To our friends at Grace,
Ed and I recently went to Africa. I would say it was a very life-impacting experience! We would like to share one piece of it with all of you in the hope that you will then be interested in joining a project with us.
We visited a Maasai village (see attached pictures). We were greeted by a group of people who truly amazed us. They live in a village with no running water or technology and have little in the way of food and what we would consider the basics of life. The school was a room with a blackboard and benches. Yet the children responded to us as if we were long lost relatives. I have rarely had people react with so much joy upon seeing me. I will attach some pictures. The little boy that I was holding was curious about my phone but had absolutely no reaction when I showed him his picture. I was told later he didn't know it was his picture as he really doesn't know what he looks like.
They live at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. It is near the equator but it gets cool at night due to the high elevation. The Maasai warrior who guarded our camp at night (we were visited by zebras, wildebeests, etc.) had no gloves or raincoat and were quite cold in the morning. The little boy I was holding had very cold hands and feet in addition to having a cold.
Ed and I hope to send them school supplies and clothes. As the whole village is in need of warm clothing any size is good. The people were all thin and many were tall. The children need navy pants so they can attend school and I was told the Maasai love the color red.
The guide we worked with, Baraka, will pick up the boxes in Arusha and drive them to the director of our camp. They will bring the items to the villagers and send us pictures.
If you feel moved to donate new or gently used clothing, school supplies or money to help with the mailing expenses, we would be grateful. More than that, you will be making a big impact on the people of the village.
Thank you,
— Marianne and Ed Fimbel
