Tanzania, Africa Fellowship

GPFD Donations

GPFD focuses on community donations. You will see a plaque on the structure that was built through the funds. When GPFD aids in a project they will send their project leader to that village. That person will then discuss with the town on what is the most important project that needs to be implemented. After several meetings where the entire village will have the opportunity to be involved a project is agreed upon. Then GPFD will provide 80% of the funding and the village is required to provide 20%. This model involves the entire community in the selection and gets them involved financially, solidifying the success of the project long term.

Head Teacher

We are discussing current challenges with the head teacher of Engikaret Primary School. When these 8 buildings were constructed in 2009 only 54 children were attending. Now in 2024, 479 children are attending this school making each classroom packed with around 80-90 children per room.

Engikaret

Desk donated by GPFD.

Breakfast

We never received formal menus, where you would go eat you were provided with what was available. This is an amazing fresh breakfast that we were served.

Pastoral Women's Council

The main office for the PWC is located in Arusha despite the fact that most of their work takes place in rural areas. This is because it is easier for them to operate logistically in Arusha due to it being a main city center. Here we are with Ruth who works for the PWC, helping empower young girls and women in the Maasai community.

Arusha

It was very common to see women carrying varying different things on their head. This was in Arusha and as you can see there are varying structures, showing how it is a more developed city center.

Bangata Village

These kids were showing us the water project that GPFD built (behind us). This provides water to their village and many others as it captures fresh water coming off of Mount Meru.

Bangata Village

This is another water project that GPFD funded.

Peter Mfere

Peter Mfere showed us around the villages in Arusha and his daughter Queen made us lunch on his land. He has many acres, growing coffee and hosting tourists. Here we are sitting on his property enjoying a delicious meal.

Lake Duluti

This volcanic crater lake is part of folklore to locals that it was formed by tears, these tears were from a princess that lost her lover in battle.

Bangata Dispensary

This dispensary (small local hospital) was built by GPFD to help provide services for people living in the surrounding area. Without this they would have to travel several hours for services which can be life threatening.

Mama

This woman gave birth to this baby on New Year's Eve at the dispensary and was resting. She was nice enough to let us meet her baby and snap a photo.

Baby

Bangata Dispensary

Incinerator where they burn all of the medical trash.

Sasi Primary School

Upcycling of a plastic jug as a planter, there were various different upcycling projects that had been executed throughout the school.

Sasi Primary School

School Kitchen, each child is required to bring a bag of rice and beans for the year. This will provide food for all the students throughout the year. If a family is unable to provide the bag of rice and beans then the child will not get to eat. This is a big challenge as many families are too poor to provide the required beans and rice which means the children don't eat all day.

Sasi Primary School

Pit latrines for the students to use the restroom, these are still used but a new facility was built that will be featured in the next photograph.

Sasi Primary

The new facility that was built but it only has a few stalls, this means that the old ones are still used. Sasi primary school is located in Tangananu sub village.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

This is the main physician at this dispensary (small local hospital). In this cabinet they store different family planning products for villagers. One challenge the main physician has is that there is no housing for her on property. She lives a far distance away so if there is an emergency at night there is nobody to provide aid for that individual.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

This dispensary does have a computer compared to the other one which helps with checking patients in and tracking their data.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

Both of these fridges hold vaccinations and are powered by solar panels.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

This is where the dispensary used to burn all of their medical waste.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

This is the incinerator that was built so now the medical waste that is burned will be within this chamber and not leach chemicals into the ground.

Sokoni 2 Dispensary

Featuring these four women dressed so beautifully to meet with us while we discussed the dispensary's current challenges.

Arusha

Most of the streets in Arusha are constructed with both formal and informal housing.

Olgilai Primary School

Here we met with the chancellor of the village (third from the left) Malakimambo. GPFD had renovated two buildings and built 4 buildings for this school. However, the school is not large enough and there are not enough teachers. There are only 22 teachers for 859 students.

Olgilai Primary School

These are the latrines for the 22 teachers. It is right next to the latrines for the students, providing very little privacy for the teachers.

Olgilai Primary School

Current toilet project being built where girls that are menstruating is being taken into account. What is featured on the left hand side will have a incinerator for young girls to dispose of their feminine products privately.

Olgilai Primary School

As you could imagine roughly 80-90 children attending school in this room.

Olgilai Primary School

Desks donated by GPFD.

Olgilai Primary School

Both an expansion and renovations are needed in these classrooms. This school was originally built in 1979.

Arkaria

Lauren, Domonique, and Ainsly exploring the Maasai land and all of its beauty. We passed various groups of Maasai herders moving livestock.

Arkaria

Rainwater recovery is one of the many successful water projects funded by GPFD and executed though the Arkaria Impact Centre.

Arkaria

Alais has built a modern home but the rest of his land is operated in the traditional way of the Maasai. As you can see here he does have a television but the main focus of the living room is for gathering and interacting with one another.

Arkaria

Traditionally on a boma, each of your wives would have their own hut. Because Alais is an educated man, he has chosen to have just one wife, Mary. He does have other people that live on his boma. Featured here is his herder in the back wearing a tradition shuka, and a young child in the front that lives on his land.

Lake Manyara National Park

Gerald (left) was a fellow through GPFD and became a lawyer. He assists the Arkaria Impact Centre with varying documents. Kenento (right) is Alais' daughter who graduated from college in Kenya. We did not enter the National Park but the lions are known for being high up in the trees.

Maasai Market

Each day of the week you could find a Maasai market. They move in location depending on the day of the week. Here you see a great deal of economic activity. In this picture these men are cooking nyama choma.

Maasai Market

Maasai women selling bananas; this is one of the many ways for women to gain economic empowerment through monetary gain.

Maasai Market

Maasai women selling traditional medicines.

Maasai Market

Maasai men selling their goats, you can see some of them that have markings cut into their fur, this means that they have been sold. Selling their livestock is a rather new thing for the Maasai people. As you can see the featured Maasai man has a cellphone that he has purchased by selling his animals.

Maasai Market

Maasai women selling fabric at the market and the women will craft the fabric into how the individual wants the Shuka to fit.

Maasai Market

Maasai Market

Maasai Market

Beans and maize were very big in the local diet. Although traditionally the Maasai only drink the milk, blood, and eat the meat of their livestock, you now find this and vegetables in their diet.

Maasai Market

Nyama choma being grilled around an open fire, in this case it is goat that is being cooked.

Maasai Market

Keneto (left), her aunt and neice (middle), Mary (third from the left) who is Alais' wife. They showed us around the Maasai market and everyone (except me) enjoyed nyama choma. The Maasai travel many miles by foot or the dollar dollar (local bus) to sell their livestock at the market, just to use that money to eat the same meat.

Arkaria

This is Alais' modern home but when you step outside his home, he has created a beautiful balance between having the luxuries of the modern world but still living the traditional way of his people.

Arkaria

Once you walk outside of his home this is what you see.

Arkaria

Alais is sitting here having a conversation with one of his sisters. He is one of 8 children among his dad's 8 wives. While spending time on his boma people would often come and go to sit and have conversations with Alais, this is common for an elder in the Maasai community.

Alais' Boma

One of the women that lives on Alais' boma. She is making Ugali, a corn porridge dish that is made over an open fire. Ground maize is slowly added to boiling water until it is very thick. It is then served with fresh cow's milk.

When children are young they have their two center bottom teeth pulled, this is so if the child is refusing to eat they are able to pour milk between this opening in the bottom of the mouth.

Arkaria Impact Centre

In a traditional home on a boma a fire is burnt inside. One of the projects Alais is implementing is these ovens that require less wood to generate the same heat. This allows for better air quality within the hut and reduces the time needed for foraging for wood.

Arkaria Impact Centre

Materials used to educate people at the Arkaria Impact Centre.

Arkaria Impact Centre

Materials used to educate people at the Arkaria Impact Centre.

Arkaria

Traditional Maasai home.

Arkaria Impact Centre

Working with Gerald on documentation that will be used for the Arkaria Impact Centre.

Arkaria

How Alais' water recovery system works. It is collected off the roof into one large drum, then it is pumped into other large tanks to be stored for use. This project has been proven to be very successful to provide people in the community access to clean water. Alais is looking to expand this project further.

Update: Funding has been sent by GPFD to the Arkaria Impact Centre to expand on this project.

Arkaria

I am standing with one of his many dogs, Z. Alais and I are out greeting the cattle in for the day.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Leopard

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Baboons

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Elephants

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Zebra

Serengeti

Male Lion

Serengeti

Baby Lion

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

African Buffalo

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Inside the caldera.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Views in the caldera during the wet season.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

African Buffalo

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Giraffe

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Giraffe

Great Rift Valley

Serengeti

Wildebeest and a giraffe in the back area.

Serengeti

Baby Lion

Serengeti

Male lion telling the cubs it is time for him to enjoy the meal of a wildebeest on his own.

Serengeti

Baby lions with blood on their faces from enjoying a meal that their moms had caught.

Serengeti

Hyena

Serengeti

Ostrich

Serengeti

Female and baby lion.

Serengeti

Hippos

Serengeti

Black faced monkey.

Serengeti

Our driver Albert trying to figure out how to get us across this road safely. During the wet season this can pose a problem. We ended up deciding to find a place to stay within the park because the river crossing was too dangerous.

Serengeti

Enjoying our extended stay on our safari and happy to be safe.

Ormanie Village

We sat with the women and listened to the challenges that they are facing. GPFD funded a water project (well) for this village. Before the well was constructed women would have to climb the neighboring mountain to retrieve water. The water source was very small and a long distance. The government has taken land from this village which has taken both the land and water sources that they previously would use for their cattle. Now that the well is in the village it saves the women a great deal of time they used to use retrieving the water and the cattle are able to use this water source as an alternative to the ones that was on the land that was taken.

Ormanie Village

We are standing with the women of Ormanie village and posing with a goat that they had intended to slaughter as an offering. We ended up taking a picture with the goat as an alternative to it being slaughtered. The women are wearing beaded jewelry that is worn in a celebrational ceremony.

Ormanie Village

Standing on the left is a member of the PWC that is translating to us what the women are saying. The projects that GPFD have greatly helped the people in this village, however they still have challenges. One is that their sub villages that are a far journey from this location still need to travel very far in order to reach this water source. However, they are deeply grateful for all of the projects that have been executed in their village.

Ormanie Village

The men in the village showing support to their women. This has been made possible through the PWC empowering women over the last 20 years proving the value that a woman can provide in their village.

Ormanie Village

These women were so kind to welcome us into their village and express the present day challenges that they are facing due to land loss, climate change, and other every day challenges.

Ormanie Village

We are standing with Naishorwa who was rescued by the PWC from an arranged marriage at a very young age. She was sponsored by the PWC to get an education and now works with the PWC to help other young girls. She is explaining that they had originally planned to slaughter this goat in our honor but due to the fact that we got stuck in the Serengeti an extra night they were not sure if we were going to arrive. We agreed that we would just take a photo with this beautiful goat and gracious offer.

Ormanie Village

Here we are dancing a traditional dance with the women of Ormanie village.

Ormanie Village

The Ormanie Health Centre, funded by GPFD, will provide health services for many surrounding villages. Before individuals would have to travel up to two hours for health services. In the previous year a woman had died as she was making her 2 hour journey to the hospital due to complications during birth. This health centre will supply services for Ormanie village and all of the surrounding sub villages.

Ormanie Village

The buildings on the right are the school that GPFD funded. The small building on the far back side of this photo was the original school. Now from the blue building all the way past the right side of this photo is a much larger school for these students to attend. For the first half of our trip children were on winter break. This was the first village we got to meet the children as they were back in school by this time.

Driving

When we were driving from village to village we would travel down long dirt roads. We were there during the wet season so we would often run into flooded rivers. People would help each other cross flooded sections safely.

Genesis Primary School

Regina (middle) one of the women that founded the PWC (right of Regina) standing in front of Regina's primary school. Her main focus is to teach in English, to help her students with the transition from primary school to secondary school. In Tanzania the government requires children to attend primary school. This is until age 12/13 and then if they are sponsored they will get the chance to go to secondary school. However, one of the main challenges is that primary school is taught in Swahili and secondary school is taught in English. Regina was sponsored by the PWC to attend secondary school but she struggled a great deal due to this language shift. This motivated her to open Genesis Primary School that would be taught in English. The PWC supports Regina's school as she does not get any funding from the government because it is not taught in Swahili.

Genesis Primary School

Regina Standing in the original classroom that she built before GPFD funded more buildings for her students.

Genesis Primary School

Standing with Regina in front of a vehicle that GPFD had donated so she can pick up students that have a long travel to school. Some students have to travel several miles to and from school every day.

Genesis Primary School

Some of the students at Regina's school looking at us curiously.

Genesis Primary School

I had brought several soccer balls as gifts throughout my fellowship. One of the soccer balls I left with Regina's students. The children and teachers had fun playing with the ball before getting back to their studies.

Soitsambu Village

Here we are visiting with more members of the PWC. You will find different women's groups throughout Maasai land, the woman sitting next to Naishorwa is one of the 10 PWC founders from 20 years ago.

Soitsambu Village

Sitting and listening to women that are part of the PWC and listening to their successes and present day challenges.

Soitsambu Village

Many of the women have found ways to engage in economic activities. Here, we are visiting the store owned and run by one of these women (right). We then entered her son's business (blue building), a barbershop where he cuts hair.

Moran

Morans are Maasai warriors that help protect the villages from wild animals and maintain the cultural lifestyle of the Maasai people. On the left is a warrior that would help protect the land from wild animals, and on the right is a Maasai herder that would be tending to the animals as they move throughout the land. While herding the animals they will stop at many different bomas as they move from resource to resource. The Maasai people consider everyone family.

Emanyata Secondary School

Here we visited a secondary school that is funded by the PWC. They will accept any girl that has fled their village and give that girl the opportunity to get educated here. This is a sign that the students made.

Emanyata Secondary School

Daily schedule for the students.

Emanyata Secondary School

The garden that they operate in order to supply healthy food for the students.

Emanyata Secondary School

Computer room, this is a challenge as there are many students and a very small number of computers for them to have access to.

Water Project

Paul, one of the PWC members that took us around to all of the various villages during our stay in this area. He is very important to the Maasai people in this area. He is showing us a water project that GPFD funded. The water is pumped out of the ground and into that large drum. Then villagers are able to come and collect this clean water. The well is powered by solar panels that you can see in the back of the photo.

Maasai Market

As stated earlier while we were with Alais, there are different Maasai markets in villages on various days of the week. This market was open the day before our arrival, but as you can see there are structures here that show what the economic activity would look like when it is open. Here we met with the head councelor of the ward (and Paul's brother) to learn about the challenges they are facing. Currently they are in need of a new school. Children in this area have to travel very far in order to attend school. A young girl had gone missing a few months prior while walking home from school. She was thought to have been attacked by a wild animal as all that was found was her books. You can see a small village in the far back ground of this photo. That is where the school currently is and the young girl lived on the outer side of the mountain that is behind that small village.

Maasai Women

Women in the Maasai community perform a great deal of the daily tasks. Featured here are two women walking on the side of the road carrying wood they have foraged back to their boma.

Pastoral Women's Council

The main office for the PWC has been moved to Arusha but this was the previous main office. It is still in operation and is a safe place for young girls to flee to. When young girls are not in school they can live here safely until school is back in session.

Pastoral Women's Council

Here we are standing in front of the office on PWC land. They have security that monitors the safety of the girls when they are here. Lea second from the left works here to help provide small loans for women to start their own business. Part of the process of providing loans is teaching the women how the loans work and how to pay it back so it is not a burden on them or their families.

Women's Solidarity Boma

This boma is fully operated by women. In the front of the photo is the councelor of this village. He offered up this land for the solidarity boma to be built on behalf of the PWC. Specific women in villages are nominated to live here for a year. During that year they will learn how to run and operate their own boma. After a year they are given a female cow and two goats to return to their village and operate their own boma.

Women's Solidarity Boma

While the women are learning and living at this boma they will bring their whole families with them. A young boy on the right is a child of one of the women here.

Women's Solidarity Boma

One of the women exiting her hut on the boma.

Women's Solidarity Boma

Where the livestock is kept at night in the center of the boma. The sticks that are stacked to the right of the entrances will be placed in front of the doors to keep the livestock from exiting the pen. The livestock only stays here at night, as they graze them on the land during the day.

Women's Solidarity Boma

We were welcomed into one of the homes on the boma to see how their houses are. There is a small fire in the middle of the boma, three small beds around the fire and then a wall that separates a small area where a young cow or sheep can live if necessary.

Women's Solidarity Boma

Paul drinking fresh cow's milk from a calabash (gourd). This is used when collecting milk or blood.

Women's Solidarity Boma

Two young children that live on the boma. One of the challenges for the Maasai people is flies. Flies come with the presence of cattle and bacteria. The Maasai will often create two circle scars under each eye on there cheek. This will cause the flies to land there instead of their eyes.

Maasai Market

As we were traveling to the airplane that would take us back to Arusha we stopped and visited another Maasai market in a village on our route. Here you see many Maasai women that have been empowered by the PWC involved in various different economic activities.

Maasai Market

Women selling maize, beans and oil.

Maasai Market

Woman moving her donkeys through the Maasai market

Maasai Market

Women selling fabric that can be fashioned into a Shuka.