My name is Micheal Sakayian Ole Sayo. I was born and raised in a small remote village at Eremit, in southern Rift Valley Kenya. I spend most of my youthful age in the bush looking after my family cows and protecting them from lions before getting a chance to join the primary school in my community. When I was 8 years of aged, I joined Eremit primary school in Ngong division, Kajiado district in the Rift valley Kenya. For the early times in history the gospel of Jesus Christ reached my village and I accepted Jesus, becoming among the first Christian in my village.
While I love cows I also saw wonderful opportunities in having formal education. I always wanted to be a proud cow herder with a western education. When I was going to school, in my village each villager sold goats and cows to see me complete my education in the Kenya capital city Nairobi. After graduate from school, I decided to return and give back to my community.
With my return to Eremit I started the Matonyok Nomads Development Organization (MANDO) aimed to support primary and high school going children through education while improving the lives of my locals through commissioning the protection and preservation of springs for clean water for the entire Eremit, improved infrastructure, and health standards in the Eremit community, the journey has been far from easy but gracious and inspiring. The most important aspect of my community development work has been friends. I’m grateful to all my friends who continue to support my vision for a better community.
My philosophy is that change is inevitable. We would like to be agents of our change rather than victims of change. My dream is to help empower the Maasai people through education, health and economic development. It is our hope to integrate the Maasai way of life with the modern world, while conserving and celebrating Maasai cultural heritage. Having privileged to have a little education, I have a better vision on how to create a sustainable future for the Maasai people.
Together, we can fight poverty and build strong communities. Since most people in Maasai land do not have access to Internet, MANDO transmits Maasai voices to a virtual community. Be our friend today by joining our group. We’ll keep you informed with our programs and projects.