A Life Less Ordinary

by David Snyder

Daniel Laiser is sitting in a starched shirt on a plastic outdoor chair, the overhead lights of a small hotel restaurant reflecting in the wire-rimmed frames of his glasses. Over soft drinks, he recounts the progression of his life with an air of almost academic formality: cattle herder, prospective priest, founder of a nongovernmental agency, and one of at least 25 siblings — he's not quite sure of the number.

Now a project officer for CRS Tanzania based in Dar es Salaam, Daniel is physically distant from the ancestral northern home of the famed Masai tribe of which he is a member, but he still remains powerfully connected to his roots.

Descended from a line of Masai chiefs, Daniel lived the life of a tribesman in his early years, herding the cattle from which the Masai derive their pastoralist identity. "Usually from about 7 years old you start with calves to learn," Daniel says. "Then maybe at 9 years you go with the herd."

Following that tradition, Daniel went out to the fields daily as a young man, sharing the responsibility of watching over a massive herd of 800 cattle belonging to his family and others in the community. For a 9-year-old boy, it was a major responsibility. The Serengeti plains have one of the highest concentrations of big cats in the world — a serious menace to the cattle the Masai depend on for food and milk. Armed with traditional flat-bladed spears and small swords on their belts, Daniel and the other young herdsmen were prepared to defend their precious drove against any threats.

"If the animals attack the herd, that is a very bad thing," Daniel says. "There is always a penalty [on the herder]. People would say, 'What were you doing?' "

A Promising Start

Historically, the Masai in Tanzania haven't participated in formal education, and many don't even speak the national language, Swahili. Without this schooling, Daniel seemed destined to live the life of his ancestors — until the government of Tanzania passed a law requiring education for all youth, including the Masai.

"The police came when I was 10 or 11, and I was forced to go to school," Daniel remembers. "I never knew anything about [school]. It was just the life I lived."

Unable at first even to understand the classes, which were taught in Swahili, Daniel quickly proved himself a superb student. He learned the language in six months, and tackled English next. Despite starting his education late, within a few years Daniel was being called on to teach the students from lower grades. Soon it became clear to him that education was the key to a world far removed from anything he had known.

"There were a lot of interesting things I was seeing, and I wanted to learn a different kind of life," Daniel says. "I really enjoyed it."

Since that time, much of Daniel's life has been defined by both learning and teaching others. After studying for years at junior seminaries with the thought of joining the priesthood, Daniel left that idea behind. At the wedding of one of his brothers, he met by chance two Americans who were impressed with his intelligence and poise. They offered to sponsor his college education, and Daniel accepted. Before he graduated with a degree in marketing, he was already giving back some of the generosity he had been shown by starting a nongovernmental organization in northern Tanzania.

"I was thinking of the Masai who did not go to school," recalls Daniel, who, with funding from Finland, began promoting the idea of education among the Masai.

Helping the People of Tanzania

After several years of working with international aid agencies in Tanzania, Daniel heard of a position at Catholic Relief Services. He applied, got the job, and since 2005 has been working to integrate community-based microfinance projects with agriculture and HIV projects in the lake district of Tanzania. Just recently, he took on the role of project officer for Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC), and moved to Dar es Salaam. As a SILC officer, Daniel — now married with three kids — visits CRS project sites to help organize savings and lending groups. SILC group members agree to save small amounts each week or month and use the pooled money to offer members loans, increasing members' savings while providing access to small amounts of capital that otherwise would be unavailable to them.

Daniel's current life is a long way from the world he knew growing up. But he is still strongly connected to the life the Masai lead and hopes to one day give even more back to his tribe.

"I miss that life very much," Daniel says. "I miss it, but I am also sympathetic to them, because I know the other side of the coin."

David Snyder is a photojournalist who has traveled to more than 30 countries with CRS. Most recently, David visited country programs in South Africa and East Africa, including Tanzania.