A $38-a-month sponsorship means students can finish their education and benefit from one year of job-preparation vocational training. It also supports programs involving parents and the community in their children’s education.
Please help us get them back in school by sponsoring a child.
A high school diploma is not enough to find good employment. To give them the skills and confidence they will need to successfully find a job, our vocational training program focuses on:
- English Language Fluency – The majority of rural Kenyans speak no language fluently. English is the national language of Kenya and the international language of tourism. Fluency in English will greatly increase their chances of finding jobs.
- Computer Skills and Typing – For the 21st century computer skills are essential for anyone seeking professional or academic work. High typing speeds will set them apart
- Culinary Arts and Food Service – Where we are located near game reserves and safari lodges. In East Africa, the tourist industry is growing. We are providing food prep and service training at the highest standards, as well as teaching hospitality management.
- Confidence and Leadership Training – These African leaders of tomorrow need to be able to speak and work confidently.
“Beads for Fees” is a program that allows parents of students to be a part of helping keep their kids enrolled in school by producing beaded ornaments. Though traditionally a women's activity, even fathers are learning to bead to help their children.
Producing beaded ornamentation is a prominent part of the Maasai culture. Wealth in cattle and many children gave Maasai women leisure time to produce exquisite beaded items for their husbands, warrior sons, daughters, and themselves. The parents involved have expressed gratitude for this program for multiple reasons:
- They are happy to be using the beading skills that are an integral part of their heritage.
- They feel they can walk proudly showing that they are a part of ensuring their child remains in school.
- There is healing power in the gathering. With so much hardship and deprivation in their lives, coming together is a healing experience. When working together, they share their struggles, sing songs, pray, and laugh. For most of them, beading on Tuesdays is their favorite day of the week.
Video: Maasai Mothers' of ADEA sponsored students & our Beads for Fees approach.
Come experience the magic of the Maasai while helping our students improve their English conversation and service skills.
Mastering English is an asset when looking for a job in Kenya. Though our students study English in school, most learn it with a thick East African accent. Having English conversations with visitors with different accents is important for their professional development. It will also be a lot of fun for them and you!
The week will include:
- A safari in the nearby game reserve.
- Engaging with the students as they are your hosts and guilds
- Learn about the rich Maasai culture
- Celebrate our annual traditional Maasai appreciation celebration
- Visit the island of Zanzibar to enjoy the beaches and experience the Swahili coast and its history.
- Add-ons: Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti are a few options.
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We plan to transform an abandoned school into the Pillar of Maasai Development and ADEA Foundation Center for our offices, KKIS+1 vocational training, and workshop.
As our current offices and classrooms are insufficient and scattered between various buildings, Renting and renovating existing buildings will allow us to move forward and serve more students much faster.
The renovated classrooms will be used for:
- Vocational training classrooms: Computers, English Language, Culinary Arts, & Hospitality.
- A training restaurant
- A movie and performance theatre
- Bead for Fees: Beading room
- Student and Parent workshops
- Offices
- Dormitories
- A rentable meeting space with services provided by our students
We are looking for funds for building repairs, utility repairs, outfitting our classes, and monthly rent.
Beyond covering school costs, ADEA hosts character-development student workshops. One significant issue we are addressing is the damaging effects of shaming within the culture and how, as KKIS students, they are expected to act with compassion. Our students are recognized ambassadors of anti-shaming in their schools and community as they share their socks, shoes, and clothes with students who don’t have them. KKIS students are washing uniforms for students without access to water at home, sharing their lunch meals, helping repair torn uniforms, and many more acts of kindness.Douglas McFalls
In 1999 Douglas McFalls accepted an invitation to visit missionary friends in Mtwara, Tanzania. His work as a designer drew him to the local artisans. He saw that if they had a better understanding of the tourist buying habits, the artisans could earn more. Always welcoming a creative and cross-cultural challenge, Douglas was hooked. In 2003, he and Tanzanian Philipo Lulale established the Center for African Development through Economics and the Arts (ADEA). What was to be a three-year commitment continues until today.
Initiatives
Beginning with artisan development, Douglas's work has expanded to starting schools, launching festivals, founding a museum, establishing a learning center, arranging emergency food programs, mentoring many, and helping thousands. With the help of individual supporters, other donor sources, and the creative and compassionate power of God, Douglas (along with his team and program partners) has achieved more than he could have ever imagined when he began this adventure two decades ago.
Education
Douglas' broad education and work has uniquely positioned him for this cross-cultural and creative work. He earned his B.A. from Whitworth College in French with a focus on International Relations. He then worked two years as an international tour guide. He was awarded a Masters in Architecture and a BFA in Interior Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. And from Michigan State University, he received a certificate of Museum Studies while working toward his Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Non-Formal Learning.
Douglas's international studies included cross-cultural communications coursework, which was invaluable. His intensive studies at the Rhode Island School of Design equipped him with creative problem-solving skills essential in successfully navigating variables of culture, poverty, local business practices, corruption, logistics, access to resources, and markets while working with populations in East Africa.
Pillar of Maasai Development (PMD) Partnership In Kenya
The Maasai herders of Eastern Africa are possibly the most famous tribe in Africa. The Maasai of Kajado, Kenya, in Mt. Kilimanjaro's eastern shadow, lost the majority of their grazing lands and watering holes to the Tsavo Game Reserves. In the 1990s, they were expelled from these lands. Insufficient land led to overgrazing and this community's tumble into poverty. In 2003 ADEA was introduced to this community, and our partnership began.
2003 - ADEA's director, Douglas, introduced to the Maasai community of Tipape Loomu
2006 – Established Lemong'o Primary School
2008 – Established Esukuta Primary School
2009 – Supported Emergency school meal program during 2008-2009 drought (95% of cattle lost)
2012 – Ornaments for Hope women's beadwork initiative
2020 – COVID-19 Lockdown Emergency Food Distribution Program
2020 – Teacher Development Program
2020 – Food Security Maasai Small Scale Farming initiative launched.
2021 – COVID-19 Lockdown and Drought Relief Emergency Food
