Protect Maasai Girls from Forced Early Marriage

Hi, my name is Astri and I am fundraising to help on a local level with a nonprofit organization called Eripoto for Girls & Women which is located in Tanzania.

 

The founder, Esuvat Lucumay, is a Maasai woman who, at age 14, narrowly escaped becoming a child bride. Against all odds, she managed to continue her education through university. Besides working for us, she has founded a non-profit organization, Eripoto for Girls & Women, to protect Maasai girls from forced early marriage and pregnancy and help them stay in school. One of the reasons girls are married off so young is because their parents/grandparents can't afford to care for them, so they pass the financial burden on to the girls' new husband. However, what mostly happens is the girl is left to figure out how to support herself and her children because the husband provides little to no support for them since he likely has multiple wives and many children. So, Esuvat tries to help ease that financial burden for the families by providing pens, exercise books, sanitary pads, etc., so the girls can stay in school and with their families. She also provides these supplies for the girls who stay in her safe house during school breaks because it is not safe for them to return to their families in their villages due to their families already having arranged for them to be married.

 

Esuvat has a specific list of items she distributes. She is joining my family in Arusha on the morning of the 27th to take us to the shop(s) to buy the supplies, and 2 or 3 of the girls who are staying at her safe house during the school break will come to meet us and receive the donations on behalf of the organization.

 

This is an opportunity that came up yesterday (July 8th), and I travel on July 20th, so ALL DONATIONS MUST BE IN BY JULY 20TH at the very latest.  As bank transfers can take up to 14 days with GoFundMe, I will be traveling with a check for exactly the amount that is present on July 20th and having Esuvat deposit it a week after our visit.

 

As a professional photographer, I will be documenting the experience and posting to a digital journal. Send me an email address and I will add it to those who will have access. Esuvat will also provide an update after we've returned to the US.

 

100% of what you pledge will go directly to Esuvat -- I am delivering it personally. This fundraiser may not change the world, but it has the capacity to help change the lives of many young women at risk in Tanzania. I am also glad for my bonus daughters, aged 16 and 18, and my son, 9, to see how life can be for young women in a different place in the world.

 

Thanks so much for your consideration. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

Kindest Regards,

Astri