MaaSAE Girls School Celebrates 20 years!

We spent our last several days in Tanzania at the MaaSAE Lutheran Secondary Girls School in Monduli.  From the Operation Bootstrap Africa website:  Established in 1995, Bootstrap has supported girls' education through a first-of-its-kind residential school for daughters of the Maasai and other semi-nomadic people in Tanzania. Today, 275 girls from impoverished backgrounds are part of this nurturing, supportive educational community. In a Tanzanian girl's life, education makes all the difference.  The MaaSAE Girls School (MGLSS) offers girls the chance to make a brighter future for themselves and for their families. More than 650 girls have graduated since the school's founding 20 years ago. The school was founded by Rev. J. David Simonson.  (Operation Bootstrap Africa )

We met many girls while we stayed at the school.  We were able to tour the campus and attend worship with the girls, as well as take a walk to the local market.  You can visit previous posts on my blog to learn more about our visit to the girls school!  Tanzania Day 17, visit to the Girls School, Tanzania Day 18, visit to the Girls School,

The MaaSae Girls School recently celebrated 20 years!  Here are links to two videos - the first is a historical look back at the school and the second is the 20th Anniversary celebration!

MaaSAE Girls School Historical Photos 1995-2015

MaaSAE Girls School Anniversary Celebration Jan. 24, 2015  

Africa Experience - Tanzania - Day 18

July 13, 2013

Breakfast....

Off to worship!

I opened my journal to blog about this day, and the caption reads "Ah....what a day"!  We woke up on this Sunday and worshiped with the girls.  Pastor Jane and Jean led the service.  There were two choirs - the older girls (dressed in shukas and bright colors, form 5 and 6 girls) and the younger girls (in their school colors, red).  The girls wear a particular color for their year in school, and it follows them until they graduate....the older girls wore yellow, the second year girls wore red, etc.  We also received communion.

Euni and her daughter Naomi

The girls don't usually receive communion unless a Pastor presides over the service (maybe once a month).  Euni Simonson and her daughter also attended the service, and we enjoyed coffee and pastries with them afterwards.  We had a little time before lunch to start organizing and packing our suitcases.  What a chore!  Many of us planned to leave some clothes, shoes, and toiletries behind for the girls and some of the other people we had met along the way. 

At the end of the service, the girls auctioned of pens and pencils!

The beautiful sanctuary designed by David Simonson

Euni hugged and thanked
each one of us! 

For lunch, we enjoyed a meal with the school staff.  We had rice, fruit, chicken and a meat/veggie sauce.  They also treated us to sodas!  Following lunch, some of the form 5 and 6 girls offered to take us into town for the traditional market.  It was about a 45 minute walk.  We stopped at a couple churches along the way (one Lutheran and one Catholic).  At the market, we walked around.  We bought the girls (Naramatisho, Tumaini, and Judith) some things to take back and share with the girls in their dorm.  We picked out some oranges for Naramatisho, Tumaini wanted some bananas, and Judith wanted avocados.  A large bag of oranges (20) was about $2, and 2 huge avocados were less than a $1 total. 



On our way to the market.....



TIRE SHOES.....they make shoes out of old tires.
They cost about $5 and are worn by most
of the tribal people.  The story says
that when the men are out walking in the dirt,
you can not tell if they are coming or going
because the print left in the dirt can go
either way. 

Enjoying ice cream!

On the way back to the school, we asked if we could stop at the market.  We bought the girls some juice to have in their room and some ice cream for all of us.  The girls didn't like the ice cream so much - interesting! Tumaini said it was too cold! 

Kyler, Tumaini, Judith, Brett, Naramatisho, Toni, Connor

We worshiped with the girls again before dinner.  For dinner that night, Rebeka made a very good meat and spaghetti.  We spent the evening packing.  Our family was able to get everything in 6 suitcases, including a suitcase full of baskets and snacks/treats (cookies, coffee, candy) that we would share at KLC later for our Tanzanian service. 

Rebeka took great care of us!

We had some money left at the end of the trip, and some of us sat down together to decide who to leave money with.  It gave us time to reflect on what we had done, what we had seen, and where there was need.  Our overall Tanzania experience is one that we all knew would stay with us the rest of our lives!

 

 

Clothes being left behind.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Africa Experience - Tanzania - Day 17

July 12, 2014

Animals in the roundabout, Arusha

We woke in a Arusha this morning but would be leaving for Monduli after breakfast!  Brett, Pastor Jane and I got up before everyone else and went for a walk around town (7:30am).  We took some photos of the church, town centers, clock tower, and some of the sights.  We were on our own for breakfast this particular morning. 

The church we worshiped at.

The famous clock tower!

After our walk, we woke the boys and got our stuff packed up.  We had some time to do a little more last minute shopping.  We had a wonderful breakfast at the Africafe (where we bought mochas frequently).  The pancakes were yummy! 

Danielle ordered strawberries with her pancakes!

One of our favorite sayings was TIA - This is Africa.  We often said this as things 'unfolded', moved slower than we were planning, or didn't quite turn out how we expected it to.  This morning happened to move a little slower than we were planning. 

The finished product!

Just on the outskirts of Arusha, we stopped at a really cool shop that Elizabeth recommended.  They had really nice t-shirts, fabric, and table clothes.  We bought several things including fabric to make pillows! 

Women selling their goods on the side of the road.

There was just a little traffic!

At the Snake Park!
Toni~Jean~Elizabeth
 

We also stopped at the Snake Park to get Jean and have a quick Kilimanjaro beer!  Again, TIA.....Our vehicle of people arrived at the Snake Park and we waited and waited and waited for the other vehicle.  There was a road block on our way.  We were stopped by the police and allowed to move on.  The other vehicle was not!  They were questioned and required to show all the necessary paperwork (which they had).  In the end, unfortunately they had to pay some money to be able to move on. 

We made it to the Maasae Girls Lutheran Secondary School (http://www.isa.nl/tanzaniaproject/mglss.html) in time for lunch.  The Maasae Girls School was started by David Simonson.  It is a great opportunity for young women to attend school and have successful careers.   To learn more about the school and how to help, click on this link:  http://www.bootstrapafrica.org/#!mglss/cllz  We were greeted by the director Mr. Msinjili.  For lunch, we enjoyed rice, meat, gravy and fruit.

Meeting Mr. Msinjili

Off on our tour.......

Naramatisho shows us the classrooms



They have a very nice library.

They grow coffee and sell it to help pay for the school.

They also raise/sell chickens.

After our meal, we met some of the girls.  The girls were returning back to the school after a long break.  The girls were our guides and we spent about 45 minutes walking around the grounds.  We saw the classrooms, where they eat, where they worship, and their dorms.  The girl we walked with was named Naramatisho.  She is in her second year and would like to be a lecturer. 

Presenting the school with gifts!

We will sleep in a house on the compound.  It is like a duplex, with separate living areas on each side.  We had a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.  Unfortunately, there was no working shower or hot water.  Rebecca (she had cooked for Jean in the past) would cook the meals for us.  We were on our own for breakfast (we had brought cereal, milk, bread an jam). 

5pm worship

The girls worship together each evening at 5pm and then go to dinner.  We met them at 5pm to worship with them.  It was really fun - we sang and (tried) to dance!


Rebecca cooked a wonderful dinner for us.  There was so much food......fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, rice with a spicy sauce and homemade rolls.  It was all very good!

The kids played games before bed.