How MES began

In May 2018, the family of one of our founding members from Vancouver traveled to Tanzania to go on a Safari in a number of national parks, including the Serengeti, and hike through the mountains in the Ngorongoro conservation area. We traveled with a Maasai-owned Safari company and had a very rich cultural experience and introduction to the Maasai people.

As part of the experience, we visited the Engaruka English Medium Primary School, which had just started offering classes in February 2018. That is where we met Martha Olemisiko, the Executive Director of the Engaruka Community Initiative Organization (ENCO) NGO and also Theo Dillaha and Brian Benham, two of the founding members of the Maasai Education Foundation (MEF).

We learned of the struggles of the Maasai people to educate their children and the impacts of their lack of education on their economic well-being. Martha explained that their main problems were that many villages did not have schools and that existing primary schools were taught in Maasai and Swahili, which did not prepare their children for the secondary school (grades 8 to 11) entrance examinations. The problem is that the secondary school entrance examination is in English, and their children do not learn enough English to pass the exam.

Martha shared her vision in progress of establishing an English language-based primary school in the area offering boarding facilities for students from remote villages (within 40 km of Engaruka). We also became acquainted with members of the Maasai Education Foundation (MEF) which is an organization founded in October 2016 under the leadership of Dr. Theo Dillaha, a retired engineering professor from Virginia Tech.

MEF has worked tirelessly to fundraise for the development of the school and student sponsorships and has accomplished astounding progress in the development of the school since 2016. Please visit maasaieducationfoundation.org for more information.

Audrey Spielmann became a MEF board member in the fall of 2018. The Maasai Education Society was formed because of this association to facilitate fundraising for Maasai Education in Canada and allow direct Canadian support to the school in Engaruka, Tanzania.

Key Individuals

Audrey Spielmann, BSc, MD, FRCPC – President

Audrey is a Diagnostic Radiologist in North Vancouver, Canada. She completed her B.S. in Zoology and Biology, her medical degree, and her Diagnostic Radiology Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. She completed fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center in Abdominal Radiology. She is a Clinical Associate Professor and taught medical students, radiology residents and fellows for over 10 years at Vancouver General Hospital and University Hospital. Currently, she works in the community at Lion’s Gate Hospital, continuing to teach medical students and radiology residents. She values all education highly. Audrey and her family are avid travelers and outdoors enthusiasts.

Dean Johnston, BSc, MD, FRCPC – Vice-President

Dean is a husband, father, brother and friend. He is also a neurologist at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and a Clinical Associate Professor in the department of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia. He has a special interest in education and extensive experience in medical education in particular. He feels fortunate to have had the educational opportunities and privileges that come with living in Canada. The experience of traveling to Engaruka highlighted the disparities in educational opportunities for the Maasai children and inspired a desire to help.

Stephen Geddes- Secretary

Stephen is a lawyer and entrepreneur. He offered to assist with the Maasai Education Society when he ran into founders Audrey and Dean on Hornby Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2019. Stephen lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two children. He aspires to travel with his family to visit Tanzania and the Engaruka English Medium School in the near future.

Duncan White- Treasurer

Duncan is the owner of a Metro Vancouver business that manufactures paper-based products for distribution across North America. He completed his Masters of Business Administration through Simon Fraser University and is an ex-Certified General Accountant. He has worked in a variety of industries including industrial equipment, land development and distribution in various capacities including Chief Financial Officer. He has also worked with an investment company involved in mergers and acquisitions. Duncan is married to a physician and the father of two adult children and an avid mountain and road biker when not injured.

Theo Dillaha, Ph.D., P.E., Chair of the MEF Board of Directors and board member

Theo has a PhD in Engineering and is a Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech where he taught and conducted research for 30 years. Theo served in the Peace Corps in Morocco, worked in Guam and Micronesia for two years, did a one-year Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Mauritius, managed approximately $25 million in development assistance projects for USAID and has worked in 30 developing countries including 10 in Africa. Theo has co-led three Service without Borders service learning trips to Engaruka to work at the school.

Tanzania Liaison and Development Consultant

Martha Olemisiko, is Executive Director of the Engaruka Community Initiative Organization (ENCO), Manager of the Engaruka English Medium Primary School (EEMPS), and MES Tanzania Liaison. Martha is Maasai and obtained her B.S. in Sociology from the Catholic Univ. of Eastern Africa, Nairobi. She worked for the Maasai Women Development Organization (MWEDO) for 8 years as the Education Program Officer and Program Manager. At MWEDO she coordinated scholarships for more than 500 pastoralist girls, coordinated the MWEDO girl’s secondary school, and managed an adult literacy program for > 6000 women. After leaving MWEDO in 2016, Martha established ENCO and EEMPS.

Advisory Committee

Abby Olemisiko is the EEMPS Facilities Director and Farm Manager. Abby has a BS degree in Wildlife Management & Conservation from the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka. He is Maasai, from Engaruka and the husband of Martha. He is the Managing Director of Boutique Safari Ltd., a high-end safari company. He is renowned as a safari guide for his birding expertise.