July 4, 2009

‘Mama Kellie’ gives African village a future

BY ALEXA JENNER Chicago Sun-Times

While Kellie O'Brien spends her days tending gardens throughout the west suburbs, her mind is constantly drifting to a village 9,000 miles away in northeastern Tanzania where she is affectionately known as "Mama Kellie."

O'Brien's life has taken on new meaning ever since she traveled with her daughter to a town near Mt. Kilimanjaro over Christmas 2005 to do work with the Franciscan Capuchin Sisters.

There she learned of a nearby Maasai village in the desert, Sanya Station, population 5,000, whose residents were in dire need of a good school for their children.

Three and a half years later, O'Brien, 66, has raised nearly $350,000 for the village, along with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of donated goods. Her efforts have led to the building of the O'Brien School for the Maasai, a library, a health clinic and a women's center.

O'Brien, who owns English Gardens landscaping in Hinsdale, said the village she visits twice a year -- often with friends and family members -- is now "in my heart. It takes so little to make such an impact on the future of those who don't have the opportunities we do."

Cosmas, whose children attend the school, said the village is "blessed to have Mama Kellie and her volunteers. She has done so much for our village and is giving our children a future.''

O'Brien's efforts come as the Maasai are experiencing a huge shift in their culture.
The nomadic cattle herders have been forced by the government to stop moving. They largely live in dung huts without electricity or running water. Government-run schools are overcrowded and lack the resources to provide a quality education.

O'Brien started her school with three classrooms. It now has six, and she wants to add six more because the school has 200 kids on a waiting list. Although O'Brien is not an educator, headmaster Edward Mwololo calls her "a guardian angel who reminds me all what I need to know at the right time. I don't know if I would be able to do much without her directions and wise suggestions, which I just implement.''

In addition, women in the village are learning to use sewing machines donated to the women's center and sell the clothing and bags and other crafts they make.

In January, O'Brien and a group of volunteers helped bring electricity to the school, the first building in the village to be wired. They also delivered books, desks, shoes, clothes and various other items donated from throughout the Chicago area.
During that trip, a doctor from Rush University Medical Center and a nurse from Western Springs, among others, staffed the health clinic, treating the hundreds who lined up with ailments ranging from eye infections and stomach pains to malaria and HIV.

Trish Faison, O'Brien's friend and neighbor, said O'Brien has inspired others in her community to do more. "Her example of giving has been contagious,'' said Faison, who has visited the village three times.

In April, another group of volunteers helped dig trenches to connect wells to the school. The water, which is not drinkable, is used for handwashing stations and for washing dishes and clothes. Purifying the water is another goal of O'Brien's.

O'Brien was recently presented the Hinsdale Rotary Club's highest award for service, the Paul Harris Fellow Award. But she has no plans to rest on her laurels: In addition to the new classrooms, she hopes to soon build a teachers dormitory for her school.