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Joseph with Illinois' US Senator Barack Obama |
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| ABOUT JOSEPH LEMASOLAI LEKUTON |
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| Joseph Lekuton, a recently elected Minster of Parliament in Kenya, is a member of the Ariaal people. Formerly a history teacher at The Langley School in Virginia, he returned to Kenya during school vacations to oversee community development projects from the funds he had raised in the US. During summer vacations, he offered his students and their families an opportunity to visit his country and spend time helping others and learning about Kenya and its people. |
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| Joseph has inspired a number of non-profit organizations including the Nomadic Kenyan Children's Educational Fund and Cows for Kids, a livestock program for rural nomadic children. He established the Karare Boarding School, constructed a water system delivering clean water to a dozen villages in northern Kenya and is the youngest recipient of Kenya's Order of the Grand Warrior, a presidential award for exemplary service to his nation. |
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| In the National Geographic published children's book "Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savanna", Joseph gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers around the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college (where he was so worried about not eating with "proper" American manners that he went without food for four days). Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experiences and emotions of a growing boy. |
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| A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EMERGING EXPLORER |
| Each year The National Geographic Society selects a new class of Emerging Explorers. Joseph Lekuton has been selected as member of the 2006 class. These dynamic personalities are already making significant contributions to their fields and show potential for true breakthroughs. National Geographic's Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring young adventurers, scientists, photographers, and storytellers-explorers who are already making a difference early in their careers. |
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