About Us
Joyce and Paul Maier
In May of 2005, Paul, Joyce, and their daughter, Ashley, boarded a plane and embarked on a five-week trip to Tanzania and Kenya. During this time, the Maier family met the staff and students at Nyakongo Secondary School and Makasembo Secondary School. The schools are simple structures with dirt floors, meager equipment, and outdated textbooks that many students must share.
Jonathan Dinger, Ashley Marcus,
Headmaster of Makasembo Daniel Orwa,
Joyce Maier & Paul Maier
But the Maiers were overwhelmed by the warmth and the smiles of the students and staff who are trying to do their best in extremely difficult conditions. The teenagers want to stay in school but the $400 annual tuition and room and board fee is more than most AIDS orphans can afford to pay. It became clear to the Maier family that keeping these teenagers in school was the key to their survival and their hope for a healthy and happy future.
Ashley Marcus
The Maiers will never forget their trip to Africa, the beautiful smiles of the people, and the hope in the hearts of the children. It is what inspires them to continue to find others to partner with them in this life-saving endeavor.
On January 22, 2007 we arrived once again in Kisumu, Kenya to be greeted by a busload of people. This time we had a larger group with us. There were the original three, my mom Joyce, my dad Paul, and myself. Our additions included my sister Morgan, my cousin Geoff, and my husband Travis. These three gave the trip an air of excitement, I'm not sure if it was just because of their personalities or because of the trip we were on, but having them along gave me a boost of extra energy whenever I needed it.
Being back in Africa was like seeing a long lost friend. When I exited the plane the sweet, warm, sticky smell of Kenya greeted my nostrils, the humid, warm air surrounded me and I felt like Kenya was welcoming me back into her exotic, loving embrace. When our greeting party arrived I felt the same way. As six people unloaded out of our rented van to greet us we knew we'd be in good hands for the duration of our stay in Kenya. Our care takers were Washington (who had helped us out on the last trip), Zachary, Kennedy, George, and his wife Marcy.
Soon we were all packed in the vans and ready to roll. Before going out to the schools, though, we had to do a couple of errands. As we were waiting at the bank for money exchanges and our truck to arrive when a man came walking purposefully toward us. As he approached he introduced himself as a friend of Washington's. He was a Pastor. He told us he had heard of our coming and was praying for us and the work we are doing. This encounter left me surprised at the impact of a couple of "Mzungu's" (Mzungu is Swahili for "white person") coming to the village had.
As we got into Bondo District we were welcomed back to the schools with the warmest hospitality. It was great to see the faces of the headmasters and the teachers, the friends we had made on our last trip. We were also introduced to a host of new friends, including the Chief of the Village, Chief Oscar, and his newly formed committee for the distribution of educational fees. A host of older gentlemen, all very powerful in the community, had been gathered to form this committee dedicated to educating the children in their village. The passion and love these men had for the children was profound, something I would have never dreamed of seeing from retired men in the US. This committee now receives all the sponsorship money directly and personally makes sure that every child sponsored has their fees taken care of. It felt good for us to know that Chief Oscar and his men are watching out for the children and us.
I, however, am quite certain that the children of this community will not have to call on the committee often for protection from the world. The strength and intelligence I saw in these students was unbelievable. The girls refused to be seen as another woman whose place is in the kitchen. They wrote poems, sang songs, and debated over the role of women. They do not see themselves as weak or vulnerable, they are strong, community oriented women, certain that to educate a woman is to educate an entire village. These girls are the future of Kenya, and they know it.
Being sure that these students have the education and encouragement they needed, we thought they might also need a little bit of fun. We tried to help out by bringing new sports equipment, glow sticks, and a bit of educational fun. One of the most fun days we had at Makesembo was teaching the students how to play baseball. If you ask me, that is a confusing sport to try and teach a group who has never seen the game played before. The catcher's uniform was on 3 different people, they were running with the bats, ran to third after hitting, but with a little bit of coaching the students proved, once again, to be amazing athletes. I think they were having a lot of fun, too. Learning to throw a Frisbee was also amusing; once they were convinced the Frisbees were not plastic plates. The teachers and Mzungu's started playing and soon half of Makesembo was out learning to throw Frisbees. Having that time to play with the students was very rewarding, their smiles and enthusiasm never wore thin.
We also took over a project for the children to help us with. Borrowing ideas from "Zoom Uganda" we brought 20 disposable cameras to hand out to the students to take pictures of their lives. They took the cameras places we couldn't go, to their homes, to the market, and down to the river with their siblings. The photos gave us a taste of their daily lives, they were so fun to look at! (Look for some of the photos on the website!)
The time we spent living and visiting with the students and teachers at Makesembo and Nyakongo was exhausting and marvelous. It was amazing to be back in a place that was once so overwhelming but now, after the second trip, so welcoming and familiar. The people are beautiful, so welcoming and seemed so genuinely glad to host us. Hopefully we'll go visit again soon!