2006

This past Christmas, my daughter Heather and I traveled to eastern Tanzania to spend a month with the Franciscan Cappuchin Sisters in the town of Sanya Juu. We went as volunteers with no agenda but to be present for whatever work the nuns might find for us. We both felt the time had come to give

back for the many privileges we have now.

After the first week we asked the Mother Superior to tell us how we might best be of service. She replied, “There is a member of the Maasai tribe named Gabriel who has come to us many times asking for help to build a school for his village.”

We asked to meet with Gabriel and to see the village. One hundred fifty members of the tribe greeted us and we talked for several hours. When we left, we knew the real purpose for our trip to Africa was to give the children of this village hope for the future. Ten days later we returned to the village and designed a school on the back of an envelope. When we left for home, two days later, blocks and sand were already in place to begin construction.

2007

When we returned, to our great surprise and delight, a school building now stood where only a field of sheep grazed before. Thanks to the careful attention of Sister Dona, Mother Superior of the Franciscan Cappuchin Sisters, leaders of the Maasai tribe, and with financial assistance from family and friends, the O’Brien School is a handsome concrete structure with a tin roof housing three large

classrooms, an office, and a storage room. Bathrooms have been built just outside the building.

We had much to accomplish during our two-week visit but before we left, desks had been delivered, plans were made for feeding the children at noon, a washing station had been installed, teachers hired, school supplies purchased. Many unforeseen needs also had to be met: bikes for teachers to travel to school, plates and cups for the children’s food, textbooks, teaching tools …

When we left, a kindergarten class was preparing to attend school for the first time. First and second grade classes would soon follow. We still need a kitchen for the mothers to prepare food, a community clothes washing station, and a place for villagers to shower-and then, more classrooms.

2008

The promise has grown. Today, our school has three additional classrooms, a 4,000 book library, a women’s center, and a clinic used by a visiting doctor to treat the Maasai. Thanks to Sister Dona, Mother Superior of the Franciscan Cappuchin Sisters, and

Gabriel, a leader of the Maasai tribe, as well as to many generous people for their assistance, the O’Brien School for the Maasai is an operating reality - and a great source of pride to the village.

This past year, we received such wonderful support from family and friends within our community that we filled two containers to ship to Tanzania. A team of us were on hand to unload them upon their arrival at our village. We set to work to build library shelves and picnic tables, organize books, and complete the many projects we had planned. Village women made curtains for the new library with sewing machines that we supplied.

2009

When we arrived in January 2009, we had a container waiting to be unloaded, library shelves to be made, so many supplies to be organized, including thousands of pounds of food.  We fenced in one acre for a vegetable garden.  We also brought in electricity , buying 14 telephone poles to connect us with the nearest available source of electricity. 

This enabled us to bring water up from the well we dug.

The gift of electricity has allowed us to show instructional videos to the students, introducing them to the outside world and expanding their minds.

In April of 2009, we returned with 2 doctors, 2 nurses and 400 pounds of medical supplies, an extraordinary gift to the village.  All of our students were examined and treated for a variety of medical problems. Hundreds of people in the village were treated for ring worm, intestinal problems and malaria.  All of our students are now covered by insurance.

We also introduced propagating seeds to our students.  Thanks to our gift of water, we soon had a one acre garden  filled with vegetables to provide our students with an abundance of fresh produce. We even had extra produce  to share with the villagers.