Chief Joseph ole Tipanko Maasai, Ngong Hills, Kenya

Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko, age 50, is a Maasai tribal chief.  He was born in 1973 and is married to Cicilia Seleyian, who grew up in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Chief Joseph and Cicilia live outside of the town of Ngong approximately 40 miles west of Nairobi with their children.

Raised among the Maasai tribe, Chief Joseph ole Tipanko underwent the Maasai traditional and cultural initiation practices and ceremonies that all boys and young men go through.  A village council of elders appointed him “tribal leader” or “Chief” of his people when he was 18.  This position is permanent, and he will remain Chief until his passing or until he feels he can no longer be of service.

Chief Joseph, out of a desire to help advance basic education in his community, completed a teacher training program in 1994.

To better the lives of his community members, Chief Joseph has been able to network with other  international organizations to bring volunteers from the US, UK and Australia to visit his village.  These volunteers help teach in understaffed schools and help with economic development projects.

Chief Joseph is very well-travelled, having visited the US, UK, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. In 2016, he made a presentation to the UN committee on Education in New York and has spoken at various events in more than six East Coast USA states and Colorado, all part of a continuing cultural education program to share more about the Indigenous Maasai culture, their peace and conflict resolution methods, as well as the impact of climate change and challenges for Maasai survival in their local environment.

Through his speaking tours and visits from those from outside of his village, well-wishers, fundraisers and from personal donations, Chief Joesph has been able to raise funds to build a daycare center and additional classrooms in poor communities.  This partnership has also provided scholarships (including some at college level) to many Maasai students, construction of toilets and sanitation facilities, clean drinking water and a community vegetable garden from a drilled 850ft deep water well.  Donations have also provided school supplies, medical supplies and computers for his village.  

During the COVID pandemic of 2020, the devastating drought of 2021 – 2024, and the floods of 2024, funds have also provided feeding programs and medical care for the community.  Through support of many donors the community is completing a Rescue Center called “The Olmaroroi Centre of Excellence” as a home for Young Ladies who have either been orphaned or have left their community to escape difficult domestic conditions.

Chief Joseph and other members of his Maasai village continue to visit schools, churches, Rotary Clubs and other service organizations worldwide to educate listeners about his community way of life and the need to preserve the unique Maasai Culture despite the encroachment of modern society.