By Katarzyna Rybarczyk Guest Columnist
The Samburu people are a sub-tribe of the Maasai. They live in the north-central region of Kenya and lead a traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyle. The Samburu tribe aims to preserve their religious and cultural rituals. People belonging to the community wear tribal clothing and live in small huts built by women using cow dung and mud.
For years, Samburu’s lifestyle remained untouched by Western influences. In recent years, however, that has changed and now people living in Samburu villages buy a big proportion of their food in the supermarket and send their kids to school. As they realise the importance of education, many decide to settle in one place in the school’s vicinity rather than move around the country.
In the Samburu village’s only school days are filled with laughter and joy as children are most grateful for the opportunity to get an education and teachers are full of passion for what they do. In addition to standard subjects such as Maths or English, however, the emphasis is placed on empowering girls and undertaking steps to end practices such as female genital cutting.
In my article, I would talk more about the way the Samburu people live and I would explain how their lifestyle has been changing in recent years. I would also outline what education means for them and what the challenges associated with running schools in the traditional village are.
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