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Background: The Maasai People Today
The Maasai are a nomadic Kenyan tribe that live in small settlements of approximately ten to twenty families. They are found in both Kenya and Tanzania. Today, many of the Maasai of the Rift Valley in Kenya continue to make their living in traditional ways, trading in cattle, sheep and goats, and selling handcrafted beadwork jewelry and ornaments to tourists. As has always been the custom, the Maasai equate wealth with the number of cattle, sheep, and goats an individual owns. Unlike many other Kenyan tribes (numbering around 42 in total), the Maasai still uphold many of their tradtional cultural practices today. These include the age-set system, livestock ownership, and some retrogressive practices such as early marriage for girls and the dreaded practice of female circumcision.
However, the Maasai have welcomed the opportunity to send many of their children to school, and recognize the benefits that schooling provides. Unfortunately, this has tended to favor boys and has denied many girls the opportunity to explore their abilities and consequently has limited their ability to make their contribution to development.
Amidst all these setbacks, however, many Maasai choose to improve their lifestyles, albeit cautiously without drastically altering their traditions and culture.
Enkishon Nataana - Prosperity That is Near
The words "Enkishon Nataana" are the Maa language words meaning "prosperity that is near". Sironka chose this name for the non profit organization based on his philosophy that each Maasai woman and man has within her or himself a special talent that if pursued can bring prosperity and improvement to the Maasai community.
Enkishon Nataana's main office is found in the town of Kiserian in Kenya's Kajiado district. Before obtaining non profit status, the organization operated as a sole proprietorship for four years under the name Sironka Promotions. It was during this four years that Sironka began the "Plant a Tree, Change a Life" scholarship in which Maasai girls whose education was sponsored by American donors planted a tree in the Kajiado district in honor of their sponsors. During this four years, Sironka also began the Friends of Sironka dance troupe, which gathers talented young Maasai male and female vocalists and dancers from local small towns and settlements in the Kajiado district and gives them the opportunity to perform and earn money in the United States and Europe in order to bring economic advantage home to their families and communities.
Enkishon Nataana as a non profit is an organization formed through the association of individuals interested in the development, utilization and promotion of basic health, education, and other social concepts among the Kajiado District Maasai people.
Through workshops, community meetings, and much needed donor support, Enkishon Nataana will seek to provide materials and techniques, which will enhance basic health and individual development. The program agenda will be aimed at addressing many retrogressive Maasai cultural practices and beliefs, while at the same time encouraging the preservation of the many positive attributes Maasai culture holds.
Enkishon Nataana will be especially concerned with the establishement of standards of equality, health and educational opportunities for Maasai women.
For information on current and future Enkishon Nataana projects, please visit the current projects link on the main page.
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