The Kenyan Nomad: Rewriting the Future: How Patinaai Osim Is Transforming Learning in Maasai Communities

A few weeks ago, I sat down (virtually) with Semerian Sankori, founder of Patinaai Osim. It was the end of the day and I was suffering from information overload—made worse by how bad the news is (IYKYK). It didn’t take long for me to sit upright and be fully engaged. I hope her story gives you as much hope as it did me.

Named after an endearment, “Patinaai Osim”—loosely translated from Maasai as “the one who brings me joy,” often used by women for their children—this NGO envisions a world where children in rural Kenya have the same opportunities as their peers elsewhere.

“Why do we have learners aged 12 still in villages just starting ECD (Early Childhood Development)? Why do our schools not have computers? Why do children under 10 walk 7 kilometres to school? Why do we have only four teachers in a big school?”

These are the questions that drive Sankori. A proud member of the Maasai community she serves, she was fortunate to attend boarding school from the age of 10—an opportunity that shielded her from the severe resource constraints of local schools. Today, she channels that privilege into purpose, leading an organisation grounded in five core pillars:

Education access and equity
Livelihoods and economic resilience
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
Climate action and environmental justice
Culture and indigenous knowledge

Sankori highlights one of Kenya’s biggest educational challenges: chronic under-resourcing. While the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) was designed with good intentions, it assumes a level of parental literacy and access that many rural families simply don’t have. Materials needed for projects (in school and for homework), like manila paper and crayons, tend to be hard to find. Many schools do not even have the electricity they need!

She points out,

“In everything we do, we ensure that our indigenous knowledge guides us. We respect where we are, the communities, their culture and norms. The younger generation is losing so much, there’s friction between elders and youth. Issues like climate change? Indigenous leaders knew how to deal with this many centuries ago. Maasai depended on livestock that depended on the earth and natural resources.”

This philosophy shapes Patinaai Osim’s approach: listen and empower. Every intervention begins with listening—understanding that each rural community has its own unique challenges.

The organisation’s education interventions began with primary schools. When national exam results consistently placed local schools at the bottom, Patinaai Osim conducted a baseline survey—and the findings were sobering. Some Grade 8 pupils, preparing for national exams, couldn’t read a paragraph. When teachers asked questions, no hands went up.

In response, with support from their partner GRIC, the team launched a numeracy and literacy programme using the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) model for Grades 3–5. The programme strengthens foundational literacy for Grade 2-4 learners through a fun, level-based model inspired by the TaRL approach. Over 30–50 days, learners participate in short after-school, weekend, or holiday sessions. They are first assessed and grouped by ability (beginner, word, or paragraph level) rather than grade or age.

Assessments are done in Maasai, Swahili, and English. As Sankori says, “Who says if you can’t speak English you’re dumb? They’re not dumb—they’re learning a new language. And once we start in Maasai, they pick up English so much faster.”

The results have been remarkable. Learners who once sat silent now compete to read aloud in class. Partner schools now have libraries and remedial sessions focused on play that children look forward to.

Teachers, too, have been empowered to innovate using local resources creatively—and parental engagement has soared. But slowly, that began to change. Today, parent-teacher meetings are almost always full—and not just with mothers. In Maasai culture, children have long been seen as belonging to women, and education was often viewed as a woman’s responsibility. Patinaai Osim recognised this and worked within that cultural reality rather than against it. By inviting dialogue, respect, and shared ownership, they’ve helped shift how families see education. Now, fathers are engaged too.

After the success of its primary school pilot, Patinaai Osim expanded its focus to Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE) and childcare centres.

“If you gave me one million dollars and told me to spend it on one thing,” Sankori smiles, “it would all go to foundational learning.”

In many rural Maasai communities, young children are kept home. There is a long journey to school, and human-wildlife conflict in the area means this journey can often be unsafe for younger children who might not be as fast or resourceful as their older peers. The organisation has worked with this reality: now: communities donate spaces (often churches), which are transformed into early learning centres equipped with materials and teachers.

Just weeks ago, 100 + learners graduated from these centres and joined primary schools—already reading and counting, with no need for remedial support from a programme like TaRL.

For children aged 0–3, especially those born to teen mothers, Patinaai Osim builds informal childcare networks. Older women in the community care for the babies, freeing young mothers to work and provide for their families.

“There’s a girl in our scholarship programme—an orphan living with her grandmother, who’s part of our tailoring project,” Sankori shares. “She’s around 11 or 12 now, and she was top of her class last week. I’m so proud of her. I can’t wait to see how far she’ll go.”

Patinaai Osim’s work is currently centred in Kajiado County, but the organisation has its sights set on scaling to Narok, where similar challenges—and an even higher rate of teen pregnancy—persist.

In a world that often rewards short-term thinking, Sankori’s vision is refreshingly long-term. She is, quite literally, planting trees whose shade future generations will sit under.