Maasai Children's Home
Precious Life has almost completed its first children's home in Narok district southern Kenya. This will be a home for children who have lost their parents and are struggling to remain in school. The home will also be used for after school programs where teachers can help the children with homework, games and other activities. This home will benefit both boys and girls of the tribe because “There is Hope.”
We prefer calling this a “Children's Home” because of cultural reasons. The Maasai people believe every child must have a family. When a parent passes away, an immediate family member such as an older brother, uncle, aunt or grandparent will automatically assume full responsibility of those children. These practices have greatly protected children of the tribe from flooding to the cities and become street children. There are about 60,000 street children between the ages of 6 and 15 in the city of Nairobi, Kenya, and about 4,000 in Arusha-Tanzania. This number is huge in a small town like Arusha.
With many people now dying from AIDS in east Africa, it is no longer likely that these orphans will ever receive sufficient food or education. The number of children left after the death of their parents is becoming overwhelming. The home PLI is constructing will relieve some family members of this huge burden.
Note:
Please take into consideration that PLI does not deal with any kind of child adoption, nor do we work with any agencies whatsoever. We are very sorry we can not help you with this process. If you are interested in adopting a child to the United States or any other country, you need to search for this information elsewhere. Thank you for your understanding.
Medical Assistance:
Most people in this community die, not because they were sick, but because they never received help on time. Hospitals and clinics are as distant as 30 miles. Even people that live near the clinic may still not be able to afford the fee needed for treatment. Cows, goats and sheep are central to the Maasai people. These animals are rarely sold or killed for food but instead they will be protected in order to accumulate because the wealth of the Maasai is measured by the animals they possess. In times of sickness, a family must determine whether or not it is worth it to sell an animal to raise money to be examined at a clinic. This decision often determines a person's fate. Those with few or no animals will have to wait for a miracle.
Precious Life has saved many lives through our mobile medical clinics. Some of our sponsors are RNs or doctors and have volunteered to go to Maasailand to meet the physical needs of the Maasai people. A medical team is organized from the United States and travels to east Africa for two weeks to freely treat people in different villages. Some medicines are donated and transported from the U.S. and some are bought in by a pharmaceutical in Nairobi, Kenya. The medical need is so great that people who are too sick to walk to our medical center will lie down on the roadside for hours waiting for our medical jeep so that they may be treated. There is Hope! If you are reading this and you know you can be that 'Hope', please go to our contact page and call us now. We will connect you with our medical advisor.
Water Project:
Water is 'Life' and so is our middle name. During our medical survey, it was revealed that the lack of clean water is the source of many diseases with most people. Children in school do not have access to clean or other forms of water. They have no choice but to stay thirsty for a whole day. Each day, children in rural areas walk for miles to school, sometimes without even having a cup of tea in the morning. Some lunch may be provided for them, but water is inadequate for all children. Women will leave in the morning and walk for four hours only to bring home 20litters of water on their backs. Men are not spared either. They will have to travel great distances very early in the morning to take animals to the river. Sometimes the rivers dry up during drought and they have to travel even further in search of water. This life is difficult and it can bring tears to your eyes if you think about it. During the rainy season, water is collected in small ponds. Human and animals will have to share. The water in the ponds is not healthy for human consumption and has produced many health issues.
This pond is used by both animals and humans:
In Kenya, dirty water is the leading source for Typhoid.
Precious Life is seeking more support to build wells for the members of the tribe who otherwise may never have access to clean water. A club in Couer D' Alene, Idaho has approved the building of a well in one of the villages we suggested in Narok district in southern Kenya. Eor-Ekule is a village located about 12 miles from Narok town on Narok-Nairobi Road. This village has two major schools, a primary and a high school. There are several other towns closer to this village that will benefit from this water. It is estimated to support over 10,000 people and thousands of domestic and wild animals. This well will also help Eor-Ekule Primary School to be turned into a boarding school to be able to hold more Maasai children of Ildamat Clan.
Short-term Missions to Africa:
This is a great opportunity Precious Life has given to sponsors from the United States and other countries wishing to visit Maasailand to see and to support our work in Kenya and Tanzania. Many sponsors have visited our work through this organized short-term mission within the last few years. This is a 14-day trip that will give you an opportunity to meet the child you sponsor and serve the Maasai community either by your profession or by helping those traveling with you. If you are an RN, a doctor or a dentist, you may join our medical mission. If you are a carpenter or feel you may help and work with one, we could use your help fixing the broken doors, windows or classroom desks in one of our sponsored schools. Anything you can do to help will be appreciated - even teaching our children with puppets. While doing a mission's trip in Africa, you will be given an opportunity to go on a safari. The visiting group will decide on where to visit: either Maasai Mara-Serengeti National Park or the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Maasai Mara in Kenya plays host to the world's greatest natural spectacle with the great wildebeest migration from the Serengeti between July and October. The Mara is an awesome natural wonder, a place where Maasai share the plains with hunting lions, a place of mighty herds and the timeless cycle of life, death and generations. The Maasai Mara-Serengeti is the world's most famous game reserve and a destination to thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Mission - Kenya
Ngorongoro:
Should you choose to visit Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, you will be visiting the eighth wonder of the world. The crater is one of the world's greatest natural spectacles. For more information on what you would do while visiting Precious Life in Africa, please see FAQs.
Girls Christian Camps and seminars:
Each year, the Precious Life sponsored girls get an opportunity to attend camp. This is a place where children come together for prayers, meet new friends, and learn many other things that are extremely important for their lives.
Camps give children an opportunity to have so much fun that they otherwise may never be able to get in their villages or schools. We provide varieties of games, sports and other entertainment. We even hire some entertainment groups who use skits to educate or to pass important messages to children.
“There is too much fun in camps, and you know what else we do? We eat a lot! yah! That's right, we enjoy eating. We are kids! What do you think makes us happy the most? Cakes, sodas, cookies, candies...can't get enough of these good stuff.”
In most African cultures, parents find it difficult to speak to their children about topics concerning sexuality. Ironically, teen pregnancy and STDs have continued to rob African girls of their education. Camps and seminars greatly help to educate our children concerning these topics. We hire medical professional staff such as nurses and doctors to be part of our camp instructors.
Girls learn memory verses from the Bible - a word that will encourage them as they return to school and their villages. Some of our sponsors have had an opportunity to visit with our girls in camp. That was a great event.
