The Culture-Changer
Curt Harris, ’77, provides education and healthcare resources to villages in developing countries to positively impact their world
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he first time Curt Harris climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro was in October 2000. Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa at 19,340 feet. He climbed to the top twice to complete pledges that raised money for Selian Lutheran Hospital, a nearby hospital outside of Arusha in northern Tanzania, East Africa. It's a poor, rural area comprised of the Maasai tribe, who according to Harris, “are nomadic; they don’t educate their girls very well and they don’t take care of their health.” The hospital was built in the late 1980s, and this successful fundraiser added a quarter of a million dollars to improve the facility. “A quarter of a million dollars in Africa goes a long way,” Harris said. “They purchased an X-ray machine and two ambulances and built a surgical ward for the children’s hospital.” In October 2003, Harris, a retired economics graduate and member of the Evergreens (Colo.) Rotary Club, led a Rotarian group to raise an additional $100,000 to help build Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, which opened in 2008.
In addition to improving the healthcare of the region, Harris has been involved with the Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS). “Before that school was opened 15 years ago, there were fewer than 100 Masaii girls out of a tribe of half a million who completed secondary school. It was pretty awful,” Harris said. Sponsorships are required for all students attending the school, but enrollment is going up with the help of people like Harris. He adds, “Last September, my wife Barb and I attended a graduation of another girl we had sponsored for four years. They had a graduating class of 63, which is the largest graduating class ever.” The Harris’s have sponsored two girls to attend the school. The MGLSS website states: “Traditionally the Maasai girls received at the most a very basic elementary education. They are usually married by age 15 and are expected to build a home, care for children, milk cows and fetch firewood and water.” Harris met the first girl his family sponsored within her first few months at the school, describing her as shy and malnourished. After attending her
“A quarter of a million dollars in Africa goes a long way.” – Curt Harris
> Summit of Kilimanjaro in October 2000. L to R: Curt Harris, Sara Graff, Head Guide Joseph, Diane Kessel and Mark McCullick.
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Alumnews Winter 2011
> Neema Samwel and her mother, both Maasai, and Curt and Barb, at last year’s graduation.
graduation four years later, Harris said, “She was a robust, energetic, outgoing young lady. It was a complete transformation. “Attending the graduations of the girls I have sponsored is the most rewarding experience of all, because that education will fundamentally change their entire culture for the better. Studies show that by educating the women in a society, the education of their children will become more important, the children’s health will improve and the well-being of the community or village itself will be enriched.” Elsewhere in the world, Harris uses his trusted international contacts to provide opportunities to other developing communities. “It’s important to have somebody you trust when dealing with international countries, he said. “Especially in East Africa, there is a lot of corruption engrained in the society.” As chair of Evergreens International Service Community, Harris oversees all of their international projects. He also is involved in other projects in Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru and India to promote healthcare, education, community gardens, clean water and sanitation in areas they are needed, improving lives around the world. > KARI GULSETH, Marketing Intern