A Book at Every Hand

A Book on Every Hand

EDUCATE A COMMUNITY USING A BOOK

I am running a campaign to help educate my community through education resource materials, purchase of books, and building and nurturing a reading culture among the Maasai community in Kenya. It is a campaign aimed at raising 5000 USD to start this project and give every child an opportunity to access a book. I believe no one should die without ever experiencing the life of a reading culture. Your donation will not only be what you donate, but a act of bringing a world to life for a child in the Maasai community. Every one is kindly invited to visit the community and see the impact of the project. Those who believe in the power of education to liberate a community, this project is for you, like I am inspired by the likes of Douglas Johnson, Maya Angelou, Bill Gates, among many, education can change a whole community.

A book for every household in the vilage

Share your love for books

In Kenya, a well bound book is worth a minimum of 70 USD.

You may share an amount worth a book or books. This will help so many children appreciate you whenever they read a book from this donation.

Guess what, the appreciation will go generations and generations,

Part of an article on education in the community..Read this article and take ACTION...Many thanks

Losioki Somoire

"The Maasai need serious community conversations on education

By Eliezer Wangulu

There are many critical issues affecting Maasai families that need urgent dialogue or shall we say conversations? Yet, dialogue and conversations are a rarity in Maasai family settings. In this community, those who strongly pay allegiance to the traditional norms categorise children and women together. They are both called nakera (they who are my children). The word enkitok (wife) is rarely used by Maasai men. Therefore, children are there to take orders from their elders—men, husbands, fathers without questioning. They should be only seen and not heard.

Then how can the myriad of issues, including cultural taboos that prevent women from owning land, economic disenfranchisement of women following the commoditization of milk, hides and skins, female genital cutting, ferocious sale of land and cultural practices that discourage children from attaining education among many that need collective brainstorming be resolved without dialogue?

According to available statistics, the overall literacy level among Maasai stands at 48 per cent. Although there is improved access to education, retention is a serious challenge. Six out of 10 Maasai children will not complete primary education.

As recently documented in a report by the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Kenya,
“Illiteracy has emerged as the number one root cause of poverty in Kajiado County. Education is a means of overcoming poverty, increasing income, improving nutrition and health, reducing family size as well as raising people’s self-confidence and enriching the quality of their lives. However, …the incidence of gender discrimination in education is high. Most women tend to be illiterate, especially in rural areas. Chances of a girl child, as compared with the boy child being in school are proportionately lower and the discrimination continues… [1]

The report also recognizes that:
“…the gender gap in education comes at a high cost to growth and development. For example, the mother’s education is the single most important determinant of a family’s health and nutrition. Female discrimination must be overcome through increased awareness on the importance of education for all, and in particular, increased female participation in education and formal sector employment…”

[1] http://maasaigirlseducation.org/the-need/value-of-educating-maasai-women/. Accessed April 14, 2019.