ALL MY SISTERS WERE MARRIED AT THE AGE OF 10 AND 12.
EARLY MARRIAGE ACCORDING TO THE MAASAI COMMUNITY,
EVERY GIRL, IT WAS COMPULSORY, MUST GET A HUSBAND, AND THIS IS CHOSEN BY THE FATHER.
YOU HAD NO OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF A HUSBAND OR A LIFE PARTNER.
IN THIS CASE, MY FATHER HAD A TRADITION OF GIVING HIS DAUGHTERS TO OLD MEN,
EVEN OLDER THAN HIM. WHEN I WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD,
MY DAD LEFT TO BE WITH THE LORD. AND SO I HAD TO BE BROUGHT UP BY MY MOTHER, AS A SINGLE MOTHER.
MANY TIMES WE WERE GOING WITHOUT FOOD. THERE ARE MANY TIMES THAT THE DAY JUST ENDS
BECAUSE MY MOTHER WAS JUST A HOUSEWIFE AND DUE TO THE NOMADIC LIFESTYLE,
AT TIME THE GOATS WERE DEAD, THERE ARE NO COWS AND SO WE WOULD SLEEP HUNGRY.
AND AT THAT TIME, FOR A YOUNG MAASAI GIRL TO GO TO SCHOOL WAS NOT SOMETHING USUAL AND
EVERYBODY WAS LIKE, SHE IS GOING TO WASTE HER TIME, SHE SHOULD
GET MARRIED IMMEDIATELY. THE COMMUNITY WAS DISTURBING MY MOTHER.
WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING YOUR DAUGHTER FOR MARRIAGE.
MOST OF MY FRIENDS HAD DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL...
AND WERE MARRIED OFF AT AN EARLY AGE— 12, 15, IT WAS NOT EASY FOR SOMEONE TO REACH 15, 16 YEARS.
BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, THROUGH A SPONSORSHIP
THROUGH MY BROTHER WHOM THEY WERE ASSISTING IN A DIFFERENT SCHOOL,
THEY ASKED HIM, IF YOU HAVE A SISTER WHO’S BEEN VERY WELL,
WE CAN STILL PAY FOR HER. I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE TURNING POINT.
AND WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL I CAME TO KNOW THE LORD WHEN I WAS TEN YEARS OLD;
I GAVE MY LIFE TO THE LORD. AND I WAS ALSO COURAGEOUS BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF GOD.
GOD GAVE A SPIRIT OF COURAGE.
“THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD ARE LIKE MOUNT ZION WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN BUT ENDURES FOREVER.
AS THE MOUNTAINS SURROUND JERUSALEM, SO THE LORD SURROUNDS HIS PEOPLE, BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE."
THESE VERSES WERE REALLY AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO ME
BECAUSE JUST LIKE THE MOUNTAINS THAT SURROUNDED JERUSALEM,
THE LORD HAD SURROUNDED MY LIFE AND I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN DESPITE THE CHALLENGES,
DESPITE THE OTHER OBSTACLES, LIFE BACKGROUND, THE POVERTY, THE LACK OF FINANCES,
THE LORD HAS BEEN MY PROVIDER.
WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THIS RICH MAN WHO HAD ALREADY A WIFE,
HE TOLD HIMSELF, “MY FIRST WIFE IS ILLITERATE
AND I NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN WRITE AND KEEP MY ACCOUNTS.”
HE COULD BRING FOOD TO MY POOR MOM; HE EVEN PROMISED TO GIVE LAND, NEAR THE RIVER.
I DON’T…WAS I BEING TEMPTED LIKE JESUS, I DON’T KNOW?
SO THIS RICH MAN THOUGHT WITH ALL OF HIS WEALTH,
HE WOULD CONVINCE THE POOR FAMILY SO THAT I CAN ACCEPT.
I STOOD MY GROUND.
I SAID, “I WOULD RATHER BE MARRIED BY A POOR MAN WHO KNOWS THE LORD, WHO SERVES GOD.”
I WAS NOT VIOLENT BUT I COULD TELL THEM, “LOOK YOU CANNOT GET ME OUT OF SCHOOL.”
BUT I FELT, IF I COULD BE A TEACHER, I’LL BE ABLE TO CHANGE LIVES.
I’LL BE ABLE TO TRANSFORM LIVES, I’LL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE MY MAASAI COMMUNITY
WHO ARE NOT YET UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE… AND THE BENEFIT OF TAKING GIRLS TO SCHOOL.
THE BURDEN THAT IS IN MY HEART, IS ABOUT THE MAASAI GIRLS.
HAVING GROWN UP IN THAT ENVIRONMENT. HAVING SEEN THE PLIGHT OF THE MAASAI GIRL.
THAT, IN OUR COMMUNITY MOST SCHOOLS ARE VERY FAR AWAY,
GIRLS CANNOT WALK FOR MANY, MANY LONG DISTANCES TO GET TO SCHOOL.
WHAT HAPPENS, THESE GIRLS JUST GET LOST AND GET MARRIED.
AND SO I THOUGHT, IF WE COULD HAVE A BOARDING SCHOOL,
WHERE THESE GIRLS COULD SPEND MORE TIME IN SCHOOL,
THEN THEY WOULD NOT HAVE ANY CHALLENGES OF TEMPTATIONS AND ALL—I’LL HAVE THEM COME IN.
SO THIS IS WHERE THE VISION CAME ABOUT,
NASARUNI SCHOOL FOR THE MAASAI GIRLS. I FELT, I HAVE A TASK TO DO, IF GOD HAS BROUGHT
ME TO THIS LEVEL, THERE IS A PURPOSE, I DON’T THINK IT IS IN VAIN.
AND I KNEW THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN ME AND SUSTAINED
ME FOR A SPECIFIC TASK FOR HIS GLORY.