April Smallwood's Fundraiser:
Maasai villagers need a truck
BENEFITING: Maasai Wilderness Conservation
ORGANIZER: Glen
April
Smallwood
THE STORY:
Glen Hansard wrote -
Last year my friend Edward Norton invited me on a last minute trip to Kenya. He is very involved with a community of Maasai people there who are working to protect and preserve their land, their culture and their animals in a very organic and sustainable way. We spent a few weeks with this nomadic people. Singing, eating, exploring. I visited the schools and health clinics, saw the amazing animals and attended a village community meeting. At this meeting the elders explained the progress that they were making thanks to the work of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Lion Population was on the rise thanks to their scouts, schools were well attended, clinics were getting new doctors. What the community really lacked and asked for was a truck. I thought, "how hard can that be" but getting trucks into Kenya with it's high taxes and then into an area that doesn't have access roads is a bit of a challenge.
To get a Landrover to these people will cost about $70,000 US.
Let's all pitch in and do it together.
I really encourage any of you reading this to go and visit these wonderful people. You can check out www.maasai.com if you're interested. I'll be playing benefit shows coming up in March with all of the proceeds going towards this truck goal.
Please try and make one of the shows but if you can't... Please make a donation and pass it on to all of your friends to make a donation. Even better, become a fund raiser on my team.
I will go back there one day again to visit and I will tell all these incredible people in Kenya about all the incredible people in the world who have helped me make this happen.
Thank you.
Asante Sana
Last year my friend Edward Norton invited me on a last minute trip to Kenya. He is very involved with a community of Maasai people there who are working to protect and preserve their land, their culture and their animals in a very organic and sustainable way. We spent a few weeks with this nomadic people. Singing, eating, exploring. I visited the schools and health clinics, saw the amazing animals and attended a village community meeting. At this meeting the elders explained the progress that they were making thanks to the work of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Lion Population was on the rise thanks to their scouts, schools were well attended, clinics were getting new doctors. What the community really lacked and asked for was a truck. I thought, "how hard can that be" but getting trucks into Kenya with it's high taxes and then into an area that doesn't have access roads is a bit of a challenge.
To get a Landrover to these people will cost about $70,000 US.
Let's all pitch in and do it together.
I really encourage any of you reading this to go and visit these wonderful people. You can check out www.maasai.com if you're interested. I'll be playing benefit shows coming up in March with all of the proceeds going towards this truck goal.
Please try and make one of the shows but if you can't... Please make a donation and pass it on to all of your friends to make a donation. Even better, become a fund raiser on my team.
I will go back there one day again to visit and I will tell all these incredible people in Kenya about all the incredible people in the world who have helped me make this happen.
Thank you.
Asante Sana
