The Samburu are nomadic pastoralists and their way of life is thousands of years old. Traditionally their sole source of food is their animals—cows, goats and camels—and they migrate frequently in search of water and pasture for them.

For years, the Samburu in the Sereolipi area have been isolated from the rest of the country. Where they live there is limited access to telephones, electricity, running water, roads, transport or prenatal care.

When we began this project it was the goal of the Samburu elders to have one child in each family to go to school as a way for them to be better equipped for the encroachment of the modern world.  

Not all their children could go to school, their way of life depended on passing on to the next generation an immense body of knowledge and experience of how to look after animals in near-desert conditions. 

A child that went to school would be able to get a wage-paying job after graduation so they could send money home to help mitigate poverty, particularly in times of drought. They would learn to speak English and Kiswahili enabling them to better communicate with the outside world and gain access to additional resources. They could also return as much-needed nurses, teachers and community workers who knew the community, spoke the Samburu language and would serve the community better.