The Dawn of the Maasai

Often when learning about development issues, we are faced with tragic stories about the injustices of gender inequality, poverty, inaccessibility to basic services, and lack of opportunity. However more often than not, we learn about a story filled with hope and ambition to overcome these challenges. People such as Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. are prime examples of people who have faced these issues head on and have become advocates for positive change. I recently read about another inspiring individual who defied all odds to pursue a better quality of life for herself, and the people in her village.

Her name is Teriano Lesancha. Teriano is a Maasai woman that comes from a small village in Eastern Kenya. As fate would have it for many Maasai girls, Teriano’s marriage was arranged the day she was born. Thus, her life had already been set to marry a strange man, cook and clean for him, carry his children and take care of them. If there was any ever thought about a career or education, that aspiration was far fetched. However Teriano was determined to educate herself, and with her parents support she convinced her father to sell her cattle dowry to pay for more schooling. With the help of the World Vision Foundation and Ryerson University, Teriano became the first Maasai woman to ever graduate with a university degree.

Along with her degree, Teriano established her own non-for profit organization called The Dawn of the Maasai, which promotes education for girls and provides opportunities to female entrepreneurs. In order to commemorate this auspicious graduation, the Dean of the University flew to Teriano’s village in Kenya to conduct a special graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, one of Teriano’s brother who is in his first year of high school spoke about how Teriano is paying his school fees. He said, “look here, I’m a boy but I couldn’t be in school without a girl”.

Teriano’s determination is truly an inspiration. I think so many of us take our education for granted, but after learning about women such as Teriano and Malala we come to recognize the value and power of education. Like Malala said in her address to the United Nations, education is the solution to all of our developmental problem and it is the one thing that can create peace and harmony in our world.