After 3 wonderful days at the Women’s Center at the Twala Tenebo Cultural Manyatta near Il Poles, we are back in Nanyuki.
At the MEET Girls’ Mentor Retreat, we met all 14 girls who are currently in school & 8 girls who have graduated.
3 MEET graduates are in trade schools learning to become a wildlife tour guide, caterer & plumber.
And, this year, 3 MEET graduates are starting college!
These girls & young ladies are amazing people who show strong determination to do well in school & find work to support their families.
Taking notes & meeting togetherWriting thank you letters to their education supportersLiz, the MEET team leader with her newborn. Break timeGina, Rosemary and Aurora, part of the Kenya & USA leadersRosemary with some of the local Maasai womenRosemary with the staff that cooked for us during the retreat On their way homeWe had a great time!
We are enjoying time in Nanyuki with Liz Silikan who leads the in-country, on-the-ground support efforts for the charity I started to help Maasai girls attend school.
Our first time in Nanyuki was in 1984. We returned in 2010 where we did a walking safari and met many Maasai.
I liked Nanyuki so much I returned on my own in 2013 where I offered to sponsor a Maasai girl to attend secondary school. A few years later, I formed the charity Maasai Education & Empowerment Today (MEET).
To learn more go to meet5.org
MEET Board Member Aurora Lau is accompanying me on this visit & has been an invaluable asset providing insights & support.
We visited one school in Nanyuki where some girls attend.
There are many administrative, operational, & legal challenges to working in Kenya.
In addition to spending hours with a lawyer to establish MEET as a legal entity within Kenya to be able to fund raise locally, we spent some time at Western Union resolving a snafu that prevented funds being transferred from a bank in America to deposit in our local bank to pay for the girls’ tuition and room & board.
After successfully obtaining our much needed funds, we celebrated by having a “Stoney” which is short for “Stoney Tangawizi“ which is a strong ginger ale soft drink.
The Wanderers 