Our schools are good, and admission became free this year. We still lack books, desks and classrooms. The development fee paid by tourists helps schools purchase some of these necessities.
As a young person who wants to progress, I believe education is the most important benefit tourism can support.
Most children now attend school. In the past, many worked in fields or watched livestock. Herds are smaller today, so fewer shepherds are needed. Maasai families once hid children when police searched for those missing school; that rarely happens now.
The best thing tourism can give our youth is not entertainment or imitation, but the education needed to choose our own future.
Primary education is mainly in Swahili, except English lessons. Secondary school is taught in English. Young children attend only in the morning, which is why they sometimes greet tourists with “good morning” even in the evening.
Tourism offers some youth employment, but income is unreliable. Some girls dance beside roads for visitors, sometimes because parents want the money. Elders often disapprove, and the girls may be excluded from community activities.
Many social changes are not caused by tourists. Young people increasingly choose their own partners, and arranged marriages have mostly disappeared. Valentine’s Day arrived about ten years ago, with red clothes and dinners for couples.
Young people sometimes copy visitors, but visitors also want to copy us. We organise spear-throwing and archery competitions, and we always win.
When tourists try our skills and lose, we remember that coming from a richer country does not make someone better at everything.
This exchange can strengthen confidence rather than encourage imitation. We can learn from visitors while recognising the value of our own abilities.
Tourism helps pay for education, but our culture is changing on its own schedule too—and educated young people should be able to decide which changes they want.