A Sunday in Maasailand

The Maasai are considered a very romantic people by those of us whose lives seem drab in comparison. They are sometimes depicted advertising some earthy or exotic product that will stand the test of time in extreme conditions. There are many European women who have found romance with a Maasai ‘warrior’, chasing the exotic dream of power, rugged strength and pride, taking their place in the boma alongside their hero. It rarely lasts for long though. In truth, they are strong and proud but like every other people group, they have to ensure their survival in the unpredictable environment in which they live. And right now, there is little many of them can be sure of.



There is nothing romantic about living in the area we visited yesterday. The landscape is littered with dead or dying cows as people watch their beloved wealth fade away before their eyes. In the last 12 years I have never seen it looking as bad as it was yesterday. Where there was once grass, albeit dry grass in the dry season, there is now nothing but bare earth. Forgive us for such pictures, but it affected us deeply.



This is the scene outside the church at Baraka.



Thanks to the generosity of people back home, we were able to do another ‘food run’ yesterday. Everywhere we went, we were met with grateful thanks while we explained that we are only the channel through which the help has come. Whilst the Government is giving out maize to the very needy, the distribution process doesn’t always run smoothly enough for it to reach them.



Each family was given maize and beans and we have found soya beans that can be ground and made into soya milk porridge. This will be great for the children who have not had milk now for several months. We will have to teach people what to do with them as they had never heard of such a thing or seen the sample we took out to show them.

As we drove back to Arusha, it poured with rain in random patches. Even once the rains start properly, it will take 2 or 3 weeks for the grass to grow and then much longer for the surviving cows to return to health. Thankfully, we have not heard of people dying, but it will take a very long time for the Maasai economy to recover.