of being trained in agriculture or HIV prevention is more challenging and not as obvious as it may be for others. Despite the difference, the villagers are doing their best to provide for their families to keep them happy and healthy and carry on the rich Maasai traditions.