During my five visits to the Maasai village of Lesoit in Tanzania, I was greeted lovingly and without prejudice in the community right from the start. The children in particular immediately grew fond of me. They met me very open-minded, touched my hair, my white skin, smiled at me and taught me the first words in their language "Maa" and wanted to know what these words are called in my language. I noticed that the children constantly have coughs and runny noses, many don't even wear shoes on their feet and don't have enough clothing to brave the sometimes cold temperatures. Furthermore, I noticed that only very few children can go to the primary school in the village and that only irregularly. I felt the desire to do something for the community.
However, it was important for me to first find out what is helpful for the community in the long term and not what I consider helpful as a person from the privileged western world.
The most important point mentioned here was the desire for schooling, because most of the children are not able to attend the local elementary school regularly. There is no secondary school within walking distance that would enable the children to complete vocational training afterwards.
This is how the concept for our joint project "ERETO-Hope For Children" came about in December 2021, which aims to set up a secondary school in the center of the village and give around 350 children the opportunity for education and subsequent vocational training.