If Heels Could Talk: Stuck in Maasai Mara

 We’d been on dirt roads for two bumpy hours. I hadn’t particularly looked into this so I was surprised that the ONLY road leading to Maasai Mara – Kenya’s most popular national park was rough (and that’s putting it mildly).

It was about 2:00pm and Geoff (driver and guide) was on a mission to make sure we made it to the lodge for lunch (before 3pm) and we had an ETA of about 2:30pm. We’d make it (or so we thought). Well, we’d been driving through puddles (or lets call them giant pot hotels with lots of water in them as it was rainy season).

We went through one more of those… and got stuck. We tried everything, got mud all over the vehicle. I got some sprayed on me too. As with life, when you’re stuck in a place, the shortest intervals feel like forever. Ten minutes passed… still stuck! Then, something happened.

 

A group of Maasai kids were returning from school and they saw us stuck (the area around Maasai Mara is dotted with villages of the Maasai people). They found a place to drop their bags and they came to try to get us out. I’d guess they were between the ages of 8 and 12 and one of them was clearly the leader. He talked with Geoff in Swahili and then yelled out instructions to the crew. They pushed, and pushed;  trying from every angle. They got plastered in mud. When they couldn’t get us out, another group of people walked towards us. Maasai men, some tending to cattle, others I have no idea where they came from. Same thing, they stopped what they were doing to help us.

 

At this point, there were other cars waiting behind us with nowhere else to go. Then a Land Cruiser came by, the driver stopped, and called Geoff ‘brother.’ With the Kenyan accent it sounded more like ‘Bratha’ I assumed they knew each other but he towed us out! At this point it was 3:30pm. We’d missed lunch.

 

Then something else happened. Geoff stopped the car, and went back. He was going to help the other line of cars behind us until everyone went through the danger zone safely. He called more of the drivers ‘Bratha’ and I quickly realized that he actually didn’t know them; they were all in this together, an unspoken rule.

 

I could focus on the obvious, which is how the government needs to prioritize finishing the roads to Maasai Mara (and it does), but the lessons for me are simple. First, when’s the last time I stopped to help someone that was stuck somewhere (on the road or in life)?

We quite often say ‘aww’, or ‘too bad’ or ‘that’s sad’ but we don’t get all in, down and dirty especially for strangers. We are too busy getting ‘home from school’ or tending to our lives that we think we cant afford a distraction. It really doesn’t take much and in reality we might get stuck with our next step, and be in need of someone to pull us out.

After you’ve gotten through a challenge (puddle the size of a car), when last did you stop to check on your ‘brother/sister’ behind you to see if they made it over the same hurdle?

 

In the end, it doesn’t take much to show up, to extend love, to be human! I truly believe that a better world takes ordinary people like you and I doing both ordinary and extra ordinary things everyday. That’s it, without the need for applause, recognition, or complications. What if this was just how we lived?

 

We got stuck two more times over the three days in Maasai Mara. We saw several others get stuck. Every single time, we stopped to help if help was needed, and others showed up for us as well. All for one, one for all.

 

What I experienced was the guides living the concept of Harambee, which means ‘all pull together’ in Swahili. I’d known of Harambee (from a friend) as people fundraising to support other, but it goes beyond that. Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya’s first President) adopted Harambee as a concept of pulling the country together to build a great nation.

Have you heard of Harambee and what’s your take on it? Have you experienced the kindness of strangers while on the road? Please share in the comments section below!

 

P.S. I started this series called ‘If Heels Could Talk, Stories from the Road’ to share stories my shoes would tell from my travels. I’ve shared about leaving a friend at an airport in another country,  traveling to Bolivia without a visa, meeting hostage negotiators, and sharing secrets with strangers. I share these stories every other month.

 

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Till next week,

Ms. Heels.