September 1999
Ntanin is MGEF’s first student — the little girl whose shy, bright eyes, curiosity, and courage first captured the heart of MGEF Founder Barbara Lee Shaw in 1999 and inspired the creation of the Maasai Girls Education Fund. The sixth child of her father’s third wife and the 22nd born of all of his children, Ntanin had virtually no chance of getting an education. Both of her parents were illiterate, and no girl in her family had ever enrolled in school. When Barbara approached Ntanin’s father with the proposition to send Ntanin to school along with her friend, Sempeyo, he not only consented, but called the chance they were being offered “God’s work.” Eighteen years later, Ntanin is still and always will be a part of the MGEF family. Though she left school for a short time to have a baby, with the support and encouragement of MGEF, Ntanin returned to school in 2013, the year of Barbara Shaw’s passing, determined to complete her education and achieve the means to support her own daughter and help others in her family.
Date of Birth: 06/12/1993
Started Program: September 1999
Start Grade: Preschool
Current Grade: Post-secondary
School: Karin Chirstian College
Sponsored: Yes