Background
Sabore’s Well was founded in January 2010 by Sabore Ole Oyie and Thérèse Hjelm to bring a fresh clean water source to the Maasai community in Narok County South District, Kenya. The purpose of this project was to bring water access to the villages to allow the women to work on their trades or take care of their families rather than walking 10 to 12 kilometers each way daily to fetch water from a contaminated river. Having clean water helps prevent ingesting water borne diseases (which are a major contributing factor in early childhood deaths), gives young girls the opportunity to attend school, reduces poverty in the region, and improves environmental conditions. At the beginning of Sabore’s Well creation, we had the distinct advantage and privilege of partnering with Blue Planet Network to capitalize on their platform and propel this endeavor. After four years of fundraising through various functions including visiting schools, home parties, corporate meetings and articles in local papers, Sabore’s Well raised enough money to install the first two wells.
The Team
Maasai Warrior and Elder Sabore Ole Oyie – graduated from Naikarra High School in Narok, Kenya and was honorably selected as a senior advisor to his community and elders. His education has played a major role in his ability to communicate in both his native languages, Kiswahili and English, as well as his tribal language, Maa. He uses his experience and knowledge gained from both his formal education and his warrior training to educate the community on the importance of school and preserving many cultural traditions.
As second-in-command to the chief, he emphasizes youth education and economic development for his community. He’s experienced the benefit of being sponsored to go to school, the critical need for education and the importance of learning so the community can be stronger and healthier. He continues to live in the traditional ways, including wearing the traditional Maasai clothing, carrying hand-made weapons for hunting and self-defense against lions, elephants and other dangerous wildlife, and living in a hut made from sticks and dung. He herds his cattle, sheep and goats, sometimes having to move them long distances to find greener pastures. In addition, he is a Cultural Ambassador for Kenya.
Sabore has traveled extensively throughout the world in order to bring awareness to the struggles of his homeland and to the beauty of the nomadic culture of the Maasai people.
Sabore’s participation in Global Leaders for Justice, an intensive program at Santa Clara University in California, was one such significant visit. It was through this curriculum, focused on building leadership qualities and transforming individuals visions into realities, that Sabore was inspired to augment his original goal of two wells and 5 girls in school to actually building schools and installing over 400 wells!
Sabore Ole Oyie
M. Thérèse Hjelm
Thérèse’s passion for Africa started as a child. She was introduced to this enchanting continent by her mother’s college roommate, Dian Fossey, the woman who studied and struggled to protect the gorillas in Virunga National Park and in Rwanda. Having her first trip to Africa in 1997, she describes it with one word – magical. Nine years later she was able to return and this time with her mother. Their adventure took them on safari and to the place in Tanzania where Dian’s career started.
In 2008, Thérèse met Maasai Warrior and Elder, Sabore Ole Oyie, while volunteering for a non-profit organization in Palo Alto, CA. She attended his demonstration of the Maasai Warrior training experience. During this event Thérèse learned Sabore and the organization’s founder were to present at a school near her home. The thought of them having to commute so early in the morning gave her the idea to offer them the use of her guest rooms. That gesture would end up being life changing and the beginning of a wonderful partnership.
January 2009 brought Thérèse back to Africa, this time to visit Sabore’s village. She observed first-hand the hardships his village and other local communities faced due to the lack of fresh clean water. At that moment, she knew she needed to help but was not sure how. Later in the year, Sabore returned to California for an educational tour describing what it’s like for boys and girls growing up Maasai. It was after Sabore finished a talk at Castilleja High School in Palo Alto that a student approached Thérèse with tears in her eyes asking if she could help. No sooner were the words out of her mouth that she reached out her hand and gave Thérèse three crumpled up $5 bills. That $15 became the first donation to Sabore’s Well. It’s moving and inspiring to realize this project started from the generosity of a 17 year-old girl.
The Board
“I believe that we are all connected to each other, and that we all hold a moral and human responsibility to each other. I believe education is the most powerful tool in empowering communities to break through the constraints that are holding them back, allowing individuals to envision a new future in which each could thrive in a dignified life. I believe in giving back and reaching out, and that there is richness in diversity. I am an advocate, a bridge-builder, and a connector. I belong to a global network of passionate agents of change and feel honored to be a link in the chain of positive global transformation.”
Martine thrives on the energy of a network where the diversity and expertise of partners provide an excellent breeding ground for breakthrough thinking – and she appreciates the multitude of opportunities to engage with a wider network. Through her many affiliations with start-ups, social enterprises and educational organizations, her network spans several continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. This global connectivity provides her a multifaceted perspective, which comes to life in many conversations.
Equally important to Martine are the areas of social justice and gender equity, especially as it relates to health, education, and career opportunities. From working with disadvantaged women in the Bay Area, to advocating for early screening for cancer in the last mile population in India, she has had the honor and privilege to get to know extraordinary courageous women who now have their hands on the steering wheel of their life so the vicious circle of abuse and poverty may end with them, opening never-imagined opportunities for the next generation.
Martine also serves on the Board of other non profits such as Silicon Valley Global Health and Destiny Reflection.
Martine Bolsens-Peetermans
Jeff Chow
Jeff Chow serves on the Board of Sabore’s Well and is also heavily involved in other groups that drive change through non profits. He is the founder and host of a community group called Collaborate for Africa (C4A) which is a group of non profits that operate in Africa. Additionally he is the founder of a community group called Continuing the Conversation (CTC). While not working to drive change through community creation and serving on various Boards, Jeff is a Vice President at Wells Fargo Advisory where he serves as a Financial Advisor.
Eshan Gupta is a Fulbright Scholar currently conducting research on clean energy in rural North India. He is a graduate of Georgetown University where he studied International Development, Renewable Energy, and International Business. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of Georgetown Global Consulting, a student run consulting organization that helps empower non profits in the developing world by helping them with their marketing and business strategy. He got to know of the work of Sabore’s Well through his work in GGC and is excited to continue supporting the organization in my ways as a Board Member.
