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This is a story of a Day Out – on Out-Reach: 200 Kilometers from a Gas Station – No Hotels – No Water – No Electricity – But a Lot of Masai and Lions.

When the Executive Committee makes the decision to expand into another region of Tanzania, the very first things we must do is to speak with the local government leaders and meet with the Executive Directors and the District Commissioners to seek permission to operate in their area and show them proof of our licenses held.

The only person ever having visited this new region was the Chairman of Light in Africa Vincent Songoi, who himself is a moran masai.

The appointment to meet is arranged for the following day and we set off. I am driving and Vincent is asking me if I have a tank of petrol. “It’s half full”, I reply. “No, no, stop at the next garage and put some more petrol in!”
So I stop at the next garage . “OK, it’s three quarters full, is that good?”
“No, no,” he says, “it has to be full to the very top.”
“Vincent, this vehicle has never been full to the top since I’ve had it,” I replied, “what’s going on?” …. He just smiled.

We first traveled the 60K to Arusha and then left the tarmac road and for the next 8 hours I became the best rally driver in Kilimanjaro ….Up the mountains, down the river beds, through the bush, only seeing masai manyatta’s, monkeys and ostriches and Lord protect us from the lions.
“Vincent, how long ago was it you visited this area?” I asked after 4 hours of driving and seeing absolutely nothing but bush.
“Mmmmm, must be ten years ago now, when me and some tribe members were coming into this district to buy some cows, but we had big problems: the car ran out of fuel and it took us three days to walk to the town where we’re going to.”
“So, that is why you were so insistent about filling up the car: you did not want to walk again.” I said, incrediously.

Over the years, I have had many experiences with the masai and I now never believe them when they say: “It is not far”, or “it is over there”. The last time I was walking with them to operate a dispensary, I must have walked 7 kilometers, but to this nomadic tribe, which walks miles with their cattle every day, it is just the next mountain or the next acacia tree….

We were expecting to see a town – lit up with lights, - welcoming us after this arduous drive. What we actually got, was complete darkness, save for a few flickering candles.
I stopped the car, picked up my mobile phone and rang my daughter to tell her we had arrived. “Laura, we have absolutely no idea where we are or where we’re going to sleep tonight. All I can see is masai boma, we might have to ask to sleep with the masai and goats.” “Oh, how exciting,” she says. “No, it is not exciting at all, we’re tired, dirty and hungry. Goodbye.”
With that, Vincent proceeded to open the car door and walked away some 50 yards from the car. “What’s he doing?” asked mama Coupa, the Treasurer of LIA. “It looks to be some sort of masai thing, he has his arms straight out and is moving in a circle on the spot,” said Jack, one of our colleagues.

Vincent returned to the car and said “Go straight down that path.”
“What path?” I replied. “Just follow that way”. “Lord, please do not let me hit a ravine, as the car head lights picked our way forward….. After traveling for about 6 minutes, I pulled up outside what appeared to be a guest house. I stopped the car and breathed a sigh of relief. Trish, a volunteer from the USA was out of the car first, making her way through the door to ask for rooms. “They are OK” she replied, “a bit basic, but clean.”
“How did you do that Vincent?” I asked, “how did you know where to find a place to stay?” ….. He laughed “don’t you know you can’t lose a masai in the bush. But put him in a town with all those houses, and he is completely lost.”
My admiration for the masai culture had just gone up a notch. We showered in a bucket, - by candlelight – and hit the deck, completely exhausted.

The next day, after breakfast, we introduced ourselves to the relevant Government leaders. We were warmly welcomed and they gave us all the information about the desperate needs of the people. And how they would be delighted if Light in Africa could help in any way.

We started on our return journey, happy with the outcome of the meeting, when I see this old maasai man, hunchbacked, walking with his stick down this very long road. With no house in sight I stop the car and ask Vincent to get into the back and I let the window down with the car key to allow him to enter the rear. That is when troubles began: the back window would not return to its closed position, no matter how I manipulated the key. We all looked dismayed as we had 200 kilometers to go on a dirt – dust – track with an open window. And within 4 minutes of conversation with mama Coupa the old masai was asking her to be his 9^th wife. He said he believed she had at least another 4 babies in her and that would make him have 84 children.

The offer was enticing … Coupa, I could see through my rear mirror, was giving it a lot of thought, especially when he mentioned he would give her an acre of land to build a boma and, if she did a good job of that, he would give her a further three acres of land.
But by now, we were sitting in a dust cloud as we put all the windows down in an attempt for all the dust to get out of the car. Probably 20 kilometers down the road, the masai went alright. He came to the window to ask when we would be returning so he could marry Coupa. Before she answered, I had put my foot down and both Jack and I said the very same thing, at the same time …. Witchdoctor …

The photos describe the condition that we reached home in. Well, Trish, our volunteer, certainly had something to write home about……….