Jonathan on a fundraising trip to London

Founder

Jonathan Saoyo Simel is the founder of MAYOO-Maasai Youth Outreach Organization; this is to help the poorest families and the orphans who are lacking parental care in the Maasai community. And also partner with well wishers and other organization to help the entire Maasai community end poverty by empowering them achieve their goals in life.

Born January 31^st, 1989, in Ilngarooj, Kenya, part of Maasailand, both of Jonathan’s parents passed while he was still just a toddler.  He was fortuitously re-united with his grandmother four years later, who provided a loving home with an emphasis on education.  However, Jonathan’s grandmother also passed while he was still young, leaving him to care for his three younger siblings.  It is this experience that Jonathan has built his dreams upon.  In Jonathan’s world, neither Kenyan nor African will suffer the same fate.

By 1998 Jonathan found himself in a position to go back to school at the Oloshoibor Primary School. With help from the surrounding community he graduated in 2003.  Continuing with his focus, in 2007, Jonathan graduated from Nakeel High School.   With scores capable of placing him in the Kenya Institute of Management, he then received a degree in Human Resource Management with financial assistance from an American Family who sponsored his educational fees and nominal living expenses.

Coinciding with his educational achievements, in 2009 Jonathan formed MAYOO (Maasai Youth Outreach Organization) with close support of like-minded youths in the area.  Initially formed for the betterment of the Maasai community with a focus on other orphaned children, MAYOO has expanded to fight the issues which combat the Maasai community. Projects to date include, the MAYOO sponsorship program, which helps to rescue girls from FGM and early child marriage and give them an education for a brighter future. As well as the water project, which will pipe clean water to the village of Ingarooj.

Jonathon’s next goal is a International Relations degree that will provide him the skills to further develop MAYOO into a larger organization reaching across Maasailand.  MAYOO will need considerable leadership to reach Jonathan’s goal of eradicating these issues faced by the Maasai community in Intashat, Kenya.

As Africa’s developing economy continues its great strides forward, Jonathan intends to ensure no person is left behind; first by educating himself and honing his skills as a community leader, then by passing his knowledge, skills, and support to the rest of the community.  It is a rare instance that one person has the potential and drive to make such an impact on his surroundings. Jonathan asks for your support, as he “learns to fish”.