Sand dams, Maasai, community, relationships, peace..........

Wow, what a day! It has been quite the experience! When I went to bed last night I knew that we were going to be getting up early and heading out to see MCC funded sand dams - mature dams, new dams and one in the process that we might get to help with.

What I didn't know is how this day would unfold......it started at 5:45 - we boarded a small bus to take us on the 2 hour drive to the area that we would be visiting. The African sunrise, coffee and a breakfast of hard boiled egg and banana bread was enjoyed. Let me tell you that coffee and breakfast was one of the best ever - why? Anticipation? The beautiful Kenyan sky? A sense of a very special day about to unfold? I'm not sure, it is enough to say that the simplicity of the meal and the uncluttered nature of my mind had me feeling peaceful and content.

Once we were out of Nairobi and off the major road connecting the coast to Uganda, the landscape was breathtaking..........small mountains terraced for people to garden and to protect the land from erosion made for this serene and inspiring view. I was amazed.........unfortunately I don't have many pictures of it because we were in the vehicle moving.

Traditional Maasai Greeting - singing and dancing

When we arrived at the Utooni (a partner of MCC who had arranged our day) compound we were greeted by the staff and a bus load of Maasai that had come to join us for the day. The purpose of their visit was to learn how sand dams were built because they are hoping to replicate this in their area. They started their trek at 4 am to be there by 8 am when we arrived - men, women, babies....... The Maasai greeted us with singing and dancing in traditional Maasai fashion - their clothing and adornment were stunning - the colour - the artistry...
After a tour of the grounds and some tea and toast we made a pit stop at their 'squat' toilets and then we were off - this was the last facility of the day (if you know what I mean). Once our 2 buses were loaded we were off.

Our first stop was at the very first sand dam that Joshua (the ED of Utooni) built. It was a beautiful, mature dam that had impacted the area around it profoundly.......lots of healthy gardens and a community with ample water close at hand. As we unloaded from the buses and walked to the dam it was my pleasure to be walking with the Maasai women.......taking pictures of them, laughing with them, walking alongside them....

This was a short stop so after a brief description and a few questions it was back in the buses and off to the first official stop of the day......
 a mature sand dam so we could see the long term impact of this technology. This required a fair bit of hiking over some pretty rough terrain and amazingly I found myself in the midst of the Maasai.....even though I didn't speak Maa and they didn't speak English I found myself very comfortable in their presence.......we helped each other climb, laughed as we stumbled, they trusted me to carry their babies and we just walked in comfort with each other..........incredible. We were witnesses to the profound agricultural, health and relationship benefits that sand dams are............a community coming together, forgetting their differences, working for themselves and for each other.......it is a beautiful thing. Over and over today we were thanked for caring, for our support, for walking alongside of them.....deep gratitude was felt and shared. Unbelievable.......

We made 2 more stops......the longest sand dam ever built......84 metres long and it took 600 community members 7 days to build it, 968 bags of cement held together the rocks that they had been collecting for a couple of months and there before us was a freshly finished dam that had already collected water behind it........a few days ago it was a dry river bed and today there was a resevouir of water. The next site was probably the highlight.......a dam under construction, being built from the ground up today. That's  right.....they started this morning and weren't going to leave until it was done. When we arrived at 2 pm and after we had taken pictures they gathered the people and we had an hour and a half long ceremony with speeches from the local chief, the Maasai people who were visiting with us, the local member of parliament, the extension worker, the MCC country representative, Phil our MCC group leader, the local head mistress of the school and the Executive Director of Utooni (to name a few, honest there were others). I couldn't believe that they took time out to sit and listen and honour us with the speeches and expressions of appreciation. I heard stories of previous infighting over water and livestock.......these same people today were on the same side, working with each other toward a common goal........water, clean, accessible water for drinking, washing, cooking, irrigating, their livestock............water security is a unifying factor! So much is made right when everyone has access to their basic needs! I have so much to process yet, but this is a good start.

Before we left we had the honour of planting trees on the site of the new sand dam and I have to say I left feeling like I was part of something much bigger than just building a dam.......I witnessed something that will have a profound impact on the lives of these people and their children for generations. It was holy and sacred!

The ride back to Nairobi took us 3 and a half hours - partly because of the condition of the roads, but primarily because of the unfathomable traffice leading into Nairobi and all the way through Nairobi during the late afternoon and evening. Am I tired? You bet! Was I hungry and thirsty? Yes, that breakfast was 12 hours earlier. But more importantly I have been profoundly impacted today.........I have much to think about and to process. I have much to be thankful for and believe it or not it has nothing to do with things that I might possess, or the country that I live in or the lifestyle I enjoy at home. Today I am thankful for the relationships that I have, for the people that I am surrounded with - for you my friends and family reading this blog and for the privilege of hearing others stories. It was a privilege to have witnessed peace-building in action.

Until later..............