During our recent visit to Kenya, we were welcomed to a Masai Village in Amboseli known as Ipitek's Village. We were introduced to songs and told about the traditions and daily routines of the people who lived in the village.
We were then escorted to the Oltome Community School, which currently consists of two classes - Nursery and Year 1. The children sang to and with us, showed off their English skills and all gave us high-fives. The village is proud of the school and has about 16 children - both boys and girls - in each class.
The community have just completed a third classroom in readiness for a Year 2 class, but cannot yet afford a teacher. Our aim is to raise some funds to go towards a new teacher's salary and living allowance, so that a Year 2 class can commence as soon as possible.
The importance that the Masai tribe place on their children is very clear to see in this excerpt from a speech by Michael Gove when he was Secretary of State for Education in the UK.
"Whenever one Masai greets another they ask a question - Kasserian Ingera? Not "how do you do" or "how's it going", but "how are the children"? It's wonderfully revealing about the values of Masai society - their first concern is the next generation.
And the hoped-for reply is equally revealing: "all the children are well". Not my children. Not some of the children. All the children are well. For the Masai, society cannot be well unless all the children are well.
The question the Masai ask each other is revealing not just of their society - but of ours.
Whatever tests we set ourselves - and whatever achievements we boast of - the question that goes to the heart of the health of our society should be the same - how are the children?"
Thank you Kristina and James for the amazing work you are doing for the children of Kenya