The Dorobo of Kenya and Tanzania
Scripture: “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land.” Micah 7:14. Pray the Dorobo would come under the protection of the Good Shepherd and be shepherded by godly Dorobo pastors.
Population: 67,000
Location: The Dorobo live mostly in the Rift Valley in the highland forests and mountainous areas.
History: The Dorobo are not actually a single people group, but a diverse group of peoples descended from the ancient San people who originally settled in the Rift Valley around 1000 AD and lived as hunter-gatherers. The name ‘Dorobo’ comes from the Maasai word Il-torrobo for ‘the ones without cattle.’ In Kenya they are also known as the Okiek, and they are considered a pioneering group of Kalenjin who first moved to the Rift Valley from the north.
Culture: Many Dorobo have been assimilated into the cultures of neighboring tribes, such as the Maasai, Samburu, Kipsigis and Nandi. They often provided a service doing jobs considered unclean by the dominant neighbors. Many are still hunter-gatherers. They are adaptable to their environment, and often make their living through beekeeping, especially where hunting has been banned.
Religion: Animism. Perhaps 1% are evangelical Christian. There are at least 25 churches among the Dorobo with over 20 trained pastors.
Latest Prayer Updates:
Evangelism trip
Pray for a continued effort to make an evangelism trip to the Akie/Ilataiyok group of Dorobo who live in Tanzania just on the other side of the Kenya border. They continue to move around, as they have done for centuries in search of honey and hunting grounds, and we are now told they are near Lake Magadi. Pray that we can make contact in the months ahead and visit them and show the Jesus film.
Transformational development
Pray for Pastor Josphat Musanga, currently in South Africa for a continent-wide conference on transformational development. Pray that he would gain much from this time and that he will be a catalyst on his return in showing how the church among the Dorobo can be a leader in transforming their communities through living out the Gospel in practical ways.
