Kenya; Faces of Change

There's an earthy musty smell before dawn on the Maasai Mara. The scent wafts through the open cab with a breeze tugging at your hair; cool air washing over your cheeks. The jeep rambles over dirt trenches carved into the savannah landscape, as you bounce and jar from side to side across the raw grassland watching the violet hue of the horizon turn to orange with the sunrise.

photos by Katie Jo

Africa is the ancient land. According to modern scientists, our genetic lines all lead back to Africa, when your feet touch the ground, there is a surge of knowing that somehow we are all connected here- the homeland.

There's a primal way of living that is so pure and honest, watching a people with strength and stamina survive in a climate and ecosystem that seems impossible. Not only have they lasted the longest of all cultures, but they do it with rich and colorful artistry. They're adorning garb and tools, the dye of wool and cloth, the statuesque regality in even the most humble circumstance. These people are strong. Strong in heart, heritage, and endurance.

photos by Katie Jo

Entering into the Maasai Village, is like passing through a doorway into an ancient world of time gone by, the homes are rustic and hand built. These people have eked their survival out of the red dirt around them. Their clay homes have been made with one handful of soil at a time, every element, every stick woven together with nimble fingers and care.

Fences are grown and gathered, thick reeds entrusted to protect children and livestock from lions and hyenas.

photos by Katie Jo

The land can seem desolate, and simultaneously beautiful-dramatic and striking just like the faces of the tribe that survives there. Lifetimes of African sunrises, sunsets, triumphs and tragedies- recorded and written in the depth of their eyes.

photos by Katie Jo

There is a well of wisdom and tenacity inside of each of them. A resolute, underestimated strength like the strength of the willow that bends in the storms without breaking.

There is pride in this heritage. Pride that exudes for a garden that feeds a family. Pride that causes a woman to sweep the dirt smooth to honor visiting travelers from across the world. Pride in the lineage of being from a tribe that has existed for centuries untold. A nomadic tribe, who until they were recently placed on a reservation; could freely explore the land of their forebears.

The modern world caught up to this warrior people and made them stand still, changing their ways of survival and branded it as "progression." And while they no longer stalk the lion pride or cape buffalo; their courage is as much a part of them as is their own blood.

photos by Katie Jo

As the world marches forward, how much more time do we have before the ways of this people are lost to memory? In just a few years, will the Maasai way of life still exist? How much has changed in just the past decade? Changes are coming, many changes are vital and necessary, but with those changes, the legacy and traditions of the Maasai way are becoming like the dust billowing in the rear view mirror of the safari jeep.

We have the daring and vital opportunity now; to preserve their ancient and rich heritage; while there are still elders alive to tell the stories, before the traditional clothing is traded in for Gap jeans and Birkenstocks.

Currently, 100 Humanitarians is navigating this imperative and crucial time for a culture transitioning. Doing all they can to offer solutions of empowerment for a people thrust into a technological world, while safe guarding traditions and history of a displaced people.

Implementing garden towers, digging wells, and focusing on education for the next generation while still preserving and respecting the heritage they are born from. Offering sustainable solutions for the tribes and communities to be self sufficient and thriving.

photos by Katie Jo

These are people like us, who were born to different circumstances, and environment who learned to thrive in it with the life they were given. People who are crossing the bridge of one age and into another with stamina and resolve, a willingness to learn and capacity to make the best out of what is available to them - just as they always have.

A short example that conveys the spirit of this enduring people is a poignant memory from our expedition is the day we brought water tanks and Hopesacs to a small gathering of local women.

As Cindy explained to them how to use the Hopesac, a simple cloth container that would save them hours of labor tending fire every day; the women were skeptical at best.

The Hopesac was filled with grains and vegetables soaked in boiling water, sealed closed, and then left aside. As we waited for the food to cook, the women welcomed us into their circles; passing the time by teaching us their intricate art of bead work. Beyond language- their smiles and expressions conveyed their hearts and joy.

Our expedition team members and the local women sat on the ground and created beadwork together, laughing, singing. I couldn't help but notice these women's gnarled and knotted hands, weaving such delicate patterns. Keeping alive the art of their mother's mother's mothers. Art, to me, is possibility. The manifestation of spirit into form. The tangible action of making something that didn't exist before. Our team, the Kenyan team, using thread and beads, not necessarily understanding one another but creating something new. A perfect metaphor of what 100 Humanitarians is doing.

I looked across the vista of thorned bushes speckled across the dry landscape and crumbling mud huts. Heat pressing down upon us from the unrelenting sun.

There, on the threshold of a home, I saw the words written that I’ve thought of over and over since that day.

“Surrounded by bright Angel”

“God is our Gaurder.”

In that moment, I couldn't help but wonder, who really sends us to Kenya?

These are the faces of Kenya. What lies in store for this noble and enduring people is up to the partnerships created now. How they have survived and what they have already created with very little, is just a beginning of what they could do if they had basic needs provided. These people who take nothing for granted, who waste nothing, and share everything. People who work and strive and conquer the odds that have always been against them.

We all have thresholds to cross in our lifetimes that change everything. New possibilities of creation that have never been. Going to Kenya is this. Yes, there are vital and necessary changes to be made in Kenya that 100 Humanitarians is dedicated to, but Kenya itself changes you for the better. The people you meet, the stories you hear, the passion they share, is priceless. The doorway goes both ways. For us, the African horizon is waiting. For the Maasai, the doorway of opportunities. Will you walk through that threshold?

Time is of the essence. Witness these people and their country for yourself. Hold their weathered hands in your own and look into their eyes. Gather your family and friends, give this lifetime gift to yourself. Go before you can only read about these people in history books.

Go to Kenya. Give to Kenya. Whatever you offer-is incomparable to what you gain.