About Us

In 1999, after 8 years of service at Riverside Farm Institute in Zambia, Andrew and Deborah Aho moved to Kenya and registered Africa Mission Services (AMS) as an international non-government organization (NGO).  Although the mission of the NGO was to implement development projects within the Maasai community, a severe drought throughout the region immediately involved AMS in World Food Program’s drought relief effort.  That year, AMS was contracted to provide food aid to the 410,000 residents of the Kajiado District, the majority of them Maasai. By responsibly providing food to a drought-stricken population, AMS quickly gained a reputation amongst the Maasai as an organization intent on supporting them in practical, essential ways.

After the drought, AMS began partnering with the Maasai community, North American donors and short term volunteers to build schools, churches, and a clinic in the rural Maasai villages, as well as to implement clean water projects and provide medical services and health education.  To provide the necessary infrastructure, AMS first established a mobile camp to host short-term volunteers wishing to experience the challenges and rewards of humanitarian service.  As the program grew and doors opened for further expansion, AMS moved its community development projects to the Trans Mara District, just outside Masai Mara National Reserve.

Today, AMS works extensively with local Maasai leadership to improve educational opportunities for children, offer medical services for rural villagers and provide community households with clean drinking water.  Financial support for both community development and AMS’s operating costs is generated by hosting short-term volunteers, who generally participate in a community development project for an average of 10 – 12 days.  These volunteers minister in various ways to the local community. Building crews construct classrooms, dorms, churches and other facilities; medical personnel take medical services to the bush; others host activities at primary and secondary schools. There is a role for everyone. Most of all, everybody has the opportunity to interact with the local Maasai and learn about their culture. It is a time of giving, but it is equally a time of receiving, not only for the Maasai who benefit from the schools, classes and medical treatment, but particularly for the volunteers who get an insider perspective on traditional Maasai life and see firsthand the impact of their efforts in the community.

Volunteers are hosted at Mara West Camp, a permanent tented camp overlooking a stunning panoramic view of Masai Mara National Reserve. Here guests enjoy comfortable accommodation in canvas safari tents, each furnished with a pair of twin beds, a night stand and electric lamp.  Bathroom facilities include flush toilets and hot showers.  The comfortable lodge is the center of the camp, where delicious meals are served three times a day and everyone gathers after a hard day’s work to socialize or relax around the campfire.

As trips draw to a close, volunteers often spend a couple of days on safari in Masai Mara National Reserve.  A little piece of heaven, the park is home to elephants, giraffe, lions, zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, warthogs, ostriches and a great number of other animals and birds.  For many it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; for others it is one they try to repeat year after year.

Thus the AMS family includes thousands of volunteers from around North America who have donated their time, energy and financial resources to ministering to the Maasai people of Kenya.  They are the lifeblood of the organization, bringing fresh enthusiasm, vision and resources to the ministry.  The AMS team wishes to thank all those who have participated in our program and we invite anyone interested in future development trips to contact us at africamissionservices@gmail.com.  Download our Development Guide Book.