Thank you for landing here! You are here because you want to support a Maasai mama by buying her a gift in the form of food essentials to get her family of up to 15 people through the next week.
With this purchase, you will be supporting a woman like Anna.
Anna is a beader at Sidai Designs, who works with us on a per piece basis. Beading with Sidai Designs was a supplementary income for Anna, who was staying in Arusha town and doing petty trade as a honey seller. Due to the COVID-19 crisis Anna has gone all the way back to her village (many hours from Arusha), meaning she can no longer make money from her usual income streams. She is from the Ngorongoro Reserve area where the Maasai are not allowed to have farms, so she cannot make an income from farming while she is home. She has 14 dependants, including an elderly husband to care for. For all of these reasons, Anna is high on our priority list to support right now.
Please note, your purchase will go to Anna or a woman with similar needs. Money raised will be distributed where possible across the women most in need on our priority list. The more money we raise, the further we move through the list and the more Sidai beaders we can financially support during these uncertain and frightening times.
Why you should support a Maasai Mama
It takes a village to raise a child. In a Maasai village, the task of raising children is approached by co-wives as a team. Chores and resources are shared amongst the women. As Maasai women age and their co-wives women pass away, they can become the sole providers of up to 15 dependants or more. Instead of the village raising the children, one woman may be raising the village alone.
One of the ripple effects of the pandemic are that many of our Maasai mamas are unable to make the same income previously used to support their village. Some of the women have given up additional income streams that required them to be in town, in exchange for the safety of their isolated villages. Some women are receiving less work from Sidai due to the reduced workflow during these uncertain times.
What started as a Mother’s Day campaign in 2020 called Mama’s Day has continued to positively impact the women to this day. We continue to ask our followers to be the village that supports our Maasai mamas in this time. We ask that you help us ease the burden of caring for her village and lighten her load for a week or a month, if you can.
How it works
ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE WOMEN. There will be no cost for administration, delivery, our team distributing or any other overhead. This is a chance for you to directly support Maasai women.
You’ll get a little something special in your inbox that shows that you have given to Sidai Designs to support to their mamas. Make sure you check your junk mail!
‘Ashe Naleng’! A big ‘thank you’ in Maa for your support, from the mamas and the whole team at Sidai Designs.
