School Uniforms – “mine” or “theirs”?

Historically Maasai children who were given the opportunity to study in boarding schools were required to put aside their traditional dress and hairstyles, and miss out on many Maasai cultural activities because the schools would not accommodate their unique cultural needs.

In the spirit of this I encouraged the community to adopt Maasai dress-inspired student uniforms for our new school, In this way I felt I was assuring them that they do not need to give up being Maasai to gain a formal education, and that uniforms only meant uniformity.   Initially they conceded to my passionate suggestion, but still they were not comfortable with the uniforms.

To them, a legitimate Kenyan school meant English style uniforms of dresses or shirts and pants.   In many ways the Maasai are marginalized and looked down upon by urban Kenyans. My Maasai-dress inspired uniforms reinforced national isolation. Within a few years “my” school uniforms were replaced with English style uniforms (used by the majority ot school in Kenya). This resulted in parents having a sense of pride of inclusion in national education efforts.   At the end of the day it is better that they have a sense of pride in their school, then for me to impose my cultural wishes for them.

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Historically Maasai children who were given the opportunity to study in boarding schools were required to put aside their traditional dress and hairstyles, and miss out on many Maasai cultural activities because the schools would not accommodate their unique cultural needs.