Esarunoto Emaa
Foundation
The Committee
I grew up in the Monduli region of Tanzania and graduate from Noonkodin Secondary School. Influenced greatly by my father’s life as a Traditional Healer I have become a Traditional Healer and Guide. I have also become driven to help our community. Since graduating I’ve provided such services to Gibb’s Farm, People to People Safaris, Luther College January program, Associated Colleges of the Midwest USA (ACM), and others. In recent years my life-friend Kiling’ot and I have become passionate about approaching community work with a focus on culture preservation and advancing economic security.
What draws me to Esarunoto Emaa’s mission is my previous experience as program manager for KIPOK and the Women’s Development Group Namnyak and as Translation Officer for TANESA (Tanzania-Netherlands Project to Support AIDS). All these efforts comprise a very strong Tanzania component of leadership in bringing benefits to my Maasai community. Such involvement is a passion requiring me to draw upon full-time employment elsewhere. Over the years I have been involved in tourism at Eunoto lodge and as Assistant Manager at Ndarakwai Camp, and in commercial business at Nguk FFT Ltd and SSI.
In working with NGO’s my energies have focused on the eradication of water and eduction problems in the Maasai community, preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, conducting participatory rural appraisal, the role of viagro forest and environmental conservation, survival strategies of the Maasai people, promoting education in Maasai communities and addressing the problem of diseases among the Maasai people. After secondary school I obtained an advanced-certificate concentrating on professional community development, animal production and the operation of co-operatives.
My education and career has been a focus on seeking ways to grow and develop the community through nurturing education, perseverance, and through initiative in myself and others. As Hospital Administrator for the Selian Hospital-Arusha since 2011, I facilitate the efficient operation of the hospital while inspiring colleagues at the sixty-year old institution. Earlier I was a consultant with Honeyguide Foundation an NGO with a mission for conservation of wildlife and natural resources through long-term community partnerships. As Gender and HIV/AIDS Officer for Pastoralists Indigenous NGO Forum (PINGO) for two years, and Food Monitor for Oxfam in Loliondo, I built upon my collegiate work: Project Management - Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Arusha; Bachelor degree of Arts in Social Work and Administration - Kampala International Univeristy, Uganda. My passion for community service inspired me to attain further certifications in Pastoralism and Policy Policy of Eastern Africa; Guidance and Counselling; Certificate of Social Work and Social Administration; Monitoring and Evaluation; Land Use Plan Management. Like Killing’ot, I grew up in Loliando, north Tanzania, a pastoral-based community.
Killing'ot William Lembikas – Program Officer
Although I’m attending the School of Education at the University of Arusha (2011-2014), I have found time to contribute to Esarunoto Emaa because its mission is important. Its community school building efforts are aligned with my personal goals. I’ve begun the practical phase of my studies and am now teaching at Banjika Secondary School. I elected to become an educator after attending the MaaSae Girls Lutheran Secondary School, in Monduli. My association with Ministers for Legal, Social Justice and Internal Affairs, a student organisation on campus, also takes my interest, but education offers an opportunity to promote equalisation for my community.
Salaini Daniel Laisar - Treasurer
I’m soon to graduate from the University of Dodoma with a Bachelors of Arts in Public Administration. My interest in pursuing this academic line is based on a passion for activism, to assist with my Maasai community’s social and economic situation, including younger pupils particularly with reading and learning difficulties at school. As a Loliondo native, I grew up around the Ngorongoro Reserve and consequently spent a year working with the NCAA’s Human Resource department. Before arriving in Dadoma, I graduated from Edmund Rice Sinon Secondary School in Arusha with an advanced secondary education diploma after completing my work at the Loliondo Secondary School with an emphasis in geography and history.
Lori A. Stanley – Liaison, USA
I am a professor of anthropology at Luther College, USA, where I have had the privilege of leading more than a dozen study abroad programs to Tanzania. Through these programs I came to know Leboy, who has served as our cultural guide and translator for nearly a decade, and Killing’ot, who has generously shared his knowledge and experiences with Luther students. When I first met Leboy he was a student at the fledgling Noonkodin Secondary School in Monduli Juu, where he became one of the first graduates. Since then we have worked together not only on my annual study abroad program, but also on a project that he first envisioned—the documentation of important medicinal plants used by the Maasai of Eluwai. This collaborative effort has involved Luther College undergraduates and Noonkodin students working side by side to interview elders about the plants and their use, thereby inspiring Maasai students to learn about their own culture’s disappearing medicinal traditions. In this way the local community has helped to produce a written profile of the medicinal plants in the area, one that is now a valuable resource for Noonkodin’s Indigenous Knowledge curriculum. I am pleased to be partnering with Leboy, Killing’ot, and the other committee members to advance the goals of Esarunoto Emaa. My role is to assist as liaison in North America. stanleyl@luther.edu
Bradford Zak – Liaison, Global
I’ve known Leboy and Killing’ot for the past few years while working in Tanzania's tourism business. As a graduate of the Hotel School at Cornell University, USA, comparative cultures have driven my professional interest in the travel business. My role is to assist as Esarunoto Emaa’s global liaison. harmonyproject@mac.com
We are seeking support to build a community-based school and centre to formalise an existing pre-school program.