Community and Culture Archives | Maasai Girls Rescue Center

portrait of Coco, MGRC cultural center guide

Preserving tradition: Welcoming our new Maasai Cultural Guide

November 15, 2024 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Maasai Culture

We’re excited to announce a special addition to our community: a talented Maasai bead maker and cultural language teacher! Affectionately known as “Coco,” or grandmother, will play an important role in our newly established Maasai Cultural Center, a significant addition to our ecoLodge. This exciting project is designed to provide…...

Maasai girls in a group photo on the MGRC ecoFarm in Africa

Change a life today: 7 Precious girls await your sponsorship at MGRC

August 30, 2024 Community and Culture, Maasai Girls

Child sponsorship is at the heart of what we do at MGRC. By becoming a child sponsor, you’re not just providing financial support; you’re offering a lifeline to a child in need. Your sponsorship ensures that these girls receive quality education, nutritious meals, healthcare, and a safe, loving environment. Through…...

Suzana and Esupat practicing for a cultural event.

Bridging Maasai tradition and tomorrow

August 3, 2024 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Maasai Culture, Maasai Girls

The mission of MGRC is to rescue and transform the lives of at-risk Maasai girls. There are real problems for girls in Maasai communities such as forced marriage, FGM and extreme poverty. But there are beautiful and important aspects of our girls’ heritage that we don’t want them to lose…...

Maasai girls ready for MGRC's Christmas Celebration

The Heart of Rescue

July 21, 2024 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Maasai Girls, Volunteering

Guest post written by Christy Bowersox Today a photo stopped me in my tracks. In my work with MGRC, I look at hundreds of photos. Most depict happy children enjoying their lives at the center. But there was something about this photo that stood out to me. This photo was…...

MGRC girls and their classmates sitting at their desks in a classroom

Help us build bathrooms and classrooms

March 19, 2024 Community and Culture, Education, Maasai Girls

The girls of MGRC and their schoolmates need your help. The local primary school is severely overcrowded and without bathrooms. The government began a construction project, but it has stalled due to lack of funding. Things move slowly in Tanzania, and it could be years before the project is completed. …...

Hugh and his wife visiting MGRC in Tanzania

God’s Invisible Hand at Work

March 14, 2024 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, ecoVillage, Maasai Girls

Written by: Mary Flieller Hugh IIlsley, former business executive and founder of Identity Sports is a generous and long-time supporter of Maasai Girls Rescue Center. Identity Sports is a Christian Outreach Ministry dedicated to impacting lives by sharing inspirational stories from professional athletes who have found their true identities in…...

Neema’s story – A holiday reflection

December 20, 2023 Community and Culture, Maasai Culture, Maasai Girls

As Christmas approaches, we find ourselves reflecting on stories that remind us of the power of love, compassion, and the incredible impact a single act of kindness can have on someone’s life. One such story is that of Neema, an 18-year-old girl who came to MGRC in 2021. Neema’s history…...

Our Incredible Experience at MGRC

December 1, 2023 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Guest Posts, Maasai Girls

Guest post by: Judy and Dave Clouse Recently, we had the incredible opportunity to visit Maasai Girls Rescue Center in Tanzania, an organization we have been supporting for over four years. We’re originally from Wisconsin but retired to Arizona where one of our passions is actively volunteering at our church.…...

group shot of the mgrc girls and volunteers

From Poverty and Despair to Hope and Independance

December 23, 2022 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

One of our volunteers and long-time supporters, Cammy West, has just returned from the her 10th trip to Africa, and her 3rd visit to the Center in Tanzania. When Cammy isn't working at her day job as a sales representative in the golf industry, she is focused on volunteering and…...

Have Tractor Will Travel

December 6, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Guest Posts, Volunteering

One of my earliest memories of Christmas was the year my big sister and I received a pedal tractor. In my mind, receiving a pedal tractor was THE best gift ever! It was a shiny red and it looked just like my Dad’s Farmall....

Hunting for Christmas

December 5, 2022 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

When I think about Christmas I have so many wonderful family memories. We always hosted a Christmas party for our extended family. And the highlight of that party was when Santa would visit....

young girl sitting on a couch holding her baby sister on her lap

Baby or bike?

November 22, 2022 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

One of my favorite Christmas memories is the year our second daughter was born…exactly one week before Christmas. Our oldest daughter loved “her” early Christmas gift of a baby sister!...

Catching up with the MGRC girls

September 9, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Guest Posts, Maasai Culture

Time is moving quickly in Tanzania, and somehow two months have passed since my last journal entry! But so many great things are happening here that I'm excited to tell you about....

An entrepreneurial approach transforming African aid

July 2, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, ecoVillage, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

Generous people around the world (with the U.S. being the largest donor) provide billions in aid to countries and causes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of that aid fails to effectively address long-term problems, and in many cases creates negative unintended consequences....

Baby Nosim

June 29, 2022 Community and Culture, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

Recently, I received a call from a local social worker about a mother who had died in childbirth. He asked if we could help because the father was unable to care for the baby....

Momoi (center holding microphone) was able to use her language skills to translate her friends' testimonies at the Community Celebration. She speaks Maa, Swahili and English.

New career center expands options for MGRC girls’ future

June 15, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Education, Education and Sustainability, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

If you ever wondered how much a life can be transformed with loving intervention by caring strangers, consider the remarkable journey of Momoi....

Inaugural Maasai Girls Rescue Center Raleigh Hub

May 3, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Volunteering

Nearly 40 people came together April 26th for the inaugural Maasai Girls Rescue Center Raleigh Hub....

Stitching our way toward economic sustainability

February 6, 2022 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Education, Maasai Culture, Sustainability, Volunteering

Sayuni came to Maasai Girls Rescue Center three years ago when she was 10. Her mother brought her, saying she could no longer support her child. Then the mother left and hasn’t been back. ...

First Annual Community Thanks Celebration

December 29, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Journal Entries, MGRC Outreach, Volunteering

On December 18, Maasai Girls Rescue Center hosted our first annual Community Thanks celebration. Over 200 people gathered on the land that will become our ecoVillage....

A Grassroots Alternative to Failed African Aid

December 11, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, ecoVillage, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

Generous people around the world (with the US being the largest donor) provide billions in aid to countries and causes in Sub-Saharan Africa....

Giving and receiving: the importance of community

November 12, 2021 Community and Culture, Education, MGRC Outreach, Sustainability, Volunteering

A crucial part of our work at MGRC is connecting with our local community. Since our move to Karatu earlier this year, we have been building relationships with community members and government officials....

Moving beyond survival: Namelock’s story

November 10, 2021 Community and Culture, Education, Maasai Culture

In 2014, before MGRC was founded, the village chief of where I was living asked me to help a girl with skeletal fluorosis, a condition that caused deformation of her legs....

Kindness, Life, Hope

November 1, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, ecoVillage, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

It’s been a few weeks since I returned from the states and wrote a journal entry. Karatu continues to be good to MGRC....

Why support MGRC’s ecovillage?

September 1, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

The Maasai Girls Rescue Center’s ecoVillage is founded on the premise that the only lasting way to help people is to teach them how to help themselves....

Africa captured my heart

July 7, 2021 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Maasai Culture, Volunteering

In the fall of 2019 Africa captured my heart. My Dad and I were fortunate enough to travel to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, a trip we had been dreaming of for more than a decade....

MGRC Girls, Sustainable Food Projects, Outreach

July 1, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, Education, Education and Sustainability, Journal Entries, Sustainability, Volunteering

Our MGRC volunteers from the States are on Safari in the Serengeti National Park and have been sending me messages about their experience....

Volunteers Help MGRC Girls

June 25, 2021 Community and Culture, Education, Guest Posts, Volunteering

Volunteers help MGRC girls learn new talents, build their self-confidence, and set goals for their future...

Volunteers at MGRC, Chickens, ecoFarm Updates

June 23, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, ecoVillage, Journal Entries, Sustainability, Volunteering

It has been a very busy time here at MGRC. The girls are on school break, and we have four recent high school graduates from the States visiting....

Scottsdale man, 71, hikes Grand Canyon in one day to benefit girls in Africa

June 21, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoVillage, Volunteering

Hugh Illsley goes the extra mile for others – hiking the 24-mile Grand Canyon rim-to-rim in one day to raise upwards of $25,000 for Maasai Girls Rescue Center, a nonprofit that cares for vulnerable girls in Tanzania, Africa....

New van, new dresses, new visitors

June 16, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, Journal Entries, Volunteering

Well, it has been an interesting week or so. First, we received our new (used) van from Japan. First time I ever bought a vehicle without test driving or having my mechanic inspect it, but that is how one does it here in Tanzania....

Elisante Sitting at Desk donated by MGRC

School desk donation generates smiles, speeches and a goat!

June 2, 2021 Community and Culture, Education, MGRC Outreach, Sustainability

Maasai Girls Rescue Center recently donated 30 wooden desks to the local primary school our girls will attend when we move to our permanent site at the ecoVillage....

Get back to where you once belonged

May 25, 2021 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Maasai Culture, Volunteering

Guest post by Makayla Henwood Two years ago, I had the life-changing experience of volunteering at the Maasai Girls Rescue Center, which was founded by my grandfather, Rick Morro. Now I get to go back! I graduate this month from Apache Junction High School east of Phoenix, Arizona. Next month I…...

From Aspen to Africa: A time for exploration

May 20, 2021 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

Guest post by Hunter Love After a year and a half of pandemic restrictions, I’m taking a gap year to have the time to tour the top art schools that I have been interested in attending since I was in preschool, and see as much of the world as I can.  I graduate…...

MGRC visitor, happy cows, ecoFarm updates

May 11, 2021 Community and Culture, ecoFarm, Journal Entries, Sustainability, Volunteering

It was a very good week for us at MGRC. One of our girl’s sponsors visited us during the week. It is always great to have the girls meet and spend time with the people who make it possible for them to live here. The sponsored girl is not the…...

Why volunteering is important to the girls of MGRC

April 3, 2021 Community and Culture, Journal Entries, Volunteering

Volunteering is a chance for you to give back to the world. When you volunteer for the rescued girls at the Maasai Girls Rescue Center, you open an entirely new world to them. You will have a huge impact on the girls’ attitudes and their future. When volunteering at the…...

Meet Elisante Loi Laizer, MGRC’s new on-site manager!

April 2, 2021 Community and Culture, Growth and Reflection, Journal Entries

I have been working on finding the right person for this position for quite some time and it hasn’t been easy. This new position would include handing off management of the staff which, as you may know, would be one of the hardest things for me to let go. But…...

Threads of Hope – Dresses for the Girls at MGRC

February 18, 2021 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

If you regularly check out the MGRC Facebook page and the MGRC website, you’ve undoubtly noticed pictures of the girls wearing colorful dresses. Recently, a photograph of Susan from MGRC was featured on a Facebook post wearing a beautiful dress with an embroidered pocket. The dress was made by Mary, one of the…...

More than a safari

January 17, 2021 Community and Culture, Education, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

MGRC is located within reasonable driving distance to several world famous National Parks. While people on the other side of the globe dream of one day visiting these amazing places, the girls here at the center never felt like this was an obtainable ambition for them. Even though the admission for…...

Regaining her vision: Bahati’s Story

September 14, 2020 Community and Culture, Journal Entries

Bahati came into our lives back in April when her father brought her to the Center asking for help. She was a sweet 5-year-old with a severe eye problem. I could tell right away something was wrong by the way her eyes “floated” in different directions. She was unable to focus on anything and wouldn’t be able to…...

MGRC featured in The Red Book Magazine

April 28, 2020 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

MGRC featured in The Red Book Magazine, March 2020Text by Beverly Medlyn – Photos courtesy Maasai Girls Rescue Center Moved by the Maasai A trip to Tanzania becomes a life-changing experience When Rick Morro retired nine years ago, he envisioned a life of travel, golf and fishing. During his career…...

How MGRC helps to curb starvation

November 13, 2019 Community and Culture, Education and Sustainability, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

Many of the new girls that we take in at MGRC are suffering from starvation. Our waiting list is so long that I can only take in the most at-risk girls, so each case is extreme. This creates a unique challenge, because in order to accomplish our main goals of…...

How volunteering at MGRC impacted my daily life

October 15, 2019 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Maasai Culture, Volunteering

MGRC’s founder, Rick Morro’s 16 year old granddaughter spent two unforgettable weeks volunteering at MGRC. These are her words on how the experience has changed her life. Now that I am home in Arizona and back to my usual routine of living a blessed life, I cannot stop thinking about…...

Life-changing experience, looking to the future, and my upcoming trip to the US

July 1, 2019 Community and Culture, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

It is hard to believe that 2019 is half over. Many things have happened at MGRC, too many to list them all here. We now have 36 full time girls living at the Center, plus one girl who is here for protection during school break. She is not allowed to…...

The most surprising things about my trip to MGRC

June 14, 2019 Community and Culture, Guest Posts, Volunteering

When I first came to Tanzania, Africa for my trip to MGRC, I was expecting most of it to be just like America. After being here for a week, I learned it was nothing like being in America. People in Africa have life so much harder than me or anyone I…...

Sayuni’s Story, Staying Busy & Planning for the Future

March 12, 2019 Community and Culture, Maasai Culture, Sustainability

I am behind in writing my blog. I could use the excuse that I have been extremely busy but there is always time to send information and keep people informed. It has been a very exciting year so far. We had several successful projects that will help our girls now…...

Challenges and new NGO partnership

February 6, 2017 Community and Culture, Growth and Reflection, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

This week has been quite interesting. It had its share of highs and a few lows. Each day seems to present more challenges than the previous one. Perhaps I’m starting to feel tired or simply missing my family and friends. Despite having lived here for a while and believing that…...

A tough place to raise children

October 23, 2016 Community and Culture, Growth and Reflection, Journal Entries, Maasai Culture

It is the dry season in the area I am staying. It has only rained once in the last six months. The Maasai live off the cattle, goats and sheep they raise on their Bomas. Water is scarce, with a few run off dams still holding some water. This water…...