Here we have a photo and a cross section of a pit latrine.  Most Maasai homes, be they traditional manyattas or larger tin, wood, or mud homes, do not have indoor plumbing.  Most Maasai live in rural areas that are very far from any sort of city septic systems.  Thus, pit latrines are the best answer for sewage disposal in Maasai homes.

Why toilets?!

Enkishon Nataana is concerned with bringing dignity and opportunity to Maasai women.  Many Maasai women are still held as inferior by Maasai men, and therefore, it is not acceptable for a Maasai woman to use the toilet outdoors in the open during daylight as would be for a Maasai man.  This results in Maasai women feeling embarrassment when they must relieve themselves out in the open during the day.  Also, without a designated toilet, Maasai women have no place in which to dispose of sanitary napkins.  This means that Maasai women often use traditional methods during menstruation, for which they are often ridiculed for by men.  By bringing each Maasai woman a pit latrine (or what Americans would call an outhouse), each Maasai woman may have access to a private place to uphold her dignity and personal health.

The cost of digging pits and purchasing building materials for each pit latrine costs around $200 (US dollars).

Enkishon needs the help of donors in the United States and Europe to build these pit latrines.  Each donor will receive a certificate acknowledging her or his donation.   

Here Sironka is seen with Dianah Muthoni, who is a nurse at the Olooseos Dispensary near Sironka's home outside of Kiserian.  They stand here near the door to what used to be a maternity ward, but now is just an open empty room with no hospital beds. 

Enkishon Nataana hopes to find willing donors who will restore the dispensary and its maternity ward, and who will sponsor nurses like Dianah to further their medical studies in the United States or Europe.

Please click on the Project Photos link to the right for more photos of Olooseos Dispensary.

In December, 2004, the webmaster brought school books donated by Half Price Books and school supplies collected by the Shoreline Community College club Action4Change to Emily Githinji, the headmaster of Mugima Training Center, an all girls school.  This school provides an alternative for girls who would have gone through female circumcision and early marriage.  These books and school supplies were but a small contribution, but symbolize hopes of building libraries in the local schools outside of Kiserian and nearby towns.