As a young boy, Endeso's life as a cattle herder lay ahead of him - here he sits in a tree (in traditional red Maasai blanket) in Tarangire, 2000
8 years later, Endeso is now a fully grown man & a proud Chef - here he poses with me (photo taken 2 weeks ago) outside the restaurant where he now works - I am so proud of what he has accomplished in his life !(This is the longest post I’ve ever written on my blog & I won’t make a habit of being so long winded, but if you can make it through to the end it will shed some light on a part of my life and Tanzania which I have not yet shared & I hope, will make interesting reading for you)
Many years ago, my husband & I were offered a unique opportunity by the company we were working for at the time. We were offered the job of designing and building a luxury safari camp from scratch …. from finding the location for the camp (days spent trekking through remote wilderness with bush knives/panga’s to hack a pathway for the vehicle to pass), sitting under the tree’s with village elders to discuss purchase/hire/use of the land which belonged to them, to planning the layout and design (my dream ‘bush’ kitchen !), to sourcing the building materials, employing staff, training them, putting systems into place, choosing and finishing interiors and opening the camp up before handing it over to a Management couple and moving on to develop a new hotel the company were about to start building on a coffee estate in a city.
Phew ! It was quite a job and although first daunted by the task, after thinking about it for a while, my husband and I jumped at the opportunity being offered to us, because we knew it would never come our way again and we also knew that it was a chance for us to create a magnificent spot in a magnificent country, and leave our mark here forever.
I could write an entire blog just about this camp, which we decided would be a camp built in and around a series of Baobab trees, tree-house style rooms which opened out onto the vast Tanzanian sky. The first camp of it’s kind in Tanzania, bordering the world famous Tarangire National Park, we decided to call the camp “Tarangire Tree Tops”. You can see the website for the camp if you click here and although it was sold to another company long ago, and has undergone some changes (for example, some of the central areas burned down in a fire many years ago & had to be re-built) it is still very much a part of us, and of our hearts and indeed, some of our original staff still work there.
Well, as usual I’ve gone off track but I just wanted to give you a little background to Endeso Lengai, the young Maasai man you see standing with me in the photograph above. When we first started building the camp (my husband & I lived with 300 construction crew in tents to begin with) we got our water from the nearby Tarangire River. It was quite a mission as it was very dry at the time, and the elephants were always down there digging for water. Endeso was a young Maasai boy who we employed from the local village to guard the water pump which we had stationed at the river from elephants (who love to trash things like that !) As part of our agreement with local villagers, we employed several of the local Maasai boys/men to work in and around the camp as askari “guards”. This was the only job we could give them, as they spoke the local Maasai dialect and no English whatsoever.
I would regularly go down to the river & Endeso would always be there, sitting in a tree overlooking the river bed (height = safety from the elephants !) He would even sleep up there ! (I don’t know how he never fell out !) Through a translator, he indicated to me that he wanted to learn English, & how to write his name. I taught him a little each day until one day he asked if he could get a job in the camp kitchen, as he dreamed of becoming a Chef. Well it was difficult with him still speaking no English, so I gave him a job in the scullery, washing all the dishes & cleaning up. He was thrilled & as a fast learner soon started watching the other Chef’s and learning the basics of salad and bread making. Soon after we left the camp and it was several years later that I was in the city one day when I heard my name being called from across the street “MAMA LYNDA !!!! MAMA LYNDA !!!!!”
Imagine my surprise when I turned around to see a smart young man dressed in a pristine white Chef’s uniform – it was Endeso, motioning to me from a local restaurant across the road – he was the head Chef of the restaurant, and now spoke fluent English !
I was so proud of him, and he clasped my hands in his & said “Mama Lynda - you gave me a chance when no body would & it is because of you that I am where I am today, I can never thank you enough”. I was quick to point out that it had nothing to do with me – sure, I opened the door for him but if it were not for his hard work & dedication, he would still be nothing more than a young man herding his livestock along all day. It was because of the chance that someone took on US (by offering us the opportunity to build a camp) that I was able to give Endeso a chance.
I am now a regular visitor to Endeso’s restaurant. Whenever I am in that part of town I will pop in to say hello, and he will always make my husband & I some chicken and chips, which we usually ‘takeaway’ with us if we are in a hurry. (We took this photo just 2 weeks ago as I felt it was a story I must tell on my blog).
Endeso has grown from a puny, inexperienced young boy who spoke no English & sat in a tree with no future but that of a cattle herder, into a tall, proud young man who is a hardworking chef with a happy heart and a good future ahead of him, and a better life for his family.
Many years ago, my husband & I were offered a unique opportunity by the company we were working for at the time. We were offered the job of designing and building a luxury safari camp from scratch …. from finding the location for the camp (days spent trekking through remote wilderness with bush knives/panga’s to hack a pathway for the vehicle to pass), sitting under the tree’s with village elders to discuss purchase/hire/use of the land which belonged to them, to planning the layout and design (my dream ‘bush’ kitchen !), to sourcing the building materials, employing staff, training them, putting systems into place, choosing and finishing interiors and opening the camp up before handing it over to a Management couple and moving on to develop a new hotel the company were about to start building on a coffee estate in a city.
Phew ! It was quite a job and although first daunted by the task, after thinking about it for a while, my husband and I jumped at the opportunity being offered to us, because we knew it would never come our way again and we also knew that it was a chance for us to create a magnificent spot in a magnificent country, and leave our mark here forever.
I could write an entire blog just about this camp, which we decided would be a camp built in and around a series of Baobab trees, tree-house style rooms which opened out onto the vast Tanzanian sky. The first camp of it’s kind in Tanzania, bordering the world famous Tarangire National Park, we decided to call the camp “Tarangire Tree Tops”. You can see the website for the camp if you click here and although it was sold to another company long ago, and has undergone some changes (for example, some of the central areas burned down in a fire many years ago & had to be re-built) it is still very much a part of us, and of our hearts and indeed, some of our original staff still work there.
Well, as usual I’ve gone off track but I just wanted to give you a little background to Endeso Lengai, the young Maasai man you see standing with me in the photograph above. When we first started building the camp (my husband & I lived with 300 construction crew in tents to begin with) we got our water from the nearby Tarangire River. It was quite a mission as it was very dry at the time, and the elephants were always down there digging for water. Endeso was a young Maasai boy who we employed from the local village to guard the water pump which we had stationed at the river from elephants (who love to trash things like that !) As part of our agreement with local villagers, we employed several of the local Maasai boys/men to work in and around the camp as askari “guards”. This was the only job we could give them, as they spoke the local Maasai dialect and no English whatsoever.
I would regularly go down to the river & Endeso would always be there, sitting in a tree overlooking the river bed (height = safety from the elephants !) He would even sleep up there ! (I don’t know how he never fell out !) Through a translator, he indicated to me that he wanted to learn English, & how to write his name. I taught him a little each day until one day he asked if he could get a job in the camp kitchen, as he dreamed of becoming a Chef. Well it was difficult with him still speaking no English, so I gave him a job in the scullery, washing all the dishes & cleaning up. He was thrilled & as a fast learner soon started watching the other Chef’s and learning the basics of salad and bread making. Soon after we left the camp and it was several years later that I was in the city one day when I heard my name being called from across the street “MAMA LYNDA !!!! MAMA LYNDA !!!!!”
Imagine my surprise when I turned around to see a smart young man dressed in a pristine white Chef’s uniform – it was Endeso, motioning to me from a local restaurant across the road – he was the head Chef of the restaurant, and now spoke fluent English !
I was so proud of him, and he clasped my hands in his & said “Mama Lynda - you gave me a chance when no body would & it is because of you that I am where I am today, I can never thank you enough”. I was quick to point out that it had nothing to do with me – sure, I opened the door for him but if it were not for his hard work & dedication, he would still be nothing more than a young man herding his livestock along all day. It was because of the chance that someone took on US (by offering us the opportunity to build a camp) that I was able to give Endeso a chance.
I am now a regular visitor to Endeso’s restaurant. Whenever I am in that part of town I will pop in to say hello, and he will always make my husband & I some chicken and chips, which we usually ‘takeaway’ with us if we are in a hurry. (We took this photo just 2 weeks ago as I felt it was a story I must tell on my blog).
Endeso has grown from a puny, inexperienced young boy who spoke no English & sat in a tree with no future but that of a cattle herder, into a tall, proud young man who is a hardworking chef with a happy heart and a good future ahead of him, and a better life for his family.
And it is that fact, which makes me the proudest of all !
