There are about 600,000 Maasai living mostly in the North-Central area of Tanzania in Arusha and Manyara Regions. To most people, especially those outside East Africa, when they hear about the Maasai, the first picture that comes to them is the fascinating life style of Maasai. The colorful clothes and jewelry, that they wear, their nomadic life style, their life in the jungle with no fear of lions, the culture, the food they eat, but not the existing level of poverty, limited access to education, health services and other basic socio-economic needs.

Historically, the Maasai were considered "pure" pastoralists who relied almost solely on livestock and livestock products for household livelihood, but over the past thirty years, they have increasingly sought alternative sources of food and cash income by marketing their cattle and even entering into agriculture. Most recently, these changes have accelerated as a result of drought and degradation of grazing lands from the competition of multiple uses for the land, such as tourism and farming.

Many Maasai are seeking other opportunities and entering into trades and professions previously considered taboo or inappropriate. Despite of some emerging opportunities, the Maasai community remains generally poor and disadvantaged relative to other groups in Tanzania. Rigid customs and values surrounding gender relations constrain still further the opportunities available to women and young girls. For example the number of schools and children going to school is still very low compared to other non-pastoralist regions. According to 2002 population census, 65% of women and girls in Monduli district are illiterate while 53% of men and boys are also illiterate. In Kiteto it is reported that about 69% of women and girls in the district are illiterate while 67% of men and boys are illiterate. However, according to the baseline survey conducted by MWEDO in Longido and Kiteto districts in 2006, the illiteracy rate for Maasai community is recorded to be 80% for men and 95% for women.

This is alarming and deliberate efforts are required if any development is expected to take place in these communities. It is argued that education (for all) is the basic foundation to sustainable development. If this is true it means then, these Maasai communities will not be able to achieve that goal unless some deliberate efforts are taken to ensure that Maasai are equipped with basic skills to enable them fight against poverty in their communities.

E-LEAP is a one year project, funded by the WID/EGAT Washington with the aim of providing education to mature women who missed that opportunity. The project targets 150 Maasai women in Arusha and Manyara regions, in two Districts of Kiteto and Longido in the northern part of Tanzania.

Maasai women sitting on a bench during class: Longido

E-LEAP started in November 2006 and by February 2007 the project had enrolled 180 learners, (exceeding targeted population of 150 women). Unfortunately the project ends in September 2007, however, it is expected that the project will be able to bring three major changes among the learners, which are:

1. Provide access to basic education through literacy program for 180 women and young girls who did not have an opportunity to attend primary education

2. Improved household livelihood security of Maasai women in Kiteto and Longido districts

3. Facilitate provision of land offer and ownership for women

To ensure permanent settlement and improved livelihoods, MWEDO coordinate efforts to support communities in Longido to secure a water delivery system through a partnership with USAID and the US Department of Defense based in the US Embassy in Tanzania.  The water is tapped from natural springs up on Longido Mountain.  It is expected that the availability will provide access to clean water to approximately 3,000 Maasai and their animals and in return reduce the burden to walk long distances in search of water.

You might probably remember how excited you were when you joined your sisters/brothers or friends to school for the first time, but more than that when you were able to write your first letters. Excitement could be an understatement maybe, the women in Longido and Engaranaibor were very proud and one could see the joy and pride on their smiling faces, when they displayed their written work and drawings on their exercise books to USAID and MWEDO staff.

Maasai woman showing off her work: Longido

During the visit we could see the enthusiasm to learn from these Maasai women. They were ready to go to school, to attain the basic right they have been denied in the name of cultural practices and customs within Maasai communities that denied them access to education, when they were young.

The movement or nomad life contributes also to low access to education for Maasai, but cultural practices also play a big role. One of the younger women was heard saying, "…I will make sure that my children, boys and girls to go school at an early age, because now I am starting to see the importance of education, I wish I had this opportunity earlier".

The class in Longido takes place in one of the village government offices, while in Engaranaibor they borrow a room from the village nursery school. To make sure that they do not miss this great opportunity, some women carry their babies with them to class as shown in one of the photos below.

It is too early to talk about the success of the E-LEAP, because it has been about four months only since the project started. Nevertheless, the project shows a great potential of successful results, despite of challenges like time limitation and funds. It is very obvious that his literacy program has been able to bring joy and hope among the learners.

It was a rainy day when MWEDO and USAID staff visited Longido and Engaranaibor, just four months after the inception of the project. The rain and the heavy clouds did not stop these Maasai women from attending classes. According to the class facilitator, the average attendance so far has been 90%, and the classes are conducted three times a week. We were also informed that some women walk between 10 -15 kilometers or more from their homes to attend classes and they do that with joy three times a week.

It is expected that, by the end of one year in September 2007, the project will be able to provide basic skills to Maasai women to enable them improve their health and that of their families, as well as improve their income by equipping them with micro enterprise skills for the improvement of their business and improved farming techniques. In addition, the project is also expected to, improve gender relations and women participation in community development work, improved habitat and increased awareness on the importance of sending children, especially girls to school.

The learners were very happy to let us know that they were excited to learn how to count because they can now count their money after selling of their products; The husbands or customers can no longer cheat them. They can now count their animals and know how many belong to them and they look forward to learning more Swahili and business skills so that they can negotiate with customers and increase their income. As the lessons go on, Maasai women are looking forward to learning more about micro enterprise and business skills, health issues, especially about maternal health and various skills that will enable them address poverty in their communities.

It is very hard for learners to say no to other women who would also like to join the program so that they can learn as well. The program was able to squeeze in about 30 women more out of about 60 or more women who showed interest to join. The additional 30 women make a total of 180 learners who are supported by the program in both Kiteto and Longido districts. It becomes more difficult when husbands and sons asking to join the literacy classes. We were told there has been high demand from men to be included in the program also.

These were some of the questions out of so many questions that we were asked by the learners. Currently only 180 women are enrolled to the program from Longido and Kiteto districts. Due to financial constraints, MWEDO selected few leaders from the women’s groups (20 women groups in total supported by MWEDO projects – each group has 30 members or more).

While the learners are very grateful for the support they get from MWEDO, they also pose a very good argument saying that one year program is too short to acquire all the skills that are supposed to be taught through the adult literacy program. Majority of the learners, especially the older women are constrained by the language barrier. Most of them have been speaking only one language, "Maa", all their lives. The facilitators have no choice but to include Swahili language in the lesson, and use two languages during the lesson to enable learners to understand.

It is very important for the learners to learn the Swahili language for commercial purposes, and therefore provide a wider chance of increasing income. But time is against their wishes. More women want to join, but the opportunity is limited to few women only.

The answer to both questions is NO. If there was more funding, these women would have an opportunity of learning more techniques and skills to improve their lives, but also be able to teach others as well. The program will be able to realize wider impact if more funds are secured to enable enrollment of more women into the program. These educated women will be able to bring changes in the Maasai community, but that can only be possible if more women get a chance to improve their livelihood security through education.

Engaranaibor: Maasai woman writing on the board.

Education plays a key role in the empowerment of women. Literacy empowers and nurtures inclusive societies and contributes to the fair implementation of human rights. In the case of mothers, literacy leads to an enhanced quality of life for their families and improved education outcomes for their children. The Maasai women have been denied this right to education because of the nomadic life and the existence of oppressive cultural practices on women and young girls among the Maasai. Examples of these cultural practices are like early marriages that pose as a great barrier for girls to be enrolled in school or force them to drop out of school. Collaborative efforts are necessary to ensure that basic services such as education, health and other infrastructure reach the Maasai.