Learning to spend differently

A drought in East Africa has prompted a group of Georgia Tech students, many of whom are from Fayette County, to think differently about how they spend their money.

In March of this year, Christian Campus Fellowship (CCF), a Christian campus organization at Georgia Tech, teamed up with Christian Missionary Fellowship, an international mission organization, to help raise money for the struggling Maasai nation. They called the project Mission Maasai.

Recently East Africa has been suffering from its worst drought since 1961. The grass died, leaving nothing behind for the livestock to graze on; crops died, leaving nothing for the people to eat.

“We decided that we wanted to be involved in their situation, so we started educating ourselves,” said Jason Tatum, one of Mission Maasai’s project coordinators. “We learned that their cattle was dying off quickly, that they live in a culture where they feed the adults before they feed the children, that families could no longer afford to spend the very little amount to send their children to school.”

The group also learned that $.25 could feed a Maasai child for a day and $20 could buy a family a very useful goat.

“We learned to care about people outside ourselves, and we are hearing amazing stories, such as when the Maasai donated 14 cattle to the United States after 9/11. This was their service to us, and the love behind it moved us to tears,” continued Tatum.

This information and the stories of the Maasai people launched the CCF “Spend Differently” program. “Spend Differently” encourages students to make mindful decisions about where and how they spend their money. “We made conscious decisions to save money by not eating out, going to Starbucks or going to the movies, and giving the money that we saved to the Maasai,” said Tatum.

Instead the students set up alternative “shops” for those participating in the program. Cafe Maasai opened for “business” in the CCF campus house. From 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, students could drop by for a cup of joe, settle in and study, listen to music and use the free WiFi internet access. The $4 they would have spent at Starbucks was instead donated to the Maasai fund. The project spawned several such “shops” including a collection of over 800 movies students could “rent,” a library of books that could be borrowed from other project participants, lawn care, massage therapy and a barber shop where participants could get a haircut in exchange for a donation to Mission Maasai.

The “Spend Differently” program raised $5,000 in the final months of the school year.

The students wanted to do more for the Maasai and it was Fayetteville resident Stevie Hale’s idea to hold a benefit concert.

On April 10 the event was held at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center to raise money and awareness of the trouble happening with the Maasai.

Led by Hale and Tatum, the concert was organized by 10 committees and approximately 200 volunteers. The event featured dinner and live music and saw about 700 people come through the doors. “Several different Atlanta Chick-fil-A stores donated a bunch of sandwiches [for dinner],” said Tatum.
Three bands entertained the audience including the CCF band Suburban Desperadoes who performed a variety of cover songs. The Californians, a local Atlanta band, volunteered their services for the event. Sean McConnell, a singer-songwriter originally from Marietta, headlined the event.

Greg Johnson who works with Globalscope, a division of Christian Missionary Fellowship, was the guest speaker at the benefit. The event featured a table where those in attendance could make donations by cash, credit or even off their student cards. “We had a phone a friend portion of the event,” Tatum said. “We raised about a quarter of the donations through the phone pledges.”

In total the event raised an additional $15,000 for the Maasai. “We were completely overwhelmed that we were able to raise that much,” stated Tatum. CCF has received a video of the Maasai saying thank you for all the students have done.

While the rain season (March-May) did bring rain to much of Kenya and Maasailand, the effects of the drought will continue to effect the people through the rest of this year and beyond. Grass has grown and is knee high in many parts but according to irinnews.org, “The March-May rainfall in most of the areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia that had suffered drought was insufficient to restore food security and residents would continue to need emergency humanitarian support until the end of 2006, according to early warning agencies.”

Mission Maasai has provided enough relief for 18,000 Maasai to be fed for six months. “Not too bad considering that most us hadn't even heard of the Maasai until February,” stated Tatum.

While the summer didn’t spawn any new events for Mission Maasai, the students have not forgotten. “We’re still going to be in the mindset of spending differently,” said Tatum. This July four students and one staff member were sent over to the Maasailand to shoot a documentary. Their experience was one that was life changing.

Thus far, Mission Maasai has raised over $23,000 for the Maasai nation. There are over 700,000 Maasai and they are not out of danger yet.

To make a tax deductible donation to the Mission Maasai project send a check to Georgia Tech CCF, 767 Techwood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30313. Make the check out to Christian Campus Fellowship and note in the memo “for Maasai.”

To learn more about Mission Maasai or the Maasai people visit www.gtccf.org/missionmaasai.

“The best part about this is it is creating a culture of giving at Tech. It’s been very valuable for everyone involved, thinking about the world around them and not just their needs,” concluded Tatum.

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