12/18/2012
This year, I had the privilege to participate in Tribal Link
Foundation’s Project Access, a Training Program designed to prepare Indigenous
Peoples from around the globe, to participate in the United Nations Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues.
It was on that first day, that I met Samwel Naikada, a humble
Maasai pastoralist from Kenya, Africa, as each of us introduced ourselves to
the group. When it was his turn, the tall, slim, 39 year old man, stood up in
his traditional Maasai attire and spoke in a soft, yet firm and almost regal
fashion about his Maasai people, and the menace of deforestation of the Dupoto
Forest. This forest has been the livelihood of the Maasai Peoples for time
immemorial.
His desire, he expressed, was to develop and promote
Eco-tourism as a mean of survival and preservation. The room was quiet and all
eyes were on Samwel. He spoke about his teaching young people about taking
pride on who they were. Deep inside, I thought: “How could anyone not take
pride on being Maasai, with this brother that speaks so proudly about his
people and who has such an impressive ability to communicate and who projects
that same pride he speaks of!”
We had learned from the representative of the Ogiek Tribe
(also from Kenya), how the Maasai were helping them. To me, this was extremely
significant, to know that these people who are having struggles of their own,
still find the means to help a fellow tribe!
There were many in the group who had achieved all kinds of
high-level education. Humbly, Samwel mentioned how he understood he might have
not the knowledge as the others, for he did not possess any formal education,
perhaps to the level of those in the group. He expressed his desire, his dream
of pursuing a degree in Community Development so that he could effectively help
his people and achieve the goals he had set forth. Although I understood what
he meant, I could not help it but tell him that he could stand in a room filled
with Ph.D’s and address them in the same way he had addressed us, for he spoke
from the heart and the message was loud and clear.
In times like the ones we are living, very few people have
the passion or aspire to dedicate their lives to develop and preserve their
communities the way Samwel does.
This past summer, he was able to enroll at Narok University
College, Kilgoris Branch in Kenya, to obtain his degree in Community
Development. The cost of his education per year is $1,000.00. His first year
has been covered through some donations, one of them by Tribal Link Foundation,
but he still needs the additional $3,000.00.
Samwel is married to one wife and has six children. He is a
pastoralist depending on livestock and is the first and only one to complete secondary education in the whole
village, so far. He plans to invest his acquired knowledge in
advocating for the rights of his people, assist youth and women to use available
resources and skills so that they can economically improve their living
standards. His goal, to link his community with National and International
Programs that will assist and build their capacity.
I strongly believe, in my deepest core, there is someone out
there or a Foundation that would be willing to cover the $3,000.00 needed to
cover the remaining balance of his college tuition, hence, helping Samwel
Naikada attain the education he is so much committed to complete to improve the
quality of life and sustenance of the Maasai Peoples.
For more information about Samwel Naikada, you may contact me
at taimar16@yahoo.com .
Tai Pelli
Central Florida Liaison Officer
United Confederation of Taíno People
