Maasai Warrior Pushes for Diplomacy

Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah returned home to Kenya months after witnessing the 9/11 attacks in New York City to find that most of his fellow Maasai, a nomadic warrior tribe, did not have a strong understanding of the horrific events that occurred that day. 

Naiyomah, an incoming Rotary World Peace Fellow, shared his firsthand accounts with the East African tribe.  The Maasai elders were deeply moved by his story, and felt compelled to do something to help.

The tribe decided to send a herd of cows to the United States as a display of sympathy and regret; however, the cows were never shipped because State Department officials decided it would cost more than the value of the herd to import them.  The Maasai did not relinquish its initiative to help, and decided to keep the cows for the Americans, setting them apart and vowing never to slaughter them.

Naiyomah has collaborated with award-winning author Carmen Agra Deedy on 14 Cows for America, an illustrated children’s book about his tribe’s response.  The book explains how cows are sacred to Maasai and valued above all other possessions.

“The cow is a symbol of life for us,” says Naiyomah “What happened that day was devastating to me.”

To read more about Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah and the story from Rotary International please visit:

Maasai warrior hopes to work for diplomacy