Whenever the Kenyan elections draw near, the political rhetoric explodes on social media. A recent visit to one of the facebook forums shows that this year is no different! What continues to amaze me is the nature of the rhetoric among Maasai’s in reference to leadership within the Maa community. There seems to be a constant insistence that leadership be doled out based on clan. Such that If, for example, the Governor is from the irkaputiei clan then his/her deputy cannot be from that same clan as the rest of the clans will cry foul and the same goes for all the other leadership positions within the Maa counties. Why? The one reason I have heard, repeatedly, is equality must be promoted – equality in representation of the entire nation of Maa. Ok. So what is wrong with this kind of thinking? Plenty, in my humble opinion!
When The Sewage Hits the Fan
It was one day mid September that we saw tons of cars converge where Rimpa road meets the Kiserian river. Donated, back in the day, to the community by two families to be used as a watering hole for cattle and people from the area, it is now a hot spot of all sorts of controversy. So it was with that in mind that we ventured out to investigate the horde of cars. On approach, we noticed that the occupants, all of Chinese decent, were madly taking pictures of the area around the river and when asked what was going on, a gentleman shockingly told us they were scouting for a sewage location.
Observations: Maa Diaspora Community
When I first came to the states about 20 years ago, there were very few Maa people in the country. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that we began to see an increase in numbers and the idea of community organizing coming into play in the mid 2000’s with the formation of the Association of Maasai Abroad (AMAA). AMAA ran fairly successfully for a number years but was unfortunately unable to attract and keep members.
Dear Olosho le Maa
Over the years you have neglected to take care of yourself and it is with great sadness that we continue to watch as your overall health continues to deteriorate rather rapidly. You need to immediately start taking care of yourself so you can stay healthy and feel your best.
Of NGO’s, Circumcision & Sponsorship
A Facebook friend posted yet another story about a young Maasai girl expelled from high school after her sponsor (Soila Maasai Girls Rescue Centre) stopped funding her for allegedly having secretly undergone circumcision. Here is the story, as reported by the nation newspaper. Here is the same story on video.