Two-thirds of students at Naserian Secondary School are girls (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

For 40 years, MAF has partnered with Angelika Wohlenberg-Kinsey who later founded ‘Help for the Maasai’ (HftM) in 1996. Based in Malambo, northern Tanzania, this charity protects girls’ human rights through education. Following the launch of MAF’s new joint campaign ‘It’s Her Future’, Claire Gilderson chats to Angelika about the plight of girls in rural Tanzania…

Despite being outlawed in 1996, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) still persists in rural areas of Tanzania. 1 in 10 women and girls have been circumcised – 35% of them were targeted when they were babies (source: World Bank).

FGM is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia. In some cultures, FGM is considered as a rite of passage for girls – a means of preparing them for adulthood and marriage. This long held traditional belief perpetuates this harmful practice, and anyone who resists it, risks being ostracised by their community.

1/10 females have undergone FGM in Tanzania. 35% were babies (credit: Paula Alderblad)

FGM can cause serious health problems including severe bleeding and pain, infection, difficulties urinating, menstrual issues, cysts, and childbirth complications. Some girls die. The World Health Organisation describes FGM as a ‘violation of the human rights of girls and women’.

Child marriage – another injustice

As if that wasn’t bad enough, another injustice awaits unprotected teenage girls in rural Tanzania – forced marriage to older men.

31% of girls across Tanzania are married before the age of 18 (credit: Paula Alderblad)

According to the Malala Fund, 31% of girls across Tanzania are married before the age of 18 and 22% are pregnant by the age of 19.

In farming communities like the Maasai, cattle are the main source of income. For many Maasai men, cows are more precious than their daughters.

For their daughter’s hand in marriage, some fathers are ready to trade their own flesh and blood in exchange for up to 20 cows. These prospective ‘husbands’ are known to the family and are often more than twice the age of the girl.

A young daughter’s hand in marriage can fetch up to 20 cows (credit: Mark & Kelly Hewes)

Following the birth of a girl, the countdown to marriage begins. The daughter has no say in her upcoming nuptials. Founder of ‘Help for the Maasai’ (HftM), Angelika Wohlenberg-Kinsey, has known girls as young as 11 to ‘marry’:

‘After a girl is born, her father picks out a prospective husband and gives him a number of cows over a number of years as the girl gets older, subject to their agreement. Typically, she will get married around 13 or after her first period. I know one girl who got sold for 100 cows.

‘The girl has no choice. She is seen as the property of her father, and then the property of her husband – she’s just moved around. Those men who control everything, don’t believe the girl has her own brain – they are very proud and arrogant men.’

Angelika Wohlenberg-Kinsey – founder of Help for the Maasai & MAF partner

After the ‘wedding’, sexual exploitation, rape and teenage pregnancy inevitably follow. A girl’s education is sacrificed for a life of domestic servitude and rearing children. The cycle of abuse continues from generation to generation.

Angelika has worked with the Maasai for 40 years (credit: Angelika Wohlenberg- Kinsey)

Angelika finally sees results after seven years

Thanks to the work of HftM, Angelika’s advocacy and education provision for girls finally saw a reduction in FGM and forced early marriage after seven years of hard work.

Angelika first encountered these human rights violations in the mid-1980s when she practiced as a nurse in rural Tanzania:

‘When I first came, I found it so hard. Sometimes I would sit in my tent and cry, asking God: “If you don’t change this culture, I won’t be able to stay here. You have to change these men or I’m going.” But after seven years, God started to change their minds and they started to listen.’

So moved by the girls’ plight, Angelika was determined to find a solution to create more opportunities for girls by giving them access to education – a basic human right usually reserved for boys.

HftM’s Naserian Secondary School opened in 2018 (credit: Sarah Frykowski / HftM)

By establishing Naserian Primary School in 2005, Naserian Secondary in 2018 and Naserian Vocational College in 2022, Angelika has created a means of protecting girls from harmful traditional practices.

All these schools are anti-FGM and all girls are checked by a midwife as part of their admission process. The parents of any girls found to have undergone the procedure are immediately reported to the authorities.

In addition to teaching the usual subjects, these anti- FGM schools also teach girls about their human rights, consent, and empower them to take control over their own bodies and lives.

Schoolgirls are empowered & kept safe from harmful traditions (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

Unfortunately, some men are still against Angelika’s work. She recalls an incident four years ago when she was addressing parents about FGM in the school hall:

‘I was talking about educating girls and being open to leaving harmful practices behind. Most parents listen and understand, but there are still some stubborn men who love their old traditions. These men don’t want to lose their privileges and can be very tough.

‘One man in his 40s came at me with a stick and wanted to beat me up. He was so angry, that three or four men had to hold him back. He lost control and was shouting at me.

‘Other men have tried to curse me over the years with their spiritual power, but it never works on Christians. The defiant men don’t tend to be Christians, whereas the Christian men are more open to change and new ways.’

950 children from Malambo are in school thanks to HftM (credit: (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

Boarding school offers protection against FGM & child marriage

Today however, across the isolated Malambo region, some 950 children and young people from pre-school right through to secondary school are currently in education thanks to HftM. Two thirds of them (66.6%) are girls.

This bucks the national average where only 39% of girls in Tanzania attend secondary school (source: UN).

As a result, Naserian Secondary School has been recognised as the best school in Ngorongoro District every year since it was founded in 2018.

Given that it can take some children up to two hours to walk to school from their remote villages, every student boards at the secondary and vocational schools where they are fed every day.

The children receive two nutritious meals every day (credit: (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

This environment is more conducive to learning and offers greater protection for girls. Daily empowerment, education, physical distance from harmful practices and law enforcement, all reduce the risk of FGM and forced marriage explains Angelika:

‘When I first set up the Naserian education compound in 2005 with only 40 students, half of the girls – around 10 girls – were circumcised.

‘20 years later in 2025 with an intake of 500 students across the primary and secondary schools, none of the 350 girls were circumcised this academic year.’

Naserian schoolgirls enjoy their parade:

When girls complete their secondary school education at 15 or 16, they have the opportunity for further study and have built up the confidence, resilience and knowledge to resist traditional practices when they return home:

‘We say, if you still want to get circumcised, do it after you finish your education with us and we won’t interfere. But by the time they are older, they normally don’t want to do it anymore. It’s their choice.

‘But when they are young, we are very strict and if we suspect anything, we go to the authorities, which makes their parents afraid. Nowadays, most of the community can see the benefits of school and so they follow our policy.’

Boarding at school offers greater protection for girls (credit: Sarah Frykowski / HftM)

Although numbers have considerably decreased, some girls still feel pressurised to undergo FGM and marry when they finish school to ‘fit in’ to avoid being ostracised by their community says Angelika:

‘Last academic year after completing their studies, three girls got married. In some cases, culture is still more powerful than government authorities. Another girl was forced into marriage by her father against her will, but we reported him and she was moved to Arusha for safety.’

Where MAF comes in

MAF has partnered with Angelika for 40 years (credit: Mark & Kelly Hewes)

For 40 years, MAF has flown Angelika – and later her HftM team – to Malambo where its primary and secondary schools are located. The airstrip is a five-minute walk from the school compound.

From the city of Arusha, it only takes 40 minutes by air but without MAF, it would take eight hours on pothole ridden roads. In the rainy season (November to May) the overland journey takes 12 hours!

MAF’s shuttle service from Arusha reaches Malambo in 40 mins (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

The nearest hospital to Malambo is a four-hour drive away over rough terrain. However, there is no operating theatre there or adequately equipped staff to carry out surgery.

MAF flights are therefore a lifeline for when staff and students become critically ill or injured. Medevacking them to hospital in Arusha only takes 40 minutes and saves lives.

When it comes to delivering delicate equipment to school like laboratory apparatus for science lessons, MAF is HftM’s first choice for transport. A smooth flight prevents breakages unlike overland travel. MAF makes the work of HftM easier says Angelika:

‘When I look back over 40 years, things changed when MAF came in and they helped us succeed with the Maasai. MAF helps us get to remote places effectively and it makes travelling much easier if we need to send something quick via its regular shuttle service.

‘MAF is also there for medical help, which is a big reassurance for us, as going to hospital by car would be really tough. MAF is a big help.’

Angelika Wohlenberg-Kinsey – founder of Help for the Maasai & MAF partner

Angelika: ‘MAF has helped us succeed with the Maasai’ (credit: Mark & Kelly Hewes)

In addition to their school work, HftM – enabled by MAF – run workshops led by nurses and specialists every month in the isolated villages of Lemugur and Olemilei.

They warn against the dangers of FGM and child marriage, and also advocate for girls’ human rights including education. Angelika explains how it works:

‘When villagers hear the plane approaching, it’s a mark of something significant, so up to 80 people can turn up to listen including the men.

‘We talk about taking care of your body and that God has given us certain anatomy to give us pleasure and we talk very openly about it and show them pictures and films. We advise not cutting things off from the body because we need them and it would be against God’s plans and against women’s rights. We have group discussions with them.’

Olemilei takes 5 hours to reach on foot or 10 minutes by air (credit: Andrew Parker)

Without MAF’s 10-minute flight from Malambo to these isolated villages, rural communities would not get to hear about the consequences of harmful traditional practices or the benefits of girls’ education.

Without MAF, the only way to reach the mountain village of Olemilei is hiking which takes five hours. To reach Lemugur, it would takes around five hours by road.

Together MAF & Help for the Maasai are transforming young lives (credit: Annet Nabbanja)

MAF enables HftM to transform young lives. Please support ‘It’s Her Future’ Campaign so that more girls can access education, make their own choices, and avoid the scourge of FGM and child marriage. Thank you.