MGRC ecoVillage Fundraiser | Give today. Impact tomorrow.
$304,065 donated of $1,600,000 goal
MGRC ecoVillage
Help build MGRC's ecoVillage, a living and learning center for regenerative futures in Tanzania.
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.
The girls who come to the Center are alone, struggling for survival, suffering physical and emotional trauma from endemic poverty and cultural mores. Though female genital mutilation has been banned by the Tanzanian government, it is still practiced by many Maasai people, as is arranged marriage for young girls to much older men. Without intervention, these girls likely would die or endure scarred lives.
MGRC’s ecoVillage, a living and learning center in Karatu, would break this seemingly inevitable cycle by offering a stable, loving and healthy environment – and a fulfilling future – to these deserving girls.
Rather than becoming fateful victims, Maasai girls could assume control of their destiny.
*(left) Joyce Kimani Mollel when she arrived at MGRC. (right, front) Joyce today, studying with friends.
Breaking the Poverty Cycle
In order to achieve our vision of breaking the poverty cycle, we have established a model based around our care and sustainability principles.
Sustainable projects have been in our DNA from the beginning. We have implemented sustainable projects to reduce our food costs and teach sustainable farming to our girls.
MGRC’s ecoVillage is fast becoming reality, with construction of the three-acre farm nearly complete. Buildings are done, livestock are doing well, gardens are planted, the hydroponic system and bio-gas fuel system are in place. The farm will provide a sustainable source of food and fuel for our girls and staff.
The latest photos & videos from MGRC in Karatu, Tanzania!
The ecoVillage will consist of homes for the girls and house mothers, a kitchen and dining hall, a preschool, a vocational training center, a lodge for visiting tourists and living quarters for volunteers. The ecoLodge, a social enterprise, will provide career training, employment opportunities and commerce for the MGRC girls and local community.
Projects like the ecoVillage represent a major departure from the traditional forms of aid to Africa. Much of that aid fails to effectively address long-term problems. Providing free goods creates unintended consequences; the impoverished do not develop a sustainable way to live and local economies are destroyed. In a region where two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line, this MGRC’s entrepreneurial venture will give the Maasai people a modern-day way to make a living, creating a path to long-term independence.
Invest in the ecoVillage
Your donation will help us build the future of MGRC. By investing in the ecoVillage, you will help us increase the number of girls we can help, expand the services we provide and continue our path to sustainability financial independence.
We are so grateful to everyone who contributed to get us to this point. Thank you all so much!
Give today. Impact tomorrow.
2 Replies to “MGRC ecoVillage”
Christine Atkinson
My family recently visited NgoroNgoro Crater and a Maasai village in the rim. While there appears to be some opportunity for the men to gain education and a different path, it is clear the girls and women have none. We are happy to help support a cause that is so clearly needed.
Patty Roberts
After hearing about this project first-hand at a recent presentation by Rick, I understand how important this is for MGRC and the future for Maasai girls.