Join Krista in helping Kipe uplift Maasai children and women

Dear friends and family,

I hope that you will consider donating to a project that is very dear to me- the Oltukai Community Development Project in Tanzania that is founded by our friend, Kipe Olesisian.

We met Kipe, a Maasai warrior, community leader, wildlife conservationist, and tour operator, when we went to Tanzania last summer. Five years ago, when he was only 21, he founded one of the only Maasai-owned safari and Mt. Kilimanjaro trekking tour companies. This is the company, Kipe Adventures, that we toured with. [For this it is important to know that safaris mostly go to Maasai land and the Maasai have lived in communities with wild animals for centuries, so they are the most connected to the land and have the most to lose and gain from tourism. But they are discriminated against in Tanzania for wanting to keep to their traditional ways and customs as pastoralists on the land that is increasingly commodified for international tourism.]

Kipe has an extraordinary story and is doing extraordinary work in Maasailand. Generally, there are very few schools in Maasai villages. So the few Maasai students (almost no girls) who have the chance to go to school have to walk hours to go to a public school. That is if they can afford the school fees. Kipe himself tells of when he was a boy and he had to leave his three bright friends behind because they did not have the $7 needed for school fees. Kipe was able to continue his education, and they were not. He always remembers this sad moment, and it has driven much of his work. Later Kipe’s enthusiasm, intelligence and warmth were noticed by a foreigner visiting his village, and he provided a scholarship for Kipe to go to college. Kipe is now the only person in his village of over 4,000 who has gone to college. With his first income from his first tour, he bought candy in town as an incentive and rushed home to gather kids under the tree in his village for their first school lesson ever. This has grown in just five years into the Oltukai Community Project, a registered NGO in Tanzania. Oltukai works in three areas of focus:

-Kipe Preschool and Kipe Primary School. The school grew from under the tree to a wood and cow dung preschool house with a professional teacher. We visited this school last year, where we saw the little ones having their lessons and singing, and we met the teacher. Then this year, they opened their first permanent building. Kipe's dream- he is always thinking 10 years ahead about the future survival of his community- is to grow it into a full primary school seven buildings which will educate the entire village. Many of these children are orphans, and helping the most vulnerable children with food, safety and and education is a priority for Kipe.

-Water Project Until Kipe built a water project in his village, women had to walk miles to get very unclean water, especially in the dry season. Since 2024 there is now clean water in the village, but it needs annual updates, repairs and testing to remain safely in use.

-Endaiser Ai Women's Project. Working with local women who traditionally have not had access to education or capital, Kipe provides skills training, mentorship, and small grants and loans for Maasai women to support themselves economically.

You may know that I helped Kipe come to the USA and we hosted him here in Chicago this past April to learn, connect with people here, and share about his culture. Our family spent about a week with him, which was an amazing experience. Some of you came to meet Kipe in our home, and it was a beautiful evening that we shared together.

We learned many things from this time, but the top and most important to me is that goodness is contagious and amplifies. Kipe is incredibly generous, positive, and spreads kindness and generosity wherever he goes. You can see his joy, enthusiasm, and positive spirit in spite of all the challenges in each video and photo (see social media below). That has inspired me to support his work even further.

I know that there are many funding priorities in these challenging times. Although Oltukai is far away, it reflects the global community, how we are all connected, and serves children who literally need it most in the world. This is not a big international NGO where so much of the money goes towards international administration. This is a project we have personally visited and personally know Kipe and attest that any amount given will go directly to and directly impact these kids and women.

No donation amount is too small, or too big. To give you an idea:

$50 can go towards school supplies, uniforms, and school meals

$100 supports skills training, health education or community awareness workshops for women

$600 supports teacher salaries

$1,200 would support the maintenance and testing of their clean water system for a full year

$3,800 would cover the full, one-time costs of urgently needed repairs to the water system

If you prefer not to use GoFundMe, I am also accepting checks made out to Krista Fabian DeCastro, if you want to do that and don't have my mailing address, please message me. Since Oltukai is registered in Tanzania, the only way to send the funds is a direct bank transfer. But I will keep track of and share with Kipe all the donors of our campaign, including any that do not go through GoFundMe.

I plan to keep the fundraiser open until June 1, so please donate as soon as you are able.

Whether you donate or not, I invite you to witness some of the joy Kipe has brought to his village in the photos and videos on:

Oltukai Community Project Instagram

Oltukai Community Project Facebook

Oltukai Website

At some point our family will hopefully go back to Maasailand and Oltukai. We invite anyone who is interested to dream up and plan a future visit with us (or on your own)! Kipe and his family will welcome you there as a member of the family, and you can witness the life-changing and life-affirming work that Kipe is doing an that you will have contributed to. (He can also guide you on a wildlife safari or Mt. Kilimanjaro trek through Kipe Adventures)

Please feel free to share this with anyone else who may be interested.

Thank you!

Ashe (thank you in Ma)!

Asante (thank you in Swahili)!

photos are from the

cover photo- Kipe's first school under a tree (2020)

- the temporary school (2023)

- the new permanent school (2025)

- a magical moment when the kids see a herd of wild giraffe go by during school

-Eva and Francesca with the preschool students (July 2024)

- Kipe with Krista, Colin and Francesca at our home (April 2025)