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Friends of Kuku
Appeal
Update
Many
thanks to all those who generously donated resources
for our local schools. Following months of bureaucratic
delays en route the container has at last been cleared
by customs in Kenya, and we are poised to start distributing
materials during July and August. We’ll be back
in touch with all donors with an update soon.
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Friends of Kuku is an organisation
for all those who have visited the Maasai Centre over the
years.
Greetings
from myself and all the staff at Kuku,
September
2003 marked the start of a new era for Kuku. That month witnessed
the formal registration of Kuku's new identity as the Maasai
Centre for Field Studies. Friends of Kuku was also launched
in September, with the specific aims of keeping all Kuku's
previous visitors up to date with events, and encouraging
support for the Centre's commitments to the communities in
and around this corner of Maasailand.
Since
1998 the staff of Kuku Field Studies Centre have provided
numerous students from the UK and North America with an unparalleled
opportunity to learn about the culture, history and environment
of Kenya's Maasai people. Jackson, Musa, Johanna, James and
colleagues have changed the lives of many of us. However the
history of Kuku has also presented a number of important lessons
from which we can all learn. In September 2003 a new NGO was
created under the name of Maasai Centre for Field Studies.
The NGO membership represents all those with interests in
the future prosperity of the Centre, its staff and the communities
within the local area.
In
addition to international fieldwork and ecotourism - indeed
through such activities - the Maasai Centre's objectives include
the provision of educational support for local children, the
development of a child sponsorship scheme, and a project linking
schools in Maasailand and the UK. Income generated by the
Centre will be dispersed amongst the Kuku communities and
will act as an important source of developmental assistance
in this impoverished corner of Kajiado District. Furthermore
the NGO is committed to facilitating a volunteer scheme for
those able and willing to contribute towards local development
initiatives in Kuku. Full details of the Maasai Centre including
its aims and objectives can be found on this website.
Through
the support of Friends of Kuku we will also endeavour to improve
the fabric of the Centre. For example in the next twelve months
we hope to find support to increase the Centre's solar power
production, sufficient for computers already donated by the
University of Central Lancashire. Such investment will offer
opportunities for local students as well as those on fieldtrips.
We have already prioritised the purchase of satellite radio,
and again we will be seeking donations from UK and international
sources.
If
you would like to support the Maasai Centre in any way please
get in touch. Our contact details can be found under 'Contact'.
Chris
Southgate
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