Education
1 Love’s main effort is the education of the Maasai children. All schools in Tanzania require school fees, and like in the US, tuition always seems to go up. The vast majority of Maasai families cannot afford to send their children to school, especially when most Maasai families have 10+ children. So, 1 Love is dedicated to sending as many children as possible to school. This is the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty and limited opportunity and providing these children a chance to make a life for themselves and their families.
Most of the children currently sponsored by 1 Love are sponsored through the generosity of individual donors. We have several wonderful donors who have “adopted” a child and are committed to paying that child’s annual school fees. Each summer I return home to Tanzania, I try to get pictures and letters from each sponsored child to bring home to the US for the donors. We want to make sure our donors know what a significant impact they are making.
Water
1 Love was able to bring a clean water source to my village. We were able to get permission from the local government to split a pipe off the main water line and run a line straight into the heart of the village. This water comes straight from the snowcaps of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s a great source of clean water and we’re so fortunate to have been able to get permission from the government, but that water is regulated. So, during certain times of the year and when reserves are low, the water is sometimes shut off, leaving the village with nothing. Then it’s back to hauling water by donkey up to 2 or 3 miles a day…
Shop
Through generous donations, 1 Love was able to build a shop right in the middle of the village. Before this shop was built, women would have to walk to the market, which is close to 3 miles away. The shop carries basic cooking necessities, basic school supplies, and even some cookies and sodas. The shop is run by the women in the village who split proceeds.
Solar Power
Most Maasai villages do not have electricity, so villagers must rely on fire, lanterns, and flashlights to see after dark. This makes it nearly impossible for children to be able to do homework. Installing just a small solar panel on a home provides a family enough power to light the entire house. This is cleaner, safer, and more reliable than other methods.
Some families even use their stored solar power for radios and televisions. This opens up a whole new world to most families, and especially children. Solar power is a relatively inexpensive way to make a huge difference in a family’s life.
Propane Stoves
Through generous donations, 1 Love was able to build a shop right in the middle of the village. Before this shop was built, women would have to walk to the market, which is close to 3 miles away. The shop carries basic cooking necessities, basic school supplies, and even some cookies and sodas. The shop is run by the women in the village who split proceeds.
Cooking Huts
The women cook in their homes, and while 1 Love is trying to provide propane stoves, most women still use an open fire. This produces an excessive amount of smoke that has no means of ventilation, so it just fills the house. I remember growing up, our house was always filled with smoke, there were ashes covering everything, and the grass ceiling was black! This is so dangerous to the health of, not only the women who are cooking but the children in the house.
1 Love has been able to build a few small cook huts for women to use; an outdoor kitchen. They can cook in the hut, store all their food and cooking pots, or anything they need. And if one of these small cooking huts were to burn down, the chances of it harming anyone are very slim – compared to a house.
Electricity
One of our most successful and most complicated projects was to bring electricity to our village for the first time ever. Through generous donations from our supporters, including Blackjack Pizza of Brighton, we were able to accomplish our goal which included power lines and poles to most of the village. There are still some homes without power, but we will slowly work to ensure each home is equipped with power lines.
This has made a tremendous impact on the village allowing families more flexibility in their daily routines and the children are now able to complete homework after dark.
Laptops
Through the generosity of a local high school, 1 Love has been able to provide Chrome books to several school in various Maasai villages and to some of the older students who are attending secondary or even university. Chrome books in the village haven’t traditionally made sense, given the lack of electricity. But hopefully with electricity on the horizon, as mentioned in Project 5, that me be changing.
New Homes
Traditional Maasai homes are beautiful and full of character, but they aren’t extremely practical. Being made of mud and cornstalk, they require constant upkeep – patching walls, replacing grass on the roof, and whatever else comes along. They are also very small, which makes it challenging for large Maasai families to all have room; often sleeping several to a bed. So building larger homes from brick is ideal. Brick homes require minimal upkeep, better withstand the strong winds, can accommodate more family members, and are much healthier.
