MaaSAE Girl School

The name MaaSAE Girls Lutheran Secondary School comes partially from an acronym. Maa is the language of the Maasai tribe…S is for Speakers; A for Advanced and E for Education…MaaSAE

MaaSAE Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS) is located on the outskirts of Monduli, Tanzania, a village about 45 kilometers from Arusha. It is a project of The North Central Diocese of the Arusha Region of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) and Operation Bootstrap Africa. The school opened in 1995 with its first class of Pre Form One students.

This first-of-its-kind residential school for daughters of the Maasai and other semi-nomadic people supports girls’ education. In its history, 1,350 students have graduated from the school. Today, over 300 girls from impoverished backgrounds are part of this nurturing, supportive educational community. In a Tanzanian girl’s life, education makes all the difference: It will nearly triple a woman’s income; she will reinvest 90 percent of her income into her family; with a secondary education, a woman will marry later and have fewer children; she is less likely to contact HIV/AIDS; and her children have a 40 percent better chance of living to age 5. MGLSS offers girls the chance to make a brighter future for themselves and for their families.

Saint Andrew's members Jean Wahlstrom and Marvin Kananen arrived in Tanzania in July of 1998 to answer the call by the ELCT to serve at MGLSS. During Marvin and Jean’s 12 years at the school, they served as English teacher, Education Developers, Bible and Divinity teacher and Chaplain. Their time at the school changed their lives forever.

Many students depend on sponsorship to pay for their education. Each year a class of around 60 students enter the school. At the end of form 4 (equivalent to grade 10) students sit national exams. Some students then continue their education further into Forms 5 and 6, and on to university education!

Saint Andrew’s supports MGLSS with budgeted funds and through:

Scholarship support: The Saint Andrew’s congregation, as well as many individual members and small groups, provide scholarship support to students at MGLSS in Monduli, Tanzania. Often, this financial support is continued as the girls enter university. Scholarship assistance is an ongoing need, and can be provided in several ways:

Sponsor a student in Forms 1 through 4.
Full scholarships are $1,200 per year; half scholarships are $600. Contact the church office for information.

Sponsor a student in Forms 5 and 6.
Full scholarships are $1,300 per year; half scholarships are $650. Contact the church office for information.

Sponsor a university student.
University studies are $2,300 per year and nursing school is $1,500. Contact the church office for information.

Donate any amount to Saint Andrew’s with “MaaSAE Scholarship” or “MGLSS Post-Secondary Scholarship” in the memo line. ANY AMOUNT given is helpful. Donations are combined until a half or full sponsorship level is reached, and then funds are forwarded to Operation Bootstrap Africa (OBA).

Donate directly to Operation Bootstrap Africa, www.bootstrapafrica.org, or by mail to OBA.

2025: Saint Andrew’s is contributing to the support of university students who are MGLSS graduates:

Catherine Malaki Sumari: pursuing a degree in international relations and diplomacy at Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim Centre for Foreign Relations.
Dainess Marco, who is studying at Kampala University in Uganda for a B.S. in Education.

To learn more about the amazing young Maasai women, watch this video from MGLSS and OBA:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1O6XZ6Q96Y