Site 4: Maji Moto Homestays (Jan 26th – 27th)

Context: In the small Masai community of Maji Moto, our students had the opportunity to spend a night with a Masai family in their traditional homestead. Here are a few stories from their experiences.

Anecdote 1
Written by Anna Leitch, Christina Puzzolo, and Louis Green

For our homestay we joined a Maasai family with 7 boys and a mother who worked in the town center. We had a 17-year old guide named Jane, who translated for us. When we first arrived, we met the two youngest boys while they were on the mountain herding sheep. They showed us a day in the life of young Maasai children. They brought us to large rock piles that we used as slides and jungle gyms, and we built miniature Maasai homesteads using rocks instead of building blocks. Their resourcefulness and creativity was astounding and inspiring. They were full of life and laughter, and welcomed us into their playgroup even though we didn’t speak the same language. When their mother came home she prepared us dinner, which included ugali (corn flour and water), cabbage and sheep intestine and stomach. It was very interesting, to say the least! The next morning we got to help the mother with her morning chores, milking goats and cleaning the sheep pen. Overall, our family was incredibly warm and friendly and our time was filled with lots of laughter. The mother even gave us a beautifully intricate Maasai necklace when saying goodbye. We are so grateful for the warmth and love that they shared with us.

Anecdote 2
Written by Tiffany Law, Samantha Morin, and Lesley Williamson

Lesley (left) and Tiffany (right) with many of the children from their homestay family.

Samantha carrying a baby sheep

We stayed in a Maasai boma (home) belonging to a mama named Nabiko. Our guide Jonathan also stayed with us. The homestead had three manyattas (cow-patty cabins) and a good amount of goats and chickens. Nabiko lived with her sons and their wives, children of her late husband’s first wife, and all their children. Needless to say, it was very lively. Throughout the day Jonathan brought us on a little hike up a nearby mountain where we found some elephant bones in an abandoned house and had an amazing view of Maji Moto. Next we played with the children, who at first were very afraid of us mzungus (foreigners) but soon warmed up to us and wanted to take photos with us and play games. In the afternoon, we went to the hot springs to get water for the family. We arrived at the same time that school was finished for the day and encountered a swarm of very curious schoolchildren who loved touching our hair and talking to us with our limited Swahili. Back at the boma, we helped milk the goats, which was harder than it seems and the children found very hilarious. Later in the evening, we helped Nabiko cook ugali and cabbage, which was difficult with the limited space we had around the fire. After the delicious meal, the family had questions for us about Canada and constantly asked why we weren’t married nor had children. After a night of sleep on a cowhide bed, we got up around 6am just as the children were getting ready for school. We went once again with the women to fetch water from the hot springs, this time in big jugs we had to carry on our backs with straps on our heads. We then had breakfast consisting of African tea with goat milk and bread, then went for a nice walk around the schools while the women of the family made us each a pair of traditional beadwork earrings which we bought to support them. By then it was time to head back to camp and despite the short period of time and the language barrier, we knew we would miss Nabiko’s hospitality and friendliness. Our Maasai homestay was an incredible experience and will definitely be something we won’t forget!

Lugging the water back from the springs to the homestead