My friend Sammy Njenga’s wedding celebration finally brought me to Kenya. During the 6 years I have known Sammy he has never failed to remind me just how much I would enjoy adding Kenya to my travel circuit. I wish I had taken his advice years earlier as the place is bursting with natural beauty although in my opinion the country's biggest hidden treasure is it's people.
Enthusiastic to finally have the chance to showcase his homeland, Sammy organized the most decadent of itineraries. A traditional Kenyan wedding celebration in Nairobi followed by Safari in Maasai Mara and then complete relaxation in Mombasa bathing in the Indian Ocean.
It was during the trip to Maasai Mara that I stumbled across the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Project. Virgin Atlantic worked with Sarova Hotels, Water For All and 10 frequent flyer volunteers from Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club to renovate the Senekani School. The project focused on revamping the boys & girls dormitories and adding shower facilities. This upgrade qualified the school with ‘boarding school status’ and therefore allowed the school to qualify for government funding. The school founded in 1989 provides education to over 650 Maasai children in the Sekanani Township. This was just 2Kms away from where we were staying at Sarova Mara Game Camp.
The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group located in both Kenya and northern Tanzania. They speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer. Maasai is taught in schools to some extent, though the languages of instruction are Swahili and English. There is a Maasai dictionary, a Maasai translation of the Bible, and a few other publications, but generally the language is primarily a spoken language.
No comments:
Post a Comment