Naiyobi Village holds a special place in my heart. It sits on the northern slopes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania, looking across the Great Rift Valley and up at impressive Ol Doinyo Lengai. It is the birthplace of my husband, the home of his family, and the center of a Maasai community of about 10,000.

Though the grass is green in the rainy season and the setting idyllic, life is far from easy there, especially for the women. The women live within the restraints of both traditional Maasai culture and the regulations of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (for example, they cannot grow food for their families and can only graze their livestock in certain areas). Inadequate access to water, transportation, hospital services, and reliable communication heightens their struggle. Despite these incredible challenges, the women's smiles, warmth, and laughter prevail; their tenacity endures and inspires.

In 2016, I helped inspire the formation of a women’s group in Naiyobi focused on education, training, and economic development opportunities for the girls and women living there. I hoped to be able to help the women help one another to create a brighter world for themselves and their families. Now a registered Community Based Organization, Nadupoi provides small business and money management training, women’s health seminars, community-based conservation perspectives, and basic reading, writing and arithmetic classes in three villages within Naiyobi Ward. It oversees a rotating fund that provides loans for women-centered small business ventures. Nadupoi also seeks financial sponsors who help girls attend secondary school and beyond.

The Naiyobi Women’s Project is my ongoing effort to help Nadupoi accomplish these things, and more, through grassroots fundraising, idea sharing, and support. Please help me assist Nadupoi in providing these much-needed and greatly appreciated opportunities for the girls and women of Naiyobi today!

With gratitude, Kim