Cameraphone picture of the current school progress

Maliaki writes, “Hi Jeremy, we are very well. [Here] you see some [of] the progress within this photo. We do expect to put the lender soon next week.
Maliaki”

When he says”lender”, he means the lintel or ringbeam – I’m looking forward to going out and seeing it for myself later this month, but meanwhile I’m thrilled that the work is continuing quickly. Maliaki and Yona are doing an excellent job of overseeing the construction.

The footings for the school

In a few months, students will be sitting here

We’ve been following the progress of the school via SMS updates from Maliaki and Yona, and finally Maliaki was able to get us some pictures! Above are a couple of shots of the school-that-will-be, and here’s Maliaki’s note to me:

“hello JEREMY habari yako .Napennda kuwasalimu wote hapo pamoja wote kabisa tunaendelea vizuri na kazi ya ujenzi na hizi ni baadhi ya picha za jengo kwenye msingi maliaki”

Translated:
“Hello Jeremy, how are you? I want to greet all of you there at Pamoja. Absolutely everything is going well here with us and with the construction work. Here are a couple of pictures of the building at the foundation stage. Maliaki”

It’s a wonderful delight to see things progressing. MAPED are motivated, their leaders are incredible, and they’re really doing a fabulous job of the school so far!

In Simanjiro, only a handful of kids have ever been able to get an education. Some families perhaps sent their eldest boy to school. Perhaps two could study. Parents have always had to answer the question, “Which of my children will get an education?” Education. It’s so important. Without it, how can the Maasai ever hope to be able to combat disease among their own people? Without it, how will they protect their property rights from unscrupulous outsiders seeking to take advantage of them? How will they choose an appropriate path for the Maasai to create sustainable development for a better future?

But it’s not all doom and gloom, as we sometimes hear. In Maasailand, there’s more than just a spark of hope. An amazing group of Maasai have gathered together and they believe that they can build a school, combat HIV/AIDS among the Maasai, promote the rights of women, get clean drinking water for their people, teach hygiene, and bring hope to their people. They’re using every tool at their disposal: they sing songs of change with their powerful choir. They teach seminars. They demonstrate healthy changes in their own lives. They build water filters for families. And now, they’re selling a book to bring change. The “En-kata, A Time For Singing” photobook is an incredible view into the lives of MAPED (as their organization is called) and their incredible choir. With beautiful photography from Jeremy Stephenson of African Lightscape and deep words from Nadine Feser, Artistic Director of Pamoja Ministries, En-kata is a wonderful good news story. It’s catching attention. Recently, these very same Maasai were featured as part of The Hope Chronicles project. You can see them talk about their hopes for their families here and you can read of their hopes in singing here.

Over 1000 copies have already been sold, and that’s a reason to hope. 60% of the profits from the book are being used by the Maasai to build schools for their children. By buying a copy today, you can share their joys and struggles, and help them to build a better tomorrow. A tomorrow where no parent ever has to decide which of their children will go to school. For the first time, thanks to you and others like you, these children will have access to quality education at home. It’s a big step forward, and it’s not being imposed from the outside – the school is being built and run by the Maasai themselves.

You are invited to share in their hope and participate in their dream. Thank you for helping out!

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Pamoja Ministries.

Maliaki holding a bit of the future school

The school building is about to start taking shape! With the approval to begin construction, MAPED has begun making cement bricks to build their school. Members of our Pamoja Ministries team had a chance to travel out to Simanjiro and meet with Yona, Maliaki and other MAPED members and to view the progress and they were excited to show us. They have purchased the cement they need and set up a brick making station on the Ruvu River (4 km from the construction site) for better access to water. The process of molding and drying allows them to make about 200 bricks every 3 days. The only word to express the look on their faces was “giddy” as they were showing off the latest set of bricks. Excitement flowed off of Yona and Maliaki as we toured from the land for the school to the river.

Years of prayer, planning and fund raising (choir tours and book sales) have lead the Maasai of Simanjiro to realizing the vision they received from God so long ago. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the creation of this school thus far. Please continue to pray for favor with the government of Tanzania and favorable building conditions.

If you’d like more updates about what’s going on, please send us your email address! email info@pamoja.info with the word “subscribe” in the subject.

Reading the Report Together

So to each one of you who has participated in some way in this – hosting the choir, hearing them sing, buying the book, giving to support the project, and praying for the process that has followed.

We’ll be posting updates here as MAPED fills us in on their progress. We’ll also be heading out to Maasailand next week, so look forward to hearing more. Now, more than ever, please pray for Pamoja, for MAPED, and for the school.

If you’d like more updates about what’s going on, please send us your email address! email info@pamoja.info with the word “subscribe” in the subject.

sat on an air mattress and talked for hours in the sun..

played fetch with the most well- trained dog named Missy..

let the white pigeons fly free and watched them come back home…

explored the hills of blue sky, yellow grass and horses…

took pictures of everything breathtaking… they don’t called it Big Sky Country for nothing

shared memorable with time Alan, Charlotte and family…

went grasshopper hunting…

saw snow for the first time…

and finally sang out way back down through the hills to Chicago.

Thank you Alan and Charlotte for the generosity and love in your home.

We left Nebraska with a 19 hour drive ahead of us, heading north to Helena, Montana. Passengers in our little red vibe fell silent as we watched the cloud faces change continuously, the landscapes transform from green pastures to red plateaus, and birds dancing in rhythym to our music.

The pressure in the elevator was more than our ears could handle. We felt our stomachs in our throats as the elevator climbed to the 103rd floor.

Maliaki was over swept with a wave of joy as he looked out over the city. He exclaimed, ”Oh we have to sing right now.” This is the beauty of these Maasai musicians, they need no instruments and are ready to sing at any given time.

Cameras quickly turned from the scenic view to the live performance. Being tall is a valuable trait to the Maasai, this performance breaks record for the “World’s Tallest Maasai (Masai) Performance.”

Yona and his quivering stomach took awhile to get used to the glass box that stands about 1, 353 ft above ground level, but after convincing himself for awhile, he made sure we got a picture of him conquering his fears.

Couldn’t pass off a stop at Millenium Park.

Chicago-style Pizza at Giordano’s!