Bringing Technology to the Community

My name is Kaai Ndoika Lengima. I am 33 years old, and I am a computer teacher at the Maasai community centre in the Losimingori village of Arusha, Tanzania.

When I was young, my family had a large number of cattle, and I didn’t get in any trouble while caring for them, so my parents enrolled me in a school. I then completed a diploma course in a college in Arusha and became a teacher. If I was not educated, I might’ve been a farmer.

I believe that it is very important for a community to be educated. It is significant in earning good employment, and income and securing a good future for the younger generation. 

There is a large number of people in the community who are not educated, and I want to change this balance. Very few people are educated, and I want to educate more of them. When people see me in the community, they see a teacher who can share with them the values or perceptions

Young girls need to get educated because if not, they will be married off or forced to marry while they are still young. This needs to change in our community. We teach them and bring them here to get educated so that their future is secured.

We need to ensure that the cycle of education continues so that another teacher can come after me and keep educating people and so on.

My brothers still live in the interiors of the forest and strictly follow the Maasai traditions and lifestyle. I would like for them to be educated as well. 

In the next five years, I plan to purchase a piece of land near the road and build a home so that my entire family can live together and make sure that my brothers’ children go to school.

My father once told me that if you want to grow in a better way, you have to respect each other and show love. You can show love and respect to each other by cooperating with them. We all are together. 

There is a proverb in the Maa language that I deeply resonate with. It says “Whoever be the God around the world, never forgets the community.” It is used to express gratitude.

I feel happy that I was able to fulfil my mother’s wishes and expectations as her son. I have many wishes for my mother, and I am confident that I’ll be able to fulfil them for her.