LOOCIP’s greatest strength is its dedicated
professional staff. Through their compassion and devotion to the
Longido community, the staff at LOOCIP work tirelessly for the
betterment of the community despite the challenges they face and
the limited financial resources. They are an inspiration to their
community and partners.
 volunteers
as chief advisor and chair of the advisory board of LOOCIP and
is one of the original founders. He currently works as director
of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) based in Arusha, Tanzania.
AWF is a conservation organization that supports community-based
efforts and capacity building so that the people of Africa can
manage their natural resources, including wildlife and lands,
for conservation and development.
He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in communication from Regent
University in Virginia Beach, Va., in the United States. He also
completed his B.A. in community development at Daystar
University in Nairobi, Kenya, with a minor in business administration.
He worked in the field of communication and development for five
years with World Vision in Tanzania. Dr. Kiruswa, a native
of Ngoswak village in Longido, Tanzania, has conducted extensive
research in eastern and southern Africa and is a consultant to a
number of government and private development organizations working
in East Africa.
His interests include jogging, reading, traveling and networking
on community social development.
 , a native
of Longido, was one of the original founders of LOOCIP who worked
with the transition from World Vision’s Area Development Project to a Community
Based Organization (CBO) in 2004. He earned his teacher’s
certificate at Mpwapwa Teacher’s College in the Dodoma region
of Tanzania. His specialty was primary education and he taught
at various schools throughout the Monduli district for 11 years.
In 1987 he volunteered for World Vision in Longido as secretary
of the project, representing the community, while he continued
to farm for his livelihood.
He currently serves as the community facilitator
for all the programs of LOOCIP including the education unit,
consisting of the early childhood education program and LOCOVOTCO,
the vocational college program; the health unit, which consists
of HIV/AIDS treatment and care and the new Child-Mother Support
project. Elifadhili also works on the new water harvesting project,
environmental issues and care of the LOOCIP properties and volunteers.
He is responsible for promoting these initiatives to the community
and to the government and represented LOOCIP to the parliament’s
exhibition in July 2008 as part of a campaign to promote LOOCIP.
Elifadhili’s interests include singing
in the church and serving on church committees. He also enjoys
creating art and listening to gospel music.
 volunteers
as a capacity building advisor for the LOOCIP agency. Corey originally
came to Longido in 2003, when he conducted his master’s
research on vulnerability of women and girls to HIV/AIDS. Dr.
Steven Kiruswa assisted Corey during his research, which began
their long-term friendship and mutual commitment to assist the
Longido community. Corey has a B.A. in sociology, focusing on
international development, and a master’s of social work,
which focused on community development, social policy and organization
development. He has worked with communities in Uganda, Kenya,
Zambia and Tanzania. His role with LOOCIP is mainly to provide
support and advice on issues pertaining to project development
and management, organizational development, resource mobilization,
and engaging international partners.
In addition to his role with LOOCIP, Corey
is also the Africa programs manager for the Canadian agency,
Sauti Moja, which is one of LOOCIP’s primary international partners. In
his capacity as program manager, Corey focuses his time on supporting
the LOOCIP projects, which are funded by Sauti Moja, including
LECHE, the Child-Mother Support project, and the HIV/AIDS program. He
also provides support to Sauti Moja projects in Northern Kenya. He
is based in Arusha, but spends about 50 percent of his time residing
in Longido. His primary interests are learning about the
challenges facing indigenous pastoral communities in East Africa.
As far as hobbies go, he enjoys playing tennis, reading and listening
to his satellite radio in order to stay in touch with world events.
 joined
LOOCIP in 2007. He has over 40 years experience in education
having taught in primary and secondary schools, teacher training
and vocational training colleges. Jonathan was born in 1947 in
Tabora, Tanzania, and his current home is in Morogoro, Tanzania.
He holds a teachers’ training
diploma and has served as principal of the Longido Community Vocational
Training College (LOCOVOTCO) since 2008.
His responsibilities at LOCOVOTCO include providing day-to-day
leadership and strategic direction and guidance to this newly established
Longido community college. Prior to coming to LOOCIP, Jonathan
taught in primary schools for seven years, secondary schools for
two years, teachers colleges for 14 years and vocational training
colleges for 18 years.
Jonathan’s hobbies include debating
on social issues, traveling and reading newspapers.
 was taught
to read by her father before primary school. She was one of a
very few local young women who had the opportunity to obtain
an education in the 1950s. Her passion for early learning is
now being passed down to the children of Longido, where she serves
as the early childhood education unit coordinator for LOOCIP.
A native of Longido, Sarah returned to the area in 2007 to work
with LOOCIP, after she retired from over 40 years of teaching
in schools in the Longido, Monduli and Arumeru districts. Sarah’s
dream is to establish a network of rural Montessori preschools
throughout the communities, which comprise the Longido District.
Sarah attended Marangu Teachers Training
College in Moshi, Tanzania, where she obtained a Grade IIIc Teacher’s
Certificate. Additional training included a correspondence course
certificate in secondary school subjects. Additionally, Sarah
attended Singachini Teacher Training College where she earned
a certificate in nutrition and home craft. In 1993, she went
to Mandaka Teachers Training College to learn to teach reading,
writing and counting for children ages 6-8.
Then in 2004-05, Sarah studied child psychology
and Maria Montessori’s
philosophy of education at a Montessori Teacher Training Center
in Moshi.
Her interests include current affairs, foreign travels, learning
new cultures, reading, knitting, embroidery and simple dressmaking.
Sarah speaks Maasai, Meru, Chaga, as well as Swahili and English.
 is a native
of the Ketumbeine village in Longido. She graduated from Catholic
University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2005 with
a bachelor’s degree
in social sciences specializing in sociology and anthropology.
She attended secondary school at Maasai Girls in Monduli from 1995-2002
and was one of the first Maasai girls from this district to attend
this school. In 2005 she worked for World Vision Tanzania International
Office in Arusha doing human resources and then went to work for
an Italian organization Instituto Oikos as a project coordinator
dealing with gender issues.
In 2007, she joined LOOCIP to become the
program coordinator of the health unit. As part of this unit’s
initiatives, she leads community conversations about HIV/AIDS
in three villages in Longido district. Another initiative focuses
on treatment and care. She and her volunteers are currently working
with 20 women with AIDS in Longido and two from Mairowa. Once
a month they bring the women to the hospital for medical check-ups
and also help them buy food. Nashipai and her staff visit the
women once a week as well because they are alone and often are
ostracized by their communities. Future plans include helping
these women start small businesses, so they can be self-sufficient
and purchase their own food.
Nashipai would like to continue her education in counseling. Her
interests include working on new computer programs and surfing
the Web, reading novels, chatting with her friends, talking to
people with different cultures and learning new things.
 serves as the unit coordinator
for the Child-Mother Support Project for LOOCIP, which is a new
initiative, started in 2008. Upendo is a native of Longido. She
attended Maasai Girls School in Monduli district. She received
her diploma in education from Mount Meru University. She taught
mathematics, English and Swahili for elementary school students
of ages 6 to 9 for five years before coming to LOOCIP.
The Child-Mother Support Project intends
to help unwed Maasai girls who become pregnant and are expelled
from school, so they can experience healthy pregnancies, avoid
early marriage and maintain school opportunities. The girls are
able to come to LOOCIP for three weeks to help transition them
back into their homes. Upendo’s
responsibilities include individual counseling, family mediation,
peer group counseling, life skills education and advocacy for education.
Upendo is assisted by a support staff worker who watches the girls
in the evening. In addition to this, Upendo visits local schools
to inform students and teachers about the project and to make contact
with Maasai girls who may need this service.
Upendo lives in Longido and is married with three daughters. Her
hobbies include singing, counseling, teaching and encouraging people.
 joined LOOCIP in June 2008 to
work as support staff for the Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) center. He attended the Olkereyan primary school in Arusha.
He received a basic electrical course certificate from Kituchabamo
Vocation Training Center. In 2007 he studied a Microsoft office
basic application course at the Kiwohede Training Center facilitated
by Affordable Computers and Technology in Tanzania (ACTT). Also
that year he attained a computer hardware technician certificate
from ACTT. Currently he assists the ICT center coordinator in teaching
students and adults and also with computer servicing at the center.
He would like to continue his education by someday getting an advanced
diploma in computer science from Nairobi University.
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