The Maasai are an independent, nomadic tribe scattered across Kenya and Tanzania whose way of life is increasingly threatened by wildlife preserves and encroaching urban populations. Their tradition-bound lifestyle has not prepared them to thrive in the technology-driven economy of the 21st century.
A few years ago Cisco executive Waseem Sheikh met with Ledama Olekina, a Maasai elder and founder of the Maasai Education Discovery
(MED) program. MED had established an education resource center located in Narok, Kenya, but Olekina wanted to bring education directly onto the Maasai reservations, where there is very little infrastructure.
Sheikh developed a business plan and then worked with Cisco’s Product Grant Program to donate networking hardware and other essential technology. He also contacted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which helped solicit the support of additional agencies such as the International Red Cross and Oxfam. Sheikh then persuaded college students at universities where he had done recruiting to donate hundreds of PCs. Many students also volunteered their time and funds.
In addition, Sheikh used more than $50,000 in private contributions from friends, family, and others to construct a boarding school for 360 Maasai girls. The school became a certified Cisco Networking Academy last year and will graduate 10 students in 2007—most of whom have already found jobs. Sheikh hopes to increase that number to 20 in 2008. He is also busy implementing Cisco wireless capability in 16 additional schools near Narok.
