About

Mini-bio / Daudi Msseemmaa

I'm a 20-something socialist-leaning journalist with an invincibility complex and a distrust of authority. From 2006 to 2009 I was in Arusha, Tanzania, where I got familiar with my extended family and tried to use stories to connect my father's first home in Tanzania with my ‘motherland’ of Chicago and northern Illinois. I was born in Blue Island and grew up in LaSalle-Peru, Illinois. I went to Southern Illinois University and got degrees in history and in journalism, did a fellowship at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, and worked at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for about two years. Then and now, I thank God for every day of my life. I love sharing the stories of the people I meet in East Africa with our brothers and sisters in the developed world, and vice versa. I get to be involved in connecting people, to meet inspiring people, and to get to know my dad's family.

By day, I work hard to keep Lenana.net fresh. By night, I’m a designer for the Springfield News-Leader in Missouri, USA. I married Kellen Night on 31 October 2009 in Peru, Illinois, and I introduced her on 08 August 2009 in Arusha, Tanzania. No kids or pets or anything weird.

My tribe is Maasai, my clan is Mollel, and my fathers’ names are Martin Loilang’isho Lotasarwaki Marti. My age-set is korianga and I’m circumsized, in case you’re wondering.

Mini-bio / Kellen Msseemmaa

I studied education at Makerere University, majoring in economics and minoring in history. I worked as an Advanced-level economics teacher in schools in Uganda and Tanzania before coming to the US in September 2009. I’m fluent in five East African languages and can get by in a few others. I am currently in East Africa working on scholarship projects and girl education research for Lenana.net.

I love God, I love East Africa, and I love bananas (it’s our staple food in my homeland, western Uganda). My vices are scrabble and the game Text Twist. Future possibilities: The sky’s the limit!

Mini-bio / Venance Abel

I collaborate with Daudi and Kellen on projects. I am the father of 3 (Njii, Josi, and Jacqueline) and I have my family compound near Enaboishu Secondary in Moivo village on Mt. Meru, just north of Arusha. I am a photographer and choir teacher, with experience as a carpenter and a builder. My wife, Mama Njii, is also a singer. I am Maasai and speak the language Kimaasai. I am the son of Abel Mashauri.

About the website

Lenana.net was created as a place to show stories from the places dear to me. We've been adding content and learning how to fix the website's problems. We started a redesign of the site in November 2009.

Accuracy, accessibility, and intimacy are the most important goals of stories on lenana.net. I want to tell stories that are factual, that can be accessed by as many people as possible, and that are meaningful to both the subject and the audience.

Our professional goal is to help partners better understand each other and connect deeper. Lenana.net can help by showing stories of the lives and projects of people in East Africa to their partners in the developed world – and then facilitating communication between the two.

We are especially interested in projects related to education in East Africa. We enjoy giving presentations in schools and churches, both in the US and in East Africa. Email daudi (at) lenana.net to inquire.

All content is property of Lenana.net and Mr. Msseemmaa unless otherwise noted.

2010 direction

Education is the key. That’s why we are looking into three education-related areas this year in particular:

(1)The causes of failure and among secondary school girls who have dropped out
(2) The role of self-esteem and positive modeling in the success of secondary school girls
(3) The impact of secondary education on the families of girls who graduated and returned to their villages rather than be employed

We plan to use this information to make research-based decisions regarding future scholarship and education programs that we are involved in. Combining it with scientific research on the topic will give us a stronger base for future consultations. And we will share our findings with the set of schools and organizations in Arusha, Tanzania that will be working with us. The ultimate goal is to keep more girls in school getting quality education!

About the name

Olonana ole Mbatian, popularly known as Lenana, was one of the most outstanding Maasai and Kenyan leaders, African chief and Laibon (prophet/visionary), whose life spanned the second half of the nineteenth, and the first decade of the twentieth centuries. He lived through and influenced a crucial period in Kenya's history: when the Maasai were engaged in nation building, there was competition for leadership, land, people, livestock, wealth and power; and when European intrusions, which were becoming ever more intensive, were shaping Kenya's colonial culture and economy. (from laibonsociety.com).

There is a famous street in Nairobi with his namesake. There's a fancy high school outside Nairobi called Lenana. It is the name of the third peak (16,355 ft.) of Mt. Kenya, that country's highest mountain (the tallest peak is called Batian, after Lenana's father). There's a small slum in Nairobi called Lenana. It is also my second name. And there is an amazing website that bears his name, too — lenana.net.

About the logo

Acacia nilotica, known as olkiloriti
in the Maasai language, symbolizes the ability
of God’s creation to live and thrive
whether there is rain or drought. That same
spirit of persistence is a central theme to
many of the stories we feature on lenana.net.

Typography

This website uses Georgia and Helvetica Neue. The logo uses Tertre.