THE JOURNEY FROM TEACHING UNDER A TREE TO BUILDING A SCHOOL

Taran Berthelsen was on a Safari trip in Amboseli in 2019, and this is when the Maasai School Project started.

After the Game drive, the Maasai guide, Jacob Parit Noomek, decided to add an extra adventure and showed them a real Maasai School far out in the bush.

14 children and two Teachers were sitting on the ground under a Tree without any school equipment or other resources. This was a Tree-School that the Maasai community had started a couple of years earlier due to the lack of Schools in the area. Taran was surprised that the children were sitting so unprotected from wild animals and the rough bush weather.

The School under the Tree really touched her and she felt a strong connection to this little class. She donated some money and told the Teachers to buy School books.

After returning to Nairobi, Jacob called her to say that the Teachers had bought materials to make a blackboard for the donation. This really showed their dedication to educate the children, and Taran instantly decided to support this School more. She donated plastic chairs, school books and stationary.

By the end of 2020, Jacob called her again and asked if she would consider building a School building for them. Doubting that it would work, she decided to start a Fundraising Campaign on Facebook. By the end of January 2021 she had enough funds to build 3 classrooms and a toilet. The School is built in her beloved Mother´s memory, who used to be a Primary School Teacher.

The School expanded from 14 to 90 students in less than a year!

The name of the School is Moyo Primary School and the School´s motto is PLAY-LEARN-THRIVE. Moyo means Heart in Swahili, and this School is built only with Private Donations and lots of Love.

Taran is the Head of the Maasai School Project, Moyo Outrach, but the Maasai Community is still running the School on a daily basis.