Dreaming For A Hopeful Future

For centuries, the Maasai have lived in the vast grasslands of East Africa, where they have developed a deep connection to the land and its wildlife.

At the cusp of modernization, the people are striving towards leading a life that has a balance of both modern aspirations and cultural traditions.

Through this artistic exhibit, we invite you to discover the dreams and aspirations of the community as they strive to preserve their way of life and pass it on to future generations.

The Maasai society in the Losimingori village is pastoral, but due to the lack of water, they are unable to grow crops or feed their cattle. This in turn leads to economic issues. As a result, many families are unable to afford education for their children.

Beadwork is an important part of Maasai culture. Maya Teresa is a passionate entrepreneur. She sells jewellery at the nearby weekly market to tourists, and also owns a shop in the market that is run by her son.

Over the past few years, she has taught many young women this skill, so that they can start selling jewellery on their own.

Her dream is to teach her fellow Maasai to become independent. To honour her story and dream, we drew Maya and her signature red shuka in this painting.

The Losimingori village, for the past four decades, has been under a water crisis, that is getting more severe with time. Women and young girls of the village walk long distances to collect water that not only feeds their family but also their cattle. 

We met one such woman, named Ester, who walks long hours to collect water. We asked her what she wished to do if she did not have to walk for water every day. She replied, “If I could have all the water in the world, I would create jewellery.” 

Inspired by her dream, we created this artwork to reflect her journey and aspiration.

This canvas is inspired by the story of Neema, a 20-year-old girl. Her goal in life is to become a doctor so that she can help people in her society.  Together with his wife, he slowly started earning money to buy cows and was able to turn their lives around for good. Neema wants to work as hard as her grandparents and become independent in life.

She shared that at a young age, her grandfather had to struggle a lot to support his family, especially since they came from poor economic background.

Together with his wife, he slowly started earning money to buy cows and was able to turn their lives around for good. Neema wants to work as hard as her grandparents and become independent in life.

This canvas is inspired by the story of Kaay. He teaches computers to the young Maasai at a community centre. His dream is to build a house so that his entire family can live together. He is very passionate about education and wants to do his bit in making young Maasais educated.

Kaay was the first in his family to get educated. Due to his work, he is rarely able to visit them, as it takes him hours on foot to reach his home.

His dream is to build a house so that his entire family can live together. He is very passionate about education and wants to do his bit in making young Maasais educated.

The girl depicted in this canvas is Joanne Peter. She is a young aspiring nurse. Her dream in life is to buy a farm for her family so that they don’t have to depend on anyone to sustain themselves.

She believes that it is important to learn and grow so that one doesn’t have to depend on anyone.

Kizeto is a young Maasai man who aspires to be a tour guide. From a young age, he paid attention to the elders teaching about the purpose of each plant, how to tend to unwell animals, how to behave around a lion and everything one needs to know about surviving in the wild.

This is part of the traditional knowledge that the young Maasai, especially aspiring Morans (warriors) receive. His dream is to open his Safari company and be a tour guide. Many young Maasai men are now choosing modern jobs to help their families financially.

During the painting process, many young Maasai came to volunteer with us. Raheli was one such young woman. Prior to this, Raheli had never painted in her entire life. She slowly started learning how to paint on a canvas, play with different colours and draw small figures.

By the end of the project, she was well-versed in painting and we encouraged her to create an artwork of her own. She expressed her joy and promised to continue painting on her own.