The Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa were poetically portrayed in "Out of Africa" as both the continent’s fiercest warriors and most mystical shamans. The Maasai resisted European colonization and today remain one of the only indigenous peoples in Africa to retain much of their traditional culture. While they did not seek the outside world, it has come now to find them. The Maasai are looking for ways to adapt to the encroaching culture without being consumed by it and losing their unique identity.

Modern Maasai now want their children – even girls – to be educated. The adult women are striving for greater self-determination within a culture defined by the strength of its men. We are helping a group of 20-25 women – the Dupoto Women’s Group – who run a small business creating beaded products to sell. These women were not formally educated and cannot read. They can operate their business only through voice communication and looking at pictures. Their illiteracy, of course, has broader implications for them and their community.

By helping women become emotionally and economically stronger, we are helping them have a greater "say" about the destiny of their girls on such crucial matters as female circumcision.

Read our founder’s letter to the Dupoto Women’s Group

Read the June report of progress for the project